Cross-Cultural Trauma-Informed Counseling With Foster Care Youth And Their Families

Judith Castro

Speaker: Judith Castro

Judith comes with 25 years of expertise in areas of dynamic public involvement, education, facilitation, and mentorship, as well as 9 years of counseling.  She has worked with non-profit organizations in the areas of family therapy, trauma healing for families, and female survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence, education, housing, conflict resolution, immigrant rights, and environmental issues.  Judith has also worked extensively with cities, Lane County, and state projects in transportation, community empowerment, and development.  Judith is also a highly recommended teacher in the areas of counselor training, race, class, and gender issues.  She has taught in higher education for Lane Community College seven years and at the University of Oregon. She has been a parent educator for Centro Latino and Birth to Three, a Childcare provider trainer in abuse prevention and reporting, and an advocate trainer for multiple organizations.

Her experiences include training, outreach, education, resource development, group development, organizational development, public involvement, diversity capacity building, and leadership development.  Judith is passionate about reaching people to improve their lives and to help build happier communities.  She holds a bachelors in Anthropology and Political Science; a Master’s in Women’s Studies with a focus on Race, Class, Gender and economics and a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy; and a Massage Therapy degree all which inform her work on social, individual, and family wellness.

Children in foster care have experienced trauma in their family of origin and as a result of displacement.  While some states make an effort to match foster care children with foster care parents of the same race, it is not guaranteed.  Cross-cultural dynamics and racism can lead to strained relationships and additional attachment injuries for the child of color.  White parents make up 63% of foster care parents and 71% of adoptive parents in the United States.  Therapists can be a cultural bridge to help white foster parents/relatives understand and act in healing ways towards children of color.  Therapists can also be a cultural support for foster care children of color.  This requires an understanding of ethnic dynamics, racism, and specific family therapy tools to enhance attachment, compassion, and to increase the white foster parents’/relatives motivation to learn about ethnicity and racism.

Learning Objectives:

1. A brief history of the child welfare system and current changes
2. Understanding the differences between ethnic struggles and racism
3. Using Family Systems Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Emotionally Focused Therapy to build bridges
4. Teaching culture, race, and ethnicity strategies in the counseling room with white foster care parents/relatives that reduce shame triggers and how to work with shame.
5. Working with foster care parents who are relatives of the child of color when the relative is white.  Having a further understanding bicultural/biracial dynamics in families.
6. Helping white foster care parents/relatives develop motivation and an ability to provide parenting that creates resiliency in children of color.
7. Tools/activities to help foster care children of color heal from displacement and feel culturally and racially validated.