Clinicians of all ethnicities are increasingly called upon to treat a diverse group of Latino clients and will need road maps to navigate these new territories. This program presents a practice and theory-based multidimensional framework (MECA) useful for assessment and treatment by taking into account the special characteristics of Latinos and the impact of migration on core family relationships, such as parent-child or couples. Every person is regarded as having a multifaceted identity or “ecological niche” (race, class, gender, religion) that can be understood from cultural and sociopolitical viewpoints involving migration narratives, ecological contexts, types of family organization, and family life cycle transitions.

As a result of globalization and family reunification obstacles, many new Latino immigrants are “transnationals” that live with two hearts: one here and one back home. These new scenarios call for the use of transnational therapies that utilize new technologies of communication in order to keep or repair crucial relational bonds. State-of-the-art practice ideas and techniques such as “rebalancing contracts” and “catching up life narratives” or “healing rituals” will be integrated with case vignettes. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the individual’s strengths and the risks involved in facing challenges of adaptation.

This web conference is intermediate instructional level and designed to help clinicians:

  1. Explain a framework for culturally attuned and socially responsible assessment and intervention with Latino individuals;
  2. Demonstrate hands-on strategies for working with family conflicts and relational injuries that result from migration and acculturation stresses;
  3. Utilize different types of technology in keeping or repairing family bonds and maintaining a shared family story despite separation;
  4. Apply self-reflection on the part of practitioners regarding the theoretical and practice biases they bring to the work with Latino individuals that result from their personal culture or professional training.

If you have any questions or concerns about this web conference or would like more information, please contact us here.

How the Web Conference Works

Attendees who register for this event will log in to the web conference center by using a computer and calling in to the teleconference line. Attendees will be able to ask live audio questions via phone and/or submit text chat questions via computer. Live streaming video and/or document sharing will also be available to participants. Alternatively, attendees may dial in to the teleconference line only, though attendees dialing in by phone only will be unable to ask questions.

Before the scheduled event, all registered attendees will be sent a reminder email with specific instructions on how to log in to the web conference center, as well as links to optional handout materials if applicable.

This event will include lecture and question-and-answer periods. A recording of the web conference will be available to members in GoodTherapy.org's Continuing Education Archives within two weeks. After the live event, a written transcript of the event will be available in the Member's Area. Members of GoodTherapy.org can receive continuing education credits for attending this event by logging in to the GoodTherapy.org Member's Area.

Continuing Education (CE) Information

Two CE credits will be provided by GoodTherapy.org for attending this web conference in its entirety.

GoodTherapy.org is also an Approved Education Provider by NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals (provider #135463). Of the eight counselor skill groups ascribed to by NAADAC, this course is classified within counseling services.

GoodTherapy.org is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements.

GoodTherapy.org, provider #1352, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. ASWB Approval Period: March 30, 2016 through March 30, 2019. Social workers should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval. Social workers participating in this course will receive two clinical continuing education clock hours.

GoodTherapy.org is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

GoodTherapy.org, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0395.

Registration Information

This web conference is available at no cost to GoodTherapy.org members.

Event Reviews from Members

"The MECA framework provides a very practical and workable tool for use not only by therapists, but also to help clients conceptualize and normalize their experience." - Wesley R. Goodenough, LCSW

"I received numerous reframes that will be very helpful in my formulation of therapy goals and insight into family dynamics. I especially appreciated the concept of bridging the two worlds for adolescents and parents and Reciprocal Biculturalism." - Terri Burns, LMFT

Meet the Presenter

Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD

Celia J. Falicov, PhD, is recognized internationally as a family therapy teacher, author, and clinician. She currently serves as Clinical Professor in the University of California's Department of Family and Preventative Medicine and Psychiatry in San Diego, and she is former president of the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA). As an author, Falicov was one of the first to write on topics such as migration, family transitions, and cultural perspectives in family therapy training and practice. She is the author of Family Transitions: Continuity and Change over the Life Cycle; Cultural Perspectives in Family Therapy; the pioneer volume Latino Families in Therapy; and the second edition of Latino Families in Therapy, which has just been released. She is also co-editor of Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision: A Competency-Based Approach, an APA book released in March 2014.

Dr. Falicov has created a number of culturally attuned interventions for immigrant families. Her Multisystemic Ecological Comparative Approach—MECA—integrates sociopolitical and cultural differences and similarities across many groups and is commonly used for research and training. In recent years, Dr. Falicov’s work in the community has centered on addressing the mental health care needs of underserved families, training medical students to recognize the ways migration can impact mental and physical health, and facilitating groups that empower Latino clients. Dr. Falicov was born and raised in Argentina, received a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University, and a PhD in Human Development from the University of Chicago. For more information on Dr. Falicov and her work, please visit www.celiafalicov.com.