Central Coast–CAMFT
Presents:
Culturally-Affirming Boundary Setting: Clinical Guidance on Working with First and Second Gen Clients of Color
Presented By: Pauline Yeghnazar Peck, MA, MMFT, PhD - Licensed Psychologist
Friday, March 13, 2026, 9:30 am-11:30 am
Platform: Zoom-- this event will be live over zoom
and recorded (recording available for 30 days).
Number of CEs: 2
Presentation Overview:
Culturally Affirming Boundary Setting with First- and Second-Generation Clients is a continuing education workshop that challenges the dominant, white, Western, and individualistic frameworks through which boundary setting is typically taught in clinical training and practiced in clinical settings. While traditional models often prioritize autonomy, separation, and individuation, these approaches can be misaligned - or even harmful - when applied uncritically to clients from immigrant families, where relational identity, interdependence, hierarchy, high-context communication, and real material and caregiving needs shape family dynamics. This workshop invites clinicians to move beyond a one-size-fits-all model of “healthy boundaries” and instead examine how boundaries function differently within collectivist, intergenerational, and migration-shaped systems.
Through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens, participants will learn how to support clients in discerning what boundaries are right for them, not in opposition to their culture, but in relationship with it. The training will explore the different cultural conceptualization of I and We, family roles and hierarchies, systemic pressures, and survival-based expectations that influence boundary decisions for first- and second-generation clients. Clinicians will be introduced to practical strategies and language that help clients set boundaries that preserve dignity, connection, and cultural integrity. Emphasis will be placed on flexibility, values-alignment, and relational attunement, equipping clinicians to facilitate boundary work that honors both individual well-being and collective belonging as determined by their clients.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the session:
a. Participants will be able to identify four key principles of culturally affirming boundary setting with first- and second-generation clients.
b. Participants will be able to name four culturally congruent ways boundaries can be set within collectivistic and immigrant family systems.
c. Participants will be able to state three reasons why traditional Western models of boundary setting may be misapplied or harmful when working with clients from immigrant families.
d. Participants will be able to identify four ways clinicians’ own cultural conditioning, training, countertransference, and value systems may become activated during boundary-setting work.
Presentation by:
Pauline Yeghnazar Peck, MA, LMFT, PhD - Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Pauline Yeghnazar Peck is a first generation Iranian-Armenian trauma-informed psychologist who specializes in working with the children of immigrants and intercultural couples. She focuses on the ways that culture impacts mental health, supporting clients in actively engaging with the goodness available in their culture while also doing the work of breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma. She operates a group practice in California called Noor Therapy and Wellness specializing in providing culturally-informed, trauma-informed care for children of immigrants/BIPOC folks, as well as provides coaching, speaking, consulting, and community education through her company Bridging Gaps, Breaking Cycles.
Grievances
While the Central Coast Chapter of CAMFT makes every effort to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there may be occasional issues with regard to presentations/workshops which will require intervention and/or action on the part of the board. This procedural description serves as a guideline for handling such grievances.
When a participant files a grievance and expects action on the complaint, the following actions will be taken:
- The participant(s) will be asked to put concerns in writing (this can be in electronic form, such as an email).
- If the grievance concerns a presenter, the content presented by the speaker, or the style of presentation, the individual filing the grievance will be asked to put their comments in written format. The Board will then pass on the comments to the speaker, assuring the confidentiality of the grieved individual.
- If the grievance concerns a presentation/workshop offering, its content, level of presentation, or the facilities in which the workshop was offered, the Board will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the Board will:
- provide a credit for a subsequent presentation/workshop or
- provide a partial or full refund of the presentation/workshop fee
Refund policy:
Registrants must cancel their registration within 10 days of the event to receive a refund minus a $5 administrative fee. Exceptions can be made for 48-hour notices in case of an emergency. If you need to cancel, please contact Event Chair, Kim Richards: richardskimlmft@gmail.com.
Special Accommodations
If you require a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in any of our events, please contact Event Chair Kim Richards within 10 days of the upcoming event at 805.458.8063 or email Kim Richards at richardskimlmft@gmail.com.
