Brought to you by the Virginia Mental Health Counselors Association
About the Event
Building on last year’s highly attended talk, this new and expanded training takes multicultural counseling a step further — from intuitive awareness to intentional, skill-based practice.
In today’s increasingly diverse clinical landscape, cultural competence requires more than empathy; it calls for structured assessment, reflection, and integration.
This presentation will explore the complex intersections of cultural identity, acculturation stress, and intergenerational conflict — while introducing new frameworks and updated tools to guide your clinical work. Participants will gain practical strategies for navigating cultural dissonance, family expectations, and identity conflicts, with an added focus on how subtle family value systems can shape clients’ experiences of belonging and adaptation.
Through guided reflection, case examples, and research-informed models, you’ll deepen your ability to integrate multicultural intentionality into every phase of therapy — from assessment to intervention.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
Learning Objectives
Differentiate between cultural awareness, humility, and intentional multicultural practice.
Identify key frameworks for understanding multicultural and bicultural identity development.
Recognize how intergenerational and cultural conflicts manifest in clinical presentations.
Apply culturally responsive tools and assessments.
Integrate EMDR, IFS, and CBT techniques in ways that honor clients’ cultural narratives and family value systems.
Who Should Attend
Therapists, supervisors, and graduate students who attended last year’s presentation or who wish to strengthen their multicultural counseling skills through new assessment-based and reflective practices.
About the Presenter
Farah Alnajar, LPC, CCTP, is a licensed therapist and clinical supervisor specializing in multicultural counseling and trauma-informed care. As an immigrant herself, Farah brings a nuanced understanding of cultural identity, acculturation, and intergenerational dynamics. She integrates EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS) in her work with clients navigating cultural identity and relational trauma.
In addition to her private practice in Fairfax, VA, she serves as an international trauma consultant for nonprofits supporting global communities recovering from collective trauma.
Farah is passionate about helping therapists move from cultural intuition to intentionality — developing the depth and confidence to offer care that is culturally grounded and clinically effective.