Abstract
Multiculturalism encompasses identities that help to shape the collective identities of individuals and impacts how people experience privilege and oppression within systems of structural inequality. A focus on multiculturalism may be particularly important within a mental health context as collective identities can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being. But the discrimination associated with marginalized collective identities can also place people at higher risk for both physical and mental health problems. An intersectionality framework for mental health care urges practitioners to go beyond the examination of single categories of collective identity to recognize how various identities converge, intersect, and mutually influence one another to create unique subjective experiences that help to shape, inform, and explain mental health. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of intersectionality and discuss how it applies within two models of mental health practice: (1) multicultural competence in counseling and therapy and (2) cultural humility in social and community services.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association. (2003). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. American Psychologist, 58(1), 377–402.
Bostwick, W. B., Meyer, I., Aranda, F., Russell, S., Hughes, T., Birkett, M., & Mustanski, B. (2014). Mental health and suicidality among racially/ethnically diverse sexual minority youths. American Journal of Public Health, 104(6), 1129–1136. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301749
Bowleg, L. (2012). The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality – An important theoretical framework for public health. American Journal of Public Health, 102, 1267–1273. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300750
Cairney, J., Veldhuizen, S., Vigod, S., Streiner, D. L., Wade, T. J., & Kurdyak, P. (2014). Exploring the social determinants of mental health service use using intersectionality theory and CART analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 68(2), 145–150. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-203120
Calabrese, S. K., Meyer, I. H., Overstreet, N. M., Haile, R., & Hansen, N. B. (2015). Exploring discrimination and mental health disparities faced by Black sexual minority women using a minority stress framework. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39(3), 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684314560730
Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64(3), 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014564
Collins, P. H. (2015). Intersectionality’s definitional dilemmas. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-073014-112142
Constantine, M. G., & Sue, D. W. (2006). Addressing racism. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Dadlani, M. B., Overtree, C., & Perry-Jenkins, M. (2012). Culture at the center: A reformulation of diagnostic assessment. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 43, 175–182. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028152
Dhamoon, R. K. (2011). Considerations on mainstreaming intersectionality. Political Research Quarterly, 64(1), 230–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912910379227
Ferree, M. M. (2009). Inequality, intersectionality and the politics of discourse. In E. Lombardo, P. Meier, & M. Verloo (Eds.), The discursive politics of gender equality. London, England: Routledge.
Fisher-Borne, M., Cain, J. M., & Martin, S. L. (2015). From mastery to accountability: Cultural humility as an alternative to cultural competence. Social Work Education, 34(2), 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.977244
Garfat, T. (2004). Meaning-making and intervention in child and youth care practice. Scottish Journal of Residential Care, 3(1), 9–16. Retrieved from https://www.celcis.org/knowledge-bank/sircc-journal/
Gayman, M. D., & Barragan, J. (2013). Multiple perceived reasons for major discrimination and depression. Society and Mental Health, 3(3), 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869313496438
Gelso, C. J., Williams, E. N., & Fretz, B. R. (2014). Counseling psychology (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Griffith, A. (1998). Insider/outsider: Epistemological privilege and mothering work. Human Studies, 21, 361–376. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005421211078
Griffith, D. M. (2015). I AM a man: Manhood, minority men’s health and health equity. Ethnicity & Disease, 25(3), 287–293. https://doi.org/10.18865/ed.25.3.287
Grollman, E. A. (2012). Multiple forms of perceived discrimination and health among adolescents and young adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 53(2), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146512444289
Guthrie, R. V. (1997). Even the rat was White: A historical view of psychology. New York, NY: Pearson.
Hankivsky, O., & Christoffersen, A. (2008). Intersectionality and the determinants of health: A Canadian perspective. Critical Public Health, 18(3), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581590802294296
Helms, J. E. (1995). An update of Helm’s White and people of color racial identity models. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 181–198). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
James, A., Jenks, C., & Prout, A. (1998). Theorizing childhood. Cambridge, England: Polity Press.
Johnson, C., & Bowles, M. T. (2010). Making the grade? Private education in northern India. Journal of Development Studies, 46, 485–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220380903002939
Jones, M. (2010). Systemic/social issues: Aboriginal child welfare. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 23(4), 17–30. Retrieved from http://www.rcycp.com/
King, D. K. (1988). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a Black feminist ideology. Signs, 14(1), 42–72. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174661
Kosciw, J. G., Palmer, N. A., & Kull, R. M. (2015). Reflecting resiliency: Openness about sexual orientation and/or gender identity and its relationship to well-being and educational outcomes for LGBT students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 55(1–2), 167–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9642-6
Kwan, K. L. (2001). Models of racial and ethnic identity development: Delineation of practice implications. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 23(3), 269–277.
McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege; Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, July/August, 10–12.
McLeod, J. (2013). An introduction to counselling. London, England: McGraw-Hill Education.
Mak, W. W., Poon, C. Y., Pun, L. Y., & Cheung, S. F. (2007). Meta-analysis of stigma and mental health. Social Science & Medicine, 65(2), 245–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.03.015
Mio, J., Barker, L., & Santos-Tumambing, J. (2012). Multicultural psychology: Understanding our diverse communities (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford Press.
Ortega, R. M., & Coulbourn Faller, K. C. (2011). Training child welfare workers from an intersectional cultural humility perspective: A paradigm shift. Child Welfare, 90(5), 27–49. Retrieved from http://www.cwla.org
Pascoe, E. A., & Smart Richman, L. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 531. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016059
Purdie-Vaughns, V., & Eibach, R. P. (2008). Intersectional invisibility: The distinctive advantages and disadvantages of multiple subordinate-group identities. Sex Roles, 59(5–6), 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9424-4
Ramsay, N. J. (2014). Intersectionality: A model for addressing the complexity of oppression and privilege. Pastoral Psychology, 63(4), 453–469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-013-0570-4
Reimers, F. A., & Stabb, S. D. (2015). Class at the intersection of race and gender: A 15 year content analysis. The Counseling Psychologist, 43, 794–821. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015586267
Robinson, T. L. (1999). The intersections of dominant discourses across race, gender, and other identities. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 73–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1999.tb02423.x
Seedall, R. B., Holtrop, K., & Parra-Cardona, J. R. (2014). Diversity, social justice, and intersectionality trends in C/MFT: A content analysis of three family therapy journals, 2004-2011. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 40(2), 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12015
Seng, J. S., Lopez, W. D., Sperlich, M., Hamama, L., & Meldrum, C. D. R. (2012). Marginalized identities, discrimination burden, and mental health: Empirical exploration of an interpersonal-level approach to modeling intersectionality. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12), 2437–2445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.09.023
Smith, T. B., & Silva, L. (2011). Ethnic identity and personal well-being of people of color: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021528
Snowdon, L. R., & Cheung, F. H. (1990). Use of in-patient mental health services by members of ethnic minority groups. American Psychologist, 45(3), 347–355. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003066X.45.3.347
Sue, D. W. (2004). Whiteness and ethnocentric monoculturalism: Making the “invisible” visible. American Psychologist, 59(8), 761–769. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.761
Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Tervalon, M., & Murray-Garcia, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physical training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2010.0233
Watts-Jones, D. (2010). Location of self: Opening the door to dialogue on intersectionality in the therapy process. Family Process, 49(3), 405–420. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01330.x
Yoon, E., Chang, C. T., Kim, S., Clawson, A., Cleary, S. E., Hansen, M., … Gomes, A. M. (2013). A meta-analysis of acculturation/enculturation and mental health. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030652
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bramesfeld, K.D., Platt, L.F., Bal, J.K. (2019). Mental Health, Multicultural Competence, and Cultural Humility from an Intersectionality Framework. In: Zangeneh, M., Al-Krenawi, A. (eds) Culture, Diversity and Mental Health - Enhancing Clinical Practice. Advances in Mental Health and Addiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26437-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26437-6_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26435-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26437-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)