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Hello, Uptown!
I used to hate the phrase “be the change you want to see in the world.” I felt it was tautological and self-reinforcing, and a way for people to say something without saying anything.
Now, probably decades later than everybody else, I am beginning to learn its true power. None of us ever exist in a vacuum; our actions ripple outward, away from us, affecting people around us, sometimes years later. What we do matters, and so we have to act with intent.
A pair of San Diego-based licensed therapists, Amira Abudian and Halima Said, have decided to live that phrase by starting a Muslim mental health care organization that uses psychological science and Islamic principles to help people within their communities. Their organization AMALY (Arabic for “my hope”) offers individual care as well as group and therapy sessions at an office based in City Heights.
I wrote about AMALY earlier this week, but I was particularly intrigued by a detail that didn’t make it into my story: They also offer training in cultural humility. I had never heard that phrase before. Cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, certainly, but “cultural humility” was new to me (although it isn’t new).
What is that? I asked.
They told me something that I found very interesting: It’s understanding that we may not know everything (about another individual, or group, or culture), and that we probably don’t, or can’t. It differs from cultural competence or cultural awareness, by bringing in an element of self-reflection and acknowledging that it is a lifelong process.
To be educated or made aware of cultural differences and the potential for misunderstandings so that they can be avoided is an excellent goal, don’t get me wrong; I was just impressed that this seems to go a step further with self-awareness. It reminds the person in any interaction who may be in a position of authority or power that they, too, must be honest, open, and remember that they are dealing with another human being.
I can think of many ways that cultural humility would be helpful in a crisis. Although it is often used in health care situations, where it is associated with better healing outcomes, its utility is clear everywhere. If we all learned how to listen, reflect and self-critique, perhaps all our interactions would become better and more authentic.
Maybe we could all build a better society that way, one that is more strong and resilient, a society that can adapt to hard times without collapsing and care for each other without abandoning anyone in the process.
Want to change the world? It always begins with self-reflection.
Brooke Binkowski
Uptown News newsletter host
Uptown story spotlight
Nonprofit AMALY offers community resilience through Muslim-centered therapy
By Brooke Binkowski • Times of San Diego
Halima Said and Amira Abudiab said they began AMALY because they saw an urgent need for culturally responsive mental health care.
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