Giving Compass' Take:

• Rose Hackman, at The Guardian, investigates the issue of diversity in therapy, asking whether or not patients need a therapist who understands them culturally. 

• How essential is open-mindedness and cultural competence in a therapist? What can we do to increase diversity in therapy and across mental health professions? 

• Learn about the need for increased diversity in psychological publications.

What makes for a good fit when it comes to finding a therapist? Does a therapist have to be a certain way, or have lived through specific things, to “get it”? Do they need to mirror us?

Randolph Scott-McLaughlin II, 29, who is himself a PhD student in clinical psychology, agrees there is a dearth of suitably diverse therapists to match clients’ needs.

Ideally he would like to have a black male therapist from an upper-class background from New York City – an identity that mirrors his. “It’s really hard – almost impossible – to find that. But if I had a choice, that’s who I would pick.”

Ayorkor Goba, a clinical psychologist, says that the question of feeling like your therapist “gets it” is one that speaks more to the larger issue and need for cultural competence.

What does cultural competence look like in practice? Learning about different cultures and religions, being mindful of verbal and non-verbal interactions, and checking yourself for your own stigma, Goba explains.

In some instances, Goba says, it is imperative to match therapists with clients correctly. This might be the case with female survivors of domestic abuse, for instance, where having a male therapist could be “retriggering”.

Not all therapy-seekers have minded an identity mismatch. Adela Brito, a 27-year-old special education teacher, says that the therapist she worked with for four years as a young woman appeared to have little in common with her background – he was middle-aged, male and white – but that was fine by her.

Brito says that sometimes the most understanding you can be starts with the very opposite feeling.

“Understanding is partly saying hey, I don’t understand that completely, tell me about it, and then listening.”

Read the full article about diversity in therapy by Rose Hackman at The Guardian.