Continuing education
Pinkus-Schwartz Symposium
Therapy with Oppressed Families: A Multicultural Perspective
A continuing education activity presented by the VCU School of Social Work in collaboration with the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Work. This program is designed for social workers and their community partners.
- Course description and objectives
- Agenda
- Program session
- About the facilitator
- Cost and registration
Course description and objectives
Families whose lives are trapped along the margins of society often present major challenges for those serving them. Whether a consequence of class, race or ethnicity the everyday circumstances of these families are often compounded by the dynamics of oppression. Whether a function of limited resources or prejudice and devaluation by society, oppressed families often find themselves confronted with the normal struggles of everyday life as well as having to find ways to contend with and overcome the hidden wounds of oppression. Since most treatment approaches have not been designed with the poor, disenfranchised, and/or racially oppressed in mind, our blind spots as helpers and healers, often impede our ability to effectively engage and treat oppressed families and their children.
This workshop will provide a fresh and critical examination of the anatomy of oppression and its effects on the lives of children and families, and the process of treatment. A conceptual framework for understanding and working with families who are typically considered “resistant and hard-to-engage” will be provided. Specific strategies for identifying and treating the hidden wounds of oppression will be provided. Relevant self of the therapist issues will also be addressed.
Objectives
- To provide a framework for developing a complex understanding of the dynamics of oppression and its impact on the lives of children and families who are affected.
- To identify common undetected or difficult to detect hidden wounds of oppression that often sabotage the process of treatment.
- To identify clinical strategies and techniques that will enhance the effective engagement and treatment of oppressed families.
- To identify relevant self-of-the-therapist, i.e., clinician-generated biases and microaggressions that hamper effective treatment.
Category I contact hours: 6
Continuing education units: 0.6
Agenda
9-10:30 a.m.
Segment one
- Towards the Development of a Conceptual Framework for Working with Oppressed Families
- The Anatomy of Oppression and its Impact on Children and Families
- The Invisible Wounds of Oppression: Assessment and Treatment
- Videotape
10:30-10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 a.m.-noon
Segment two
- Strategies and Techniques for Effectively Engaging with Oppressed Families
- Strategies for Conducting Difficult Dialogues Regarding Race, Class, Gender and Other Dynamics of Oppression
Noon-1 p.m.
Lunch
1-2:30 p.m.
Segment three
- Principles and Techniques of Working with Oppressed Families: Dynamics of a Multicultural Perspective
- Strategies For Overcoming and Bypassing Common Pitfalls and Resistances Associated with Working with Oppressed Families
2:30-2:45 p.m.
Break
2:45-4 p.m.
Segment four
- Exploration of Self of the Worker/Therapist Issues That Potentially Facilitate and/or Impede Working Effectively with Oppressed Families
- Summary and Closure
Program session
April 24, 2009
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
VCU University Student Commons – Richmond Salons I -II
907 Floyd Avenue
Richmond, Virginia 23284
Phone: (804) 828-1981
About the facilitator
Kenneth V. Hardy, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized clinician, author, educator and consultant. He a professor of family therapy at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa. and director of the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in New York City. An engaging workshop leader, Hardy presents workshops nationally and internationally on family therapy with oppressed populations.
He has provided training and consultation to an extensive list of human services agencies devoted to providing sensitive, culturally competent care to children, couples and families. Some of his former clients include the Children’s Defense Fund, the Menninger Clinic, the New York State Office of Mental Health, Harlem Hospital, the Washington D.C. Superior Court, Four-Winds Psychiatric Hospital, Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center, Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, and Family and Children’s Services of Washington D.C., Nashville, Louisville and Minneapolis.
Hardy has won great acclaim for the contributions that his numerous publications and videotapes have made toward challenging the field to think critically about issues of diversity and oppression. He has published prolifically and is the co-author of a new book, “Re-visioning Family Therapy: Race, Class, and Gender in Clinical Practice.” He is also co-author of “Teens Who Hurt: Clinical Interventions to Break the Cycle of Adolescent Violence”and “Minorities and Family Therapy.” His videotape, The Psychological Residuals of Slavery, has been well received by both the professional and lay communities for serving as a catalyst to promote conversations about race relationships.
In addition to his own writing, Hardy serves on the editorial boards of several publications including the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, the Journal of Divorce, the Journal of Couples Therapy, the Psychotherapy Networker, the Journal of Family Counseling, and the International Journal of Community Works. He is a frequent contributor to the popular print and electronic media and has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dateline NBC, 20/20, PBS, and the Discovery Health Channel.
Hardy maintains a private practice in family therapy specializing in working with oppressed families.
Cost and registration*
- Regular: $125
- VSCSW member: $90
- Student: $45
- Senior: $85
- VCU faculty and field instructor: $85
- Agency group of three or more: $85 each
- Agency group of 10 or more: Contact Linda Gupta at (804) 828-3405.
* Includes lunch.
Registration opens March 17, 2009.
Please register online at www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/conf/socialwork/register.asp.
Registration closes on April 20, 2009 at 5 p.m.
Participants may register for CEUs by completing a CEU registration form and making a check payable to the VCU School of Social Work in the amount of $15 on the day of the event. No cash or credit cards will be accepted for this purpose.
Questions?
Contact Angela Basmajian at (804) 828-0403 or sswce@vcu.edu.