Special Session summaries
(check this page often; session information is still coming in)

Special Sessions
Special sessions are now set and promise to be as stimulating as our plenary sessions. You will discover insights into several multicultural perspectives in research, policy, and practice, as well as a special concentration on emotionally-focused family therapy that includes a post-conference workshop on Saturday

Sexuality Issues
Dr. Marysol Ascencio presents Mapping Latina/o Sexualities Research in the United States, addressing the complexities of current research and the challenges and gaps in research and scholarship. The Latina/o population is the largest minority group in the United States, but research and understanding about their sexuality are limited and often colored by simplistic or stereotypical images. Dr. Asencio is an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut-Storrs with a joint appointment in Human Development and Family Studies and Puerto Rican and Latino Studies

The Impact of Family Acceptance and Rejection on Risk and Well-Being for LGBT Youth, Caitlin Ryan, Ph.D., ASCW.  Little has been known about the role of families and caregivers in contributing to risk or well-being for LGBT adolescents and adults. Dr. Ryan will review new research from the Family Assistance Project on acceptance and rejection and a resulting family-related model of prevention and care. Dr. Ryan is the Director of Adolescent Health Initiatives at the Cesar E. Chavez Institute at the San Francisco State University.
 
Aging and Kinship
This special session  is developed by Dr. Tammi Henderson, Oklahoma State University; Dr. Eboni Baugh, University of Florida; and Dr. Bernard Nauck, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany.  Dr. Henderson and Dr. Baugh will present details of their study Overall Wellbeing of Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren in Southwest Virginia, with attention given to factors such as personal health, diet, and health care and related public policy issues.  Dr. Nauck will speak on Kinship Relations in Cross-Cultural Comparison and how the institutional structure of family and kinship systems have a stronger effect on kinship relationships than socio-structural factors or individual family-related attitudes.

Whatnau and Family in Aotearoa New Zealand: Bicultural Approaches to Family Research, Policy, and Practice
Like many indigenous peoples, the Maori of New Zealand are a tribal people, and at the heart of tribal life is the whanau, the extended family. Dr. Jan Pryor, Chief Families Commissioner of the New Zealand Families Commission, and Kim Workman (Ngati Kahungunu), a member of the commission and retired government official, will discuss specific areas of policy and research and illustrate how cultural worldview determines the way in which research or policy development is undertaken and the cultural values that influence responses.

Military Families: Defining, Assessing, and Building Resilience
This session is designed to increase understanding of factors that contribute to resilience in military families, how that can inform intervention/prevention strategies, and the effectiveness of the Essential Life Skills for Military Families program.  Presenters are Dr. Shelly MacDermid, Purdue University, and Dr. Dennis Orthner and Dr. Gary Bowen, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Religion and Family Life
Presented from both a research and a pedagogical focus.  Dr. David Dollahite, Brigham Young University, will report on research related to How Faith Works and Why Religion Matters to Diverse Religious Couples. Dr. Mary Ann Hollinger, Messiah College, will integrate a beautiful slide show as she addresses Diversity, Religion and Pedagogy, showing how families of many different faiths meaningfully integrate religious practice and tradition into their daily lives.

The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Families in the U.S. and Abroad
Dr. Cynthia Gomez, Professor and Director of Health Equity Initiatives at San Francisco State University

Same Sex Marriage
A review of same sex marriage policy, this special session will feature Dr. Gary Gates, University of California—Los Angeles. His focus will be on California and U.S. Policy. Dr. Hilary Rose, Concordia University, Quebec, will present Same Sex Marriage: The Canadian Experience.

Family Therapy
Saturday Special Session/Workshop (single-day registration option available)
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is a model of intervention that helps build strong and cohesive families from the inside out, according to presenter Gail Palmer, MSW, RMFT. The EFFT approach uses new insights from attachment theory to understand distressed and satisfying relationships within a family. Palmer has worked closely with EFFT co-creator Sue Johnson and has trained therapists across Canada and the United States. She is a founding member of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute and a family therapy professor in the School of Social Work at Carleton University, Ottawa.

In this Saturday special session, Palmer will review relevant research, discuss family distress from an attachment perspective, and identify EFFT stages including key change events and clinical interventions.  The post-conference workshop following will focus more closely on the core skills and tasks in therapeutic practice, corresponding interventions, change events that foster a secure bond between family members, and interventions to help families re-process negative affect and restructure negative interactions.

Additional sessions in development
Grounded Theory
International Programs in Family Life Education