Presented by Jerrold Lee Shapiro, PhD
Includes 3 CE credits for LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs and LCSWs. There will be a break for the luncheon buffet from 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM. This event will be in person and live online. A recording will be made available to all registrants for 3 months. For those who can't attend live, CE credit is available by watching the recording and passing a test.
Please join us in-person at beautiful Michael's at Shoreline for a delicious luncheon buffet, community, and professional networking!
Since its origins, the field of psychotherapy has been primarily focused on theories and practice that grew from Western European and American individualistic philosophies, religions and values. In the 1970s and continuing today there has been an increased focus on couple therapy and a dramatic increase in clients who have ancestry and traditions in collectivistic cultures.
In 2025, five of us at Santa Clara University engaged in a study of couple therapy with clients who come from traditional Asian cultures. We wanted to explore how our very useful Western therapeutic tools may fail to connect with Asian clients? How might we be effective therapists with clients for whom individualistic values of self-actualization and direct boundary-setting often clash with the collectivist priorities of harmony, family duty, and "saving face."
The result is this workshop and a 2026 book, Couple Therapy through the Lens of Four Asian Cultures (Cognella, 2025) offering a vital roadmap for therapeutically bridging a cultural divide. Drawing extensively on the expertise of clinicians and clients with deep ancestral ties to the Philippines, China, India, and Israel, our book challenges the "one-size-fits-all" approach to healing.
In this workshop, we offer case examples and a guide for greater cultural-oriented competence. Included are a navigation of collectivist dynamics (e.g., "setting boundaries" may have to involve co-created harmonious solutions involving the extended family). We describe and demonstrate how indirect interventions such as metaphors, stories and somatic practices will limit experiences of shame and
direct confrontation. We also address significant and often hidden acculturation stress and how often therapists may have to introduce it.
Finally, we show how effective therapy is more about "being with" than "doing to." By embracing cultural humility and honoring indigenous wisdom, clinicians can transform relational distress into opportunities for deep, culturally resonant healing.
Program Goal
Bridge the gap between western individualistically-oriented couple therapy theory and practice and clients from Asian collectivistic cultures. Offer unique ways to work with these couples therapeutically.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
- Identify differences between individualistic and collectivistic approaches to couple therapy
- Specify client and therapist barriers that impede work with Asian couples.
- Recognize cross-cultural differences from four perspectives
-
Incorporate and honor clients' non-Western belief systems, such as indigenous healing practices, astrology, and spirituality, into the co-created therapeutic process.
-
Identify personal and professional biases regarding traditional gender roles and arranged marriages to ensure these judgments do not interfere with cultural sensitivity and the therapeutic alliance.
About the Presenter
Jerrold Lee Shapiro, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor in Santa Clara University’s Counseling Psychology graduate program. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Assn. Having taught and done couple therapy since the late 1960s, he has authored 20 books and over 200 journal articles and professional presentations. He has won awards for teaching, research, and writing and has appeared in public media numerous times. He has taught couple therapy in graduate programs and was in private practice working with couples from these populations for over 50 years. In addition to professional publications, his work has appeared in major news outlets including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Boston Globe and 170 other news outlets nationally and internationally. Dr. Shapiro has also appeared on traditional media outlets including the CBS Morning Show, CNN, NBC and Oprah.
Presentation Outline
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM - Assessment of participant needs, hidden agenda. Basic
descriptions of differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures in therapy. Implications of guilt and shame in couple therapy. Focus on harmony vs self-actualization
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM - 45-minute lunch break
12:45 PM - 2:15 PM – Focus on therapeutic approaches. Special consideration of non-linear forms of couple therapy. Introduction and honoring of indigenous and cultural practices. The essence of being present with clients vs doing something to them. A novel approach to culturally-based resistance.
This is an intermediate level course.
TARGET AUDIENCE: LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, LEPs
If you miss any of the presentation, you will not be eligible for the CE credits. This course meets the qualifications for 3 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. SCV-CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs (CEPA 052466). SCV-CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker and not, necessarily, of SCV-CAMFT. SCV-CAMFT can not be held liable for any damages arising from recommendations or advice given by our speakers or any actions or decisions arising out of the content of this presentation. Presentations at SCV-CAMFT events do not constitute an endorsement of the vendor or speaker's views, products or services.
Event Policies and Agreements
