When is Ineffective Therapy with Minoritized Clients Enough?

The aspirational impact of promoting therapists’ multicultural orientation (MCO) is to provide a framework to be culturally responsive and oriented to promote better outcomes.

However, research has repeatedly shown that some therapists have poor outcomes with their minoritized clients relative to their majority identified clients. It begs the question, when do these disparities rise to the level of a culturally-based ethical violation (e.g., do no harm)? Moreover, it is unclear whether therapists are aware of these disparities, what systems perpetuate these issues, and what actionable steps are being implemented to rectify these cultural and ethical dynamics. Dr. Jesse Owen's presentation was part of the 2023 Ken Matheny Center for the Study of Stress, Trauma, and Resilience MSTAR conference at Georgia State University.