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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism Guide: Competency, Humility, and Empathy

Updated by Sonya Lemke MLS, AHIP

Competency, Humility, and Empathy

Cultural competence is loosely defined by the American Psychological Association, DeAngelis (2015), as the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from cultures or belief systems different from one's own (p. 64). 

DeAngelis, T. (2015). In search of cultural competence. American Psychological Associationhttps://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/03/cultural-competence.

Cultural humility is "a process of self-reflection and discovery in order to build honest and trustworthy relationships" (Yeager & Baer-Wu, 2013).

Yeager, K. A., & Bauer-Wu, S. (2013). Cultural humility: essential foundation for clinical researchers. Applied nursing research : ANR26(4), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2013.06.008

Empathy is feeling WITH people  (Brown, 2013).

Royal Society for Arts (RSA). 10 December, 2013. Brene Brown on Empathy. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

Competency, Humility, and Empathy Resources