Illustration of diverse raised hands with the text 'BIPOC Mental Health Matters' and the word 'EMDR' in script, symbolizing inclusive trauma care.

Providing Culturally Responsive EMDR Care to BIPOC Clients

Why It Matters—And What Therapists Can Do

Mental health care in the U.S. isn’t experienced equally.
 While 56.1% of White adults with mental illness received care in 2022, that number dropped to 39.6% for Hispanic adults, 37.9% for Black adults, and 36.1% for Asian adults (SAMHSA, 2022).

These disparities are more than numbers—they reflect generations of systemic inequities, access barriers, cultural stigma, and historical distrust in the mental health system.

For EMDR therapists, cultural responsiveness isn’t an optional add-on—it’s foundational to ethical, effective care.

Whether you’re serving a client who’s experienced racial trauma, migration-related stress, or generational oppression, culturally attuned EMDR can make a meaningful difference. Below are actionable ways to bring cultural humility and responsiveness to your EMDR work with BIPOC clients.

1. Understand Trauma Through a Cultural and Systemic Lens

Trauma doesn’t exist in a vacuum. For BIPOC communities, it’s often compounded by racism, discrimination, immigration stressors, colonization, and other systemic forces.

A 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) noted that “persistent systemic social inequities and discrimination” worsened mental health outcomes for people of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, 40.3% of Hispanic adults experienced current depression, and 36.9% reported increased or new substance use, compared to 25.3% and 14.3%, respectively, among White adults (HHS, 2021).

What you can do:

  • Integrate systemic and historical trauma into your case formulation.

  • Name and validate the impact of racism and oppression in session when appropriate.

  • Use EMDR’s Target Sequence Planning (Shapiro, 2018) to identify culturally relevant trauma experiences across the lifespan.

2. Start with Cultural Humility, Not Cultural Competence

“Cultural competence” implies mastery—something that’s never fully attainable. “Cultural humility,” by contrast, centers on a lifelong commitment to self-reflection, client-centered care, and collaborative learning (Tervalon & Murray-García, 1998).

What you can do:

  • Reflect on your own social identities and how they show up in the therapy room.

  • Let clients define what safety, healing, and connection mean to them.

  • Be open to feedback—and willing to repair ruptures if cultural misattunements occur.

3. Adapt the EMDR Protocol—With Intention

The Standard EMDR Protocol is powerful—and flexible. It can and should be adapted to meet a client’s cultural, linguistic, and spiritual context.

What you can do:

  • Adjust language, metaphors, and imagery to align with the client’s worldview.

  • Use Group EMDR protocols—such as EMDR-IGTP—in collectivist cultures where community healing is valued (Jarero & Artigas, 2012).

  • Integrate spiritual or ancestral resources during resourcing phases (Phase 2), honoring cultural and indigenous healing traditions.

4. Be Mindful of Access and Advocacy

BIPOC clients may face unique logistical and systemic barriers to accessing EMDR therapy: limited provider availability, language mismatches, financial constraints, or geographic distance from trained clinicians.

What you can do:

  • Offer sliding scale options or refer to therapists who do.

  • Direct clients to BIPOC-led EMDR directories and networks.

  • Support advocacy efforts that expand access to EMDR for underrepresented communities.

5. Seek Ongoing Education and Diverse Supervision

Culturally responsive EMDR isn’t something we master in one workshop. It’s a relational, evolving process.

What you can do:

  • Choose consultation and training that center anti-oppressive practices.

  • Read and share work by BIPOC researchers, clinicians, and lived-experience experts.

  • Stay informed on new EMDR applications for diverse populations and presentations.

Final Thoughts

EMDR therapy holds immense potential to help BIPOC clients heal from trauma—but only if we meet them with attuned, culturally responsive care.

By committing to cultural humility, adapting protocols, and advocating for equity, we move closer to trauma treatment that is not only effective—but just.

 

References

Natalia Monge

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Dr. Amanda Martin, LMFT-S, LPC, BCN

Amanda Martin holds a PhD in Family Therapy and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor, and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. With over 14 years of experience, she specializes in trauma therapy for individuals and families in residential and outpatient settings. Amanda also provides supervision for EMDR certification, EMDR consultants-in-training, and LMFT-Associates. Her mission is to help people find a healthy, joyful, and fulfilling path in life. Her warm, supportive, and interactive counseling style incorporates Symbolic Experiential Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, HeartMath, Animal-Assisted Therapy, Neurofeedback, and Collaborative Problem Solving.

Dr. Amber Quaranta-Leech, LPC-S

Amber holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Texas and Oklahoma and holds Supervisor credential for Texas. Amber is an EMDRIA consultant and trainer. She has over a decade of experience in the trauma field in work with uniformed services, domestic violence, childhood trauma and abuse, and recent mass trauma events. Amber provides consultation for EMDRIA certification, for consultants-in-training, and supervision for LPC-Associates. Amber continues to research the benefits of EMDR therapy with a variety of populations. Her goal is to help build strong clinicians who are well versed in trauma interventions to better support their clients. Amber sees a limited number of clients with a focus on trauma work, she is also a Certified Career Counselor and Certified through EAGALA to provide equine-assisted therapy. 

Dr. Jose Carbajal, LCSW

Dr. Jose Carbajal, a U.S. Army veteran, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and a master’s in theological studies from Baylor University, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. With over 15 years of clinical experience and extensive teaching experience, Jose specializes in trauma, sexual abuse recovery, domestic violence, and substance abuse. His research focuses on trauma interventions, neuroscience, and faith. He is EMDR Certified, an Approved Consultant, and an EMDRIA Approved Trainer, with numerous publications and professional presentations to his name.

Dr. Amber Quaranta-Leech, LPC-S

Amber holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Texas and Oklahoma and holds Supervisor credential for Texas. Amber is an EMDRIA consultant and trainer. She has over a decade of experience in the trauma field in work with uniformed services, domestic violence, childhood trauma and abuse, and recent mass trauma events. Amber provides consultation for EMDRIA certification, for consultants-in-training, and supervision for LPC-Associates. Amber continues to research the benefits of EMDR therapy with a variety of populations. Her goal is to help build strong clinicians who are well versed in trauma interventions to better support their clients. Amber sees a limited number of clients with a focus on trauma work, she is also a Certified Career Counselor and Certified through EAGALA to provide equine-assisted therapy. 

Dr. Jose Carbajal, LCSW

Dr. Jose Carbajal, a U.S. Army veteran, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and a master’s in theological studies from Baylor University, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. With over 15 years of clinical experience and extensive teaching experience, Jose specializes in trauma, sexual abuse recovery, domestic violence, and substance abuse. His research focuses on trauma interventions, neuroscience, and faith. He is EMDR Certified, an Approved Consultant, and an EMDRIA Approved Trainer, with numerous publications and professional presentations to his name.

Dr. Amanda Martin, LMFT-S, LPC, BCN

Amanda Martin holds a PhD in Family Therapy and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor, and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. With over 14 years of experience, she specializes in trauma therapy for individuals and families in residential and outpatient settings. Amanda also provides supervision for EMDR certification, EMDR consultants-in-training, and LMFT-Associates. Her mission is to help people find a healthy, joyful, and fulfilling path in life. Her warm, supportive, and interactive counseling style incorporates Symbolic Experiential Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, HeartMath, Animal-Assisted Therapy, Neurofeedback, and Collaborative Problem Solving.