Date: December 5, 2025
Times: 11:00 am-5:30pm Eastern (Find the time for your location)
Instructor: Celia J. Falicov, PhD
Location: Live on Zoom
Credits: 5 CEs
Rethinking Cultural Competence: A Framework for Culturally Attuned and Equitable Practice
Dr. Falicov will focus on centering the voice of culturally and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in clinical practice. Her teaching will include addressing concerns of intermarried couples and to first- and second-generation transnational families. Her thinking about the topic questions well-known concepts and practices of reducing cultural competence about various sociocultural groups to a set of fixed dimensions that do not cover the enormous variability of most groups. Instead, she presents the concepts of ecological niche and intersectionality to socially locate clients and therapists. She focuses on a different approach to cultural and social differences dubbed MECA, a Multidimensional, Ecological, Comparative Approach that examines individual and families through the lens of Migration/Acculturation; Ecological Context; Family Life Cycle and Family Organization. This approach introduces the need and posits practice cultural humility on the part of therapists. The MECA model guides therapist in engaging in collaborative practices of “learning with” clients rather than “learning about” clients as “other”. The teaching methods include lecture, interactive breakout rooms with clinical interactions, and video clips.
Statement of need: Mental health professionals have been encouraged to become culturally competent about the populations they work with. Cultural competence has generally been defined as learning about the cultural values, beliefs and customs of various ethnic groups. However, cultural competence presents a stereotypical view that does not account for cultural diversity within each group, does not address structural inequality and continues to see cultural groups as “other” with whiteness and structural stability as the norm. Thus, cultural competence could unwittingly engage in hierarchical discriminatory or racist practices. This workshop rethinks cultural competence by presenting the latest developments of MECA, a Multidimensional, Ecological, Comparative Approach that offers a systematic non-stereotyped, non-discriminatory and antiracist framework for exploring cultural diversity and power inequality in the practice encounter.
The entirety of this workshop will be dedicated to using MECA to learn help clinicians adopt or enhance anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practices.
Celia J. Falcov, PhD
Celia J. Falicov, Ph.D, is an internationally known family therapy author, teacher and clinician. She is Clinical Professor Family Medicine, Founding Director of Mental Health Services at the Student Run Free Clinics University of California San Diego. Past President of the American Family Therapy Academy. She has pioneered writings on cultural and sociopolitical perspectives in systems theory, practice and training and has received many awards for this widely praised work. Her approach to cultural and contextual diversity, MECA, Multidimensional, Ecological Comparative Approach is widely used in teaching settings. Her books are Latino Families in Therapy, 2nd edition (2014) and the co-authored Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision: A Competency Based Approach (2014). Her most recent journal articles focus on centering the voice of culturally and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in clinical practice and applications of MECA to intermarried couples therapy and to first- and second-generation transnational families.
Schedule:
Learning: 11:00 am-1:00 pm-2 hours
Break 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm
Learning: 2:00 pm-3:30 pm-1.5 hours
Break: 3:30 pm- 3:45 pm
Learning: 3:45 pm-5:15 pm-1.5 hours
Learning Objectives
- Describe the non-stereotyped concepts and tools of a Multidimensional Ecological Comparative Approach (MECA) for assessment and treatment practices that are culturally responsive and socially just.
- Utilize MECA to facilitate self-reflection and “cultural humility” on the part of the provider about personal and professional stereotyped or prejudicial biases that may affect one’s work with mainstream and minoritized clients.
- Construct MECA maps and Templates that reveal areas of stress, risks and strengths relevant to the presenting problem.
- Analyze specific issues and clinical practices for working with world views and value preferences, contextual stressors, family fragmentations, gender and generational conflicts in various sociocultural groups.
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 CEUs may check their local Board of License Registration to see if these CEs will apply.
Cost
- Individual Registration: Regular Rate—$145; Early Bird Rate: $125
- Early Registration Deadline: October 31, 2025
- NEAFAST Member Rate: $110
- Our EQUITY rate for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ clinicians is $100. Use the “promo” code EQUITY in the online registration form to access this discount.
- 5 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.
Location
Live on Zoom (synchronous)
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 in all states. 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 has been certified by NEAFAST on behalf of the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health & Human Services Professions for LMFT Professional Continuing Education. Certification #212779353-D. NBCC credentialing approves CEUs for LMFTs in the following states: HI, MD, MO, MT, NH, NJ, NM, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, VA, WA, WI. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CEs FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS
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This program has been approved for 6 Social Work Continuing Education hours for relicensure, in accordance with 258 CMR, NASW-MA Chapter CE Approval Program Authorization Number D 10211-2. NASW-MA approved CEs are accepted by the following states for social work licenses: AL, AK, AR, CA, FL, GA, HI, IL, IA, KY, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NM, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, VA, WA, WV, WI. The following states accept our NBCC approval for social work CEs: IO, ID, KY, MO, MT, NV, NH, OH, RI, SC, SD, VA, WA, WI. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CEUs FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
- It is your responsibility to check with your state board to determine whether our approved CEs meet the criteria for your license. This information was obtained in Spring of 2025
Read detailed information about all CEs here.