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Is Proud to Host
An All Day Conference Presented By
The Ackerman Institute for The Family
A Socially Just Approach to Working with Families
November 1, 2019
Housatonic Community College, Bridgeport Connecticut
5 C.E.C.s available for mental health practitioners: LMSW * LCSW * LMFT * LPC *
CT Licensed Psychologists
This program meets the cultural competence requirement for license renewal
Parking, Light Breakfast Fare & Lunch Included
The Child and Family Guidance Center, in collaboration with the Ackerman Institute for the Family in NYC, is excited to present a one-day conference which will immerse mental health workers in a collaborative, socially just approach to working with families. Join us for a day of learning, where Ackerman family therapists will use video of live family therapy sessions to highlight ideas from family systems theory and the Ackerman Relational Approach (ARA). A focus on social location and the multiple contextual factors that contribute to a family’s struggles and impasses in the therapeutic relationship will be explored, with special emphasis on how systems of oppression, immigration and racism impact the mental health of a family.
Founded in 1960, the Ackerman Institute for the Family is one of the premier institutions for family therapy and one of the best-known and most highly regarded training facilities for family therapists in the United States. The Institute serves families from all walks of life at all stages of family life.
The mission of The Child & Family Guidance Center is to provide culturally informed mental health services and complementary supports to children, teenagers, and their families, regardless of their ability to pay. Our goal is for all Fairfield County children to be emotionally and psychologically healthy so that they can reach their maximum potential at home, at school and in life.
MORNING SESSION
10:00 - 12:30 An Introduction to Family Therapy and Ackerman Relational Approach (ARA)
Presenter: Catherine Lewis, LCSW
Implementing ideas from family systems theory and the Ackerman Relational Approach (ARA), mental health workers will develop their ability to think systemically and work more effectively with children, families and couples presenting with a range of complex struggles. Participants will learn the key elements of the Ackerman Relational Approach, including contextualizing the presenting problem, tracking cycles of interaction, asking relational questions, engaging in decision dialogues and forming complex systemic hypotheses. Participants will develop their capacity to explore how family members’ organizing beliefs and premises inform family interactions and behaviors. Throughout the training, attention will be paid to how issues of class, race, gender and culture impact the therapeutic relationship and family struggles.
2.5 CECs (Attendance at both workshops is required)
Catherine Lewis, LCSW, MS, is the Director of Community Training and the Director of the Foster Care and Adoption Project (FCAP) at Ackerman Institute for the Family. Catherine has extensive experience working with families who have experienced trauma and has served in leadership positions at several New York City social service agencies. She has presented nationally and internationally on the best practices of working with families. Catherine maintains a small private practice in New York City and Westport, Connecticut, working with families, couples, and children. Catherine is an active member of TEAM Westport, a town-appointed committee dedicated to improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the community.
AFTERNOON SESSION
1:30 - 4:00 Dímelo en español: Collaborative Therapeutic Conversations with Latino Immigrant Families
Presenter: Silvia Espinal, LCSW
Despite the wish to maintain cultural awareness in therapy, Latino families are frequently faced with approaches that are incongruent to their cultural needs and often have to adjust to pre-established mainstream models when attending to their unique situations. As the Latino population continues to grow, therapists need to work from a multicultural framework that embraces a deeper understanding of the Latino immigrant experience in the United States. It is fundamental for therapists, through a socially just lens, to cultivate a compassionate understanding of the Latino experience and their socio-cultural contexts. In this workshop, the dilemmas of parenting and being parented in between two cultures will be explored. Using cultural humility and a collaborative stance, participants will develop their ability to clarify the concerns that bring families to therapy, unpack the meanings attached to the family’s migration narratives and help families discern the challenges of parenting and being parented in a bilingual/bicultural environment.
2.5 CECs (Attendance at both workshops is required)
Silvia B. Espinal is a licensed clinical social worker and the Director of the Latino Youth and Family Immigration Project at Ackerman. Silvia is currently an adjunct faculty of foundations in family therapy at the institute and is also collaborating with the Gender and Family Project at Ackerman. Additionally to her professional training at Ackerman, Silvia completed a two year training at the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in NYC where she focused on the integration of diversity and issues of social justice with clinical cases. As a Latina immigrant and a family therapist, Silvia’s biculturalism and bilingualism have helped her grow a genuine and unique passion in the immigrant experience and she uses this strength based approach when working with these individuals, couples and families. In addition to having a private practice in New York City, seeing a wide range of diverse populations, Silvia has extensive experience working in community mental health clinics, small psychotherapy group practices, and large inner-city medical settings.
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Strengthening Relationships Strengthening Communities
November 1, 2019
Housatonic Community College, Beacon Hall Event Center
900 Lafayette Blvd. Bridgeport, CT
Strengthening Relationships, Strengthening Communities
November 1
Housatonic Community College, Beacon Hall
900 Lafayette Blvd. Bridgeport, CT