An inclusive, culturally responsive approach that recognizes identity, values, and community as central to healing and growth.
Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) is a type of therapy that honors the unique cultural identities, backgrounds, and worldviews each client brings into the therapy room. It recognizes that culture profoundly shapes how people understand mental health, express distress, seek support, and find healing.
Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, CIT integrates these cultural perspectives into the heart of the therapeutic process, making treatment feel more authentic, relevant, and respectful.
The central goal of Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) is to create a therapeutic space where clients feel truly seen and understood not just as individuals, but as whole people shaped by culture, community, and lived experience.
More specifically, it aims to:
Ultimately, the goal is to co-create healing experiences that feel real and meaningful for clients, leading to growth that aligns with their cultural values and life context.
Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) can address a broad range of mental health concerns and life experiences. It is especially supportive for:
Yes, there are several subtypes of Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT). Specialized approaches have emerged to meet the unique needs of specific groups or to incorporate cultural healing traditions. Examples include:
These variations highlight the flexibility of culturally-informed care and its ability to integrate diverse traditions into therapy.
Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) didn’t come from one person at one point in time. Instead, it has grown over decades, especially since the 1960s and 1970s, through the work of many psychologists, researchers, and community leaders who recognized the urgent need to make therapy more inclusive, responsive, and equitable.
Yes, a growing body of research consistently shows that culturally-informed approaches improve outcomes for clients.
Studies highlight that they often lead to:
Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) weaves cultural awareness into every step of the process. In practice, this may look like:
Because each client’s relationship to their culture is unique, this approach remains flexible, collaborative, and deeply personalized.
Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) sessions are guided by a few key principles:
Unlike traditional Western therapy models that can feel individualistic or disconnected from cultural realities, culturally-informed therapy creates space for healing that feels more inclusive, relevant, and empowering.
Multicultural/Culturally-Informed Therapy (CIT) doesn't have a rigid length or structure. Because healing looks different across individuals, this approach avoids rigid structures and instead adapts to each client’s values, needs, and expectations for change.
Together, you and your therapist will find a pace and process that feels both culturally congruent and effective for your unique situation.
Alma’s directory has many therapists who specialize in Multicultural/Culturally Informed Therapy (CIT), including:
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This article was written and medically validated by Drs. Jill Krahwinkel-Bower and Jamie Bower.
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