Interracial/Intercultural/Interfaith Relationship Structures Across the Life Cycle

 Earn 1.5 CE Contact Hours

This workshop introduces clinicians to an intersectional, relational, and developmentally informed framework for working with interracial, intercultural, and interfaith couples and families across the lifespan (Sheshadri & Gutierrez, 2024). Grounded in intersectionality, social constructionism, and ecological systems theory, the presentation explores how partners co-create meaning around identity, culture, race, religion, and difference while navigating relational milestones such as dating, cohabitation, marriage, non-monogamy/polyamory, parenting, and retirement. Particular attention is given to the therapist’s use of self, including multicultural self-of-the-therapist awareness, implicit bias, and intentional reflexivity as central mechanisms of change.

Participants will be introduced to a four relationship structures (Integrated, Singularly Assimilated, Co-existing, Unresolved) that describes how couples organize cultural differences within their relationships (Sheshadri & Knudson-Martin, 2013). Through case examples, applied reflection, and clinical strategies, attendees will learn how sociopolitical context, family-of-origin narratives, migration histories, and systemic oppression shape attraction, conflict, intimacy, and meaning-making. The workshop emphasizes culturally responsive assessment, relational formulation, and intervention strategies that support couples in navigating hot-button topics such as sex, politics, religion, and parenting, while strengthening connection, differentiation, and mutual understanding.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Apply social constructionist and ecological systems perspectives to assess how intersectional identities shape relational dynamics in interracial, intercultural, and interfaith couples.
• Identify and utilize the Integrated, Singularly Assimilated, Co-existing, and Unresolved relationship structures to conceptualize couples’ negotiation of cultural differences across developmental stages.
• Demonstrate increased multicultural self-of-the-therapist awareness, including identification of personal biases and social location, and integrate this awareness into clinical decision-making.
• Implement relational and culturally responsive interventions to address conflict related to family-of-origin expectations, religion, politics, parenting, and intimacy.
• Formulate treatment goals that attend simultaneously to individual, relational, and systemic influences on couple and family functioning.

Who Should Attend:

Mental health professionals, therapists, counselors, and social workers who work with couples and families and want an intersectional, culturally responsive framework for understanding and supporting interracial, intercultural, and interfaith relationships across the life cycle.

Meet Our Presenters:

Gita Seshadri is an Associate Professor in the Couple and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University in Sacramento and Online campuses. She has a passion for working with multiple diverse communities. She has published and presented nationally and internationally on interracial and intercultural couples and families, on various topics of diversity (South Asian topics/Women of Color), intersectionality, process-based qualitative research, mentoring, and emotion management. Much of her clinical work and experience encompasses intercultural, interracial, partners and families, parent-child relationships, couples, and sexually diverse populations.

Dumayi Gutierrez is an Assistant Professor in the Couple and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University in San Diego and Online campuses. She has a passion for working with multiple diverse communities. She has published and presented nationally on minority stress, intersectionality of self and family systems, couple support systems, resiliencies of sexually diverse and gender expansive Latine/x populations, intersectional and cultural humble care, and Women of Color in higher education. She uses a narrative, experiential, and feminist approach, utilizing techniques of advocacy and empowerment. Much of her clinical work and experience encompasses intercultural, interracial, sexually, and gender diverse partners and families.

Dr. Gutierrez is an award-winning scholar devoted to working with BIPOC sexually and gender expansive communities and Women of Color in academia, with a dedicated focus on Latinx/e populations. She has published and presented nationally on minority stress, intersectionality constructs of self and family systems, intercultural and interracial couple dynamics, cultural resiliencies, and multicultural humble care through an innovative intersectional ecological systems framework.

Clinically, she uses a narrative, experiential, and feminist approach, incorporating techniques of advocacy and empowerment. Dr Gutierrez has served as clinical coordinator and family therapist for the LGBTQ Counseling Clinic in Iowa, and The Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York City. These experiences and belonging to the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community, have laid the foundation for her interdisciplinary clinical work nationwide.

Dr. Gutierrez is devoted to working with BIPOC sexually and gender expansive communities and Women of Color in academia, with a dedicated focus on Latinx/e populations. She has published and presented nationally on minority stress, intersectionality constructs of self and family systems, intercultural and interracial couple dynamics, cultural resiliencies, and multicultural humble care through an innovative intersectional ecological systems framework.