Date: December 4, 2026
Times: 10:00 am-5:30 pm Eastern (Find the time for your location)
Instructor: Akilah Riley-Richardson, MSW, CCTP
Location: Live on Zoom
Credits: 6 CEs
The Bruises We Don’t See: Working With the Impact of Systemic Trauma on BIPOC and LGBTQI Relationships
Working with the impact of systemic trauma on BIPOC and LGBTQI couples and relationships is critically important and nuanced work. Couples from marginalized BIPOC and LGBTQI communities often enter therapy while navigating not only interpersonal challenges but also the ongoing impacts of systemic trauma, discrimination, and social inequities. These forces shape emotional safety, conflict, connection, and the ability to be fully seen within relationships. Traditional couple therapy approaches may not fully account for these broader sociocultural dynamics, leaving clinicians without a clear framework for addressing them in practice. This 6-hour training introduces clinicians to a trauma-informed and liberatory approach to working with the impacts of systemic trauma on marginalized BIPOC and LGBTQI couples. Drawing on the BIOME therapeutic stance and the PRIDE process, participants will explore how systemic stressors on BIPOC and LGBTQI couples influence relational dynamics and how therapists can create environments that support safety, resilience, and connection. Attendees will learn to assess relational privilege, recognize adaptive survival strategies, and apply practical, culturally responsive interventions in their work with the impacts of systemic trauma on couples. Designed for therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals, this training offers both a conceptual foundation and actionable tools to support BIPOC and LGBTQI couples impacted by systemic trauma to build relationships in the context of ongoing stress. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to integrate awareness of systemic trauma into couple therapy and greater confidence in facilitating meaningful, responsive, and liberatory clinical work.
Statement of Need for this Training:
This training intentionally centers neglected, marginalized voices, recognizing lived experience as a vital source of knowledge in the therapeutic process. Participants will be invited to critically reflect on dominant clinical frameworks, engage with the epistemologies of marginalized communities, and consider how therapy can move beyond neutrality toward practices that are more equitable, responsive, and liberatory for BIPOC and LGBTQI couples impacted by systemic trauma.
Akilah Riley-Richardson, MSW, CCTP
Akilah Riley-Richardson, MSW, CCTP is a dedicated couples therapist, educator, and researcher with over eighteen years of experience in the helping profession. As a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and STAIR Method Certified clinician, Akilah specializes in relational healing, focusing on the needs of couples and individuals, both in the Caribbean and internationally. Her expertise extends to supporting sexual and racial minorities, ensuring that her practice is inclusive and culturally sensitive. Akilah’s commitment to education and advocacy has led her to consult for esteemed organizations, including NASTAD, I-TECH, CARPHA, and CVC, where she has made significant contributions to healthcare training and community support. She has presented her work at various prestigious forums, such as the Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Academy of Therapy Wisdom, Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance Treating Couples Conference, Chicago School of Psychology and the Black Mental Health Symposium. From 2012 to 2025, she served as a Social Work Educator at the University of the Southern Caribbean, mentoring future leaders in the field. As the founder of the Relational Healing Institute and the creator of the P.R.I.D.E. model, Akilah is passionate about advancing relational therapies. Her book, “Marginalized Couples in Therapy, reflects this passion
Schedule:
Learning: 10:00 am-12:00 pm
Break 12:00 pm- 12:15 pm
Learning: 12:15 pm-1:15 pm
Lunch: 1:15 pm- 2:15 pm
Learning: 2:15 pm-4:15 pm
Break: 4:15 pm- 4:30 pm
Learning: 4:30 pm- 5:30 pm
Learning Objectives, Participants will:
- Describe how systemic trauma and social marginalization impact couple relationships, including effects on emotional safety, intimacy, and conflict.
- Identify key domains of relational privilege and utilize assessment tools to evaluate how inequitable access to safety, belonging, and visibility shapes couple dynamics.
- Differentiate between maladaptive relational patterns and adaptive survival strategies developed in response to systemic harm.
- Apply the BIOME framework to cultivate a therapeutic stance that supports safety, dignity, and engagement with marginalized couples.
- Demonstrate the use of the PRIDE process and related clinical interventions and strategies to support couples navigating ongoing systemic stress.
- Integrate practical, culturally responsive tools and skills that center marginalized voices and lived experience into clinical decision-making and therapeutic practice.
Target Audience
This learning event is designed for helping professionals including, but not limited to, social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage & family therapists. People who attend from professions other than those for whom we are approved for CEs may check their local Board of License Registration to see if these CEs will apply. Details about our CE approvals are listed here
- Individual Registration: Early Bird Rate: $145; Regular Rate: $165; Late Registration: $185
- Early Registration Deadline: October 9, 2026. Late Registration begins November 20, 2026
- Black Therapists Rock and all BIPOC clinicians are eligible for an equity discount of 25% by using the code EQUITY in the online registration form. NEAFAST Members are eligible for a 15% discount using the code NEAFAST.
- 6 CEs will be available at an additional cost of $25 paid upon registration for social workers, mental health counselors, marriage & family therapists and anyone else who determines their board will accept our CEs.
Additional Information
Participants MUST attend 100% of the program to earn the 6 CEs approved for eligible professions.
CE certificates will be downloadable within three days of each event after participants complete the workshop or course and fill out the online evaluation.
- Therapy Training Boston is approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6707 for Mental Health Counselors. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Therapy Training Boston is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CEs FOR MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS - This activity application has been submitted to NEAFAST on behalf of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health & Human Services Professions for LMFT Professional Continuing Education. The States of CT and RI accept NBCC and NASW approval for marriage and family therapy. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CEs FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS
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This program application has been submitted for 6 Social Work Continuing Education hours for relicensure, in accordance with 258 CMR. NASW-MA Chapter CE Approving Program,
- Check with your state board to determine whether our approved CEs meet the criteria for your license
Read detailed information about CEs here.
No refunds are available for late cancellations. If participants cancel 30 days or more prior to the start of the event, they may apply the fee to a future program. Workshops may be cancelled by Therapy Training Boston if minimum enrollment requirements are not met or in the case of other unexpected circumstances. If this occurs, a full refund will be provided.