Unmasking Culture in Family Therapy - 2024 Conference

Session Description

Therapists are trained to be cautious about self-disclosure in general, but particularly as it relates to culture, due to ethical concerns. Potential harm, though inadvertent, can arise through microaggressions, misunderstanding about clients’ backgrounds, and over-disclosure that does not add to therapeutic benefit. However, many black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) therapists who center culture in their practice and do self-disclose about their background, report finding such practices to be therapeutically useful. This can create a bind for many BIPOC therapists. On one hand, they have been trained to consider self-disclosure as ethically murky and ill-advised. On the other hand, they have experienced that using disclosure and centering culture in their practice is beneficial.

This training will help therapists (BIPOC and non-BIPOC) identify ways in which their culture impacts the work they do with clients. Using models such as MECA and ADDRESSING, therapists can better understand their…