Wednesday, July 9th
10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Caring for Couples: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

Tia Crooms, PhD

The workshop will teach clinicians the Gottman Method for Couples Therapy: Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work 

Cultivating Systemic Resilience in Equity-Attuned Clinical Settings

Christie Eppler, PhD, LMFT

Kimberly Riley, DSW, LMFT

LaDonna M. Smith, LMFT

While systemic resilience has no one definition, its connotations include being adaptable, promoting growth and healing, challenging injustices, and aspiring toward visions and dreams. Equity-attuned clinicians who cultivate systemic resilience find meaning and purpose, amplify gratitude and optimism, and draw on the support of significant relationships. Effective and compassionate leaders and therapists embody systemic resilience in clinical settings and in self-care practices. Through information sharing, case studies, and activities, this presentation explores how to identify and enhance socially just systemic resilience in leadership roles, clinical practice, and therapist self-care. 

Trauma and Substance Use in Collectivistic Cultures: A Systemic Approach to Rehabilitation

Aashni Shah, LMFT

Patricia Arisi, LMFT

Join us for an engaging session on "Trauma and Substance Use in Collectivistic Cultures," where we delve into the powerful link between unresolved trauma and substance use within family-centered societies. This presentation explores how addiction, often a coping mechanism for trauma, impacts not only individuals but also the family system, creating cycles of distress across generations. We’ll analyze cultural factors, discuss the limitations of individual-focused rehab models, and introduce a unique systemic rehabilitation approach designed to involve family members in the healing process. Discover how trauma-informed, family-inclusive strategies can transform recovery outcomes and foster resilience in collectivistic communities.

1:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Equanimity—Not Happiness: Redefining the Purpose of Therapy Using a Culturally Informed, Mindfulness Approach in the 21st Century

Diane Gehart, PhD

Are you seeking a more sustainable approach to lifelong wellness for your clients than the traditional “pursuit of happiness”? This workshop introduces a powerful framework that integrates the mindfulness-informed concept of equanimity with a culturally attuned exploration of personal values. By focusing on equanimity—the ability to navigate life’s inevitable ups and downs with balance and composure—you will empower your clients to cultivate resilience and well-being that endures long after therapy concludes. 

Learning Disorders in Families from a Systemic Lense

Fahra Mawji, MA

This 2-hour session equips therapists with a systemic framework to support parents raising children with learning disabilities (LD). Participants will explore how learning disabilities affect family dynamics, including parental stress, sibling relationships, and communication challenges. The session delves into systemic interventions that empower parents, foster resilience, and enhance collaboration with schools and communities. Through case studies and practical tools, therapists will gain strategies to help families thrive amidst the unique challenges posed by LD.As well as how to navigate how caregivers can balance their lives and avoid caregiver burnout.

Nurturing Intimacy and Sexual Well-Being in Relationships

Tina Timm, PhD

Pendo Galukande, MA

Most therapists have received little to no training in working with intimacy and sexuality in therapy. This is unfortunate given that issues of sexuality are present throughout the lifespan and many couples and individuals clients struggle in silence with these issues. This session will help therapists to integrate sexuality into everyday practice, giving confidence to communicate effectively and providing basic interventions that open up space for increased safety and connection in relationships, while actively acknowledging the complexity of cultural, religious, and personal values.

Thursday, July 10th
10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Managing Relationships Through Wooden Nickels

Latonya Stephens, PhD

Two of the greatest gifts a therapist can have is wisdom and discernment. Processing with clients as they navigate relationships can sometimes present challenges while breaking through challenges with communication and emotional intelligence. This workshop will help mental health professionals navigate the barriers often faced by counseling couples and individuals with relationship challenges.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Telesupervision to Enhance Client Intervention, Clinical Record Keeping, and Clinical Supervision

Dale Bertram, PhD

Tony Watkins, PhD

This presentation focuses on equipping supervisors and supervisees to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) in helpful and ethical ways in creating interventions, record keeping, and enhancing knowledge.

The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Adolescent Sexual Health and Early Pregnancy

Alice Kamundi

Zephon Lister, PhD

Sharon Kungu

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can have a profound impact on adolescent sexual health and increase the risk of early pregnancy. This session will delve into the complex relationship between ACEs and adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviors. We will discuss the latest research findings, explore effective prevention and intervention strategies, and discuss how we can work together to build resilience in young people.

1:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Nurturing the Nurturer: A Journey of Self-Care

Shiricka Fair, PhD

This transformative session invites therapist to explore culturally-informed self-care practices that prevent burnout, foster empathy, and enhance therapeutic effectiveness. Through mindfulness, storytelling, and hands-on activities, participants will discover practical tools to support lasting resilience and professional fulfillment. 

Breaking the Silence: Confronting Suicide Stigma and Bias through a Multicultural and Relational Lens  

Pierre Scott, DMFT

This interactive and trauma-informed 2-hour breakout session helps LMFTs tackle the layered stigma and bias surrounding suicide—particularly within marginalized and high-pressure communities. Grounded in intersectionality, cultural humility, and relational science, this session explores how identities like race, gender, spirituality, and profession converge to shape suicide risk and silence. Through real cases, hands-on tools, and small group engagement, participants will walk away with clinical courage, cultural insight, and new language to build connection and safety across differences.

Friday, July 11th

8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Building Bridges: Addressing Refugee Mental Health as an Interagency Team from Canada and Kenya

Abdi Ahmed, MA

Agnes Wangechi Mwangi, MA

Amos Keya Alumada, PhD

Brenda Onyango, BA 

Cindy Weisbart, PsyD

Kileteny Naishorua Christine, MA 

John Smyth, MSW, RSW, RMFT, LL.D. (Hon.) 

Mercy Githara, MA 

Tanya (Tatjana) Elez, PhD

Despite demonstrated needs, refugee mental health remains insufficiently addressed. This presentation showcases a systemic approach to refugee mental health by highlighting models practiced in Canadian and Kenyan contexts, developed and implemented by refugee-serving mental health agencies in both countries. By engaging in collaboration, dialogue, and interdisciplinary learning, we explore ways for service providers to work together to enhance refugee well-being and improve access to mental health services across nations and globally. We hope this presentation will contribute to shifting refugee mental health care from the periphery to the forefront of mental health practice.

Having a Purpose-Driven Career

DeAnna Harris McKoy, PhD

This workshop will incorporate current literature and personal examples to help participants (1) make conscious decisions about their careers (2) learn to be authentic leaders, and (3) learn work life balance. 

Goldilocks & The Three Epistemologies

Billie Forisha, PhD

John Souza, Jr. DMFT

Among cultural differences are those pertaining to what psychologist Eric Fromm (1956) identified as one of five universal human needs, i.e., the need for a "frame of reference," and what playwright Peter Shaffer (1973), perhaps more eloquently called, "a way of seeing in the dark," and what philosopher James Ferrier (1854) called an “epistemology,” that is, a meta-theory of how we arrive at what we believe to be “true,” that is, what we believe to be congruent with reality . This session will explore the challenges to reducing stress in familial and non-familial groups while maintaining constructive dialogue amidst such disparate epistemologies as: premoderism, modernism, and post-modernism. The strengths and weaknesses of each epistemology and its role in helping us actualize our potential for creativity and managing anxiety will also be addressed.

1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Exploring the Transferability of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) in Kenya: Insights from Kenyan Mental Health Professionals

Chichi Kosgey, MA

Ronald Asiimwe, PhD

Nicole Akinyi

Recent research indicates a rise in relationship challenges among couples in intimate relationships in Kenya; however, there is a notable shortage of professionals trained to address these issues. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is the most empirically supported intervention for treating couples in distress. Despite substantial evidence supporting EFT's efficacy and effectiveness across diverse cultural settings, research on its application within Kenya remains absent. The present study utilized a mixed methods approach to investigate the knowledge and perspectives of Kenyan mental health professionals regarding the EFT approach.

Healing through Cultural Humility before Cultural Competence: A Path to Authentic Connection

Dr. Jeannelle

This workshop explores the critical relationship between cultural humility and cultural competence, emphasizing the necessity of adopting humility as a foundational practice prior to striving for competence. Drawing on research and theoretical frameworks, this session examines how implicit racial bias impacts cultural interactions and highlights how cultural humility can mitigate such biases to promote healing and authentic connections. Participants will engage in reflective and experiential learning activities designed to foster an ongoing commitment to self-awareness and cultural engagement. 

The Impact of Toxic Shame on Sexual Dynamics Within Intimate Relationships Among Heterosexual Couples

Nyambura Rehema Gathumbi

Sexual intimacy is a fundamental aspect of romantic relationships, fostering connection, trust, and emotional well-being. However, when toxic shame is present, it can significantly impact sexual dynamics within intimate relationships, particularly among heterosexual couples. Toxic shame—deep-seated feelings of unworthiness, inadequacy, and self-loathing—often originates from early childhood experiences, cultural conditioning, or past relational trauma. Unlike healthy shame, which can serve as a moral compass, toxic shame lingers and disrupts one's ability to engage in vulnerability and emotional closeness.

In the context of intimate relationships, toxic shame can manifest in various ways, including sexual avoidance, performance anxiety, secrecy, or even hypersexuality as a coping mechanism. It can create barriers to open communication about desires, boundaries, and expectations, leading to emotional disconnection and dissatisfaction. Gender norms and societal expectations often exacerbate these challenges, influencing how men and women internalize shame differently and how it shapes their sexual identities and behaviors.

This presentation will explore the origins of toxic shame, its impact on sexual intimacy, and practical approaches for addressing and healing shame within relationships. By fostering self-awareness, open communication, and therapeutic interventions, couples can work towards a healthier and more fulfilling intimate connection.