Understanding and Working With People From Arab and Middle Eastern Backgrounds: WS407

The general migration of war-refugees from the Middle East and North Africa are increasing. Practitioners and professional helpers need a better cultural understanding of these migrants and displaced people and adequate clinical skills to work effectively with them. Yet there is confusion and anxiety about who Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Easterners really are. How large is that population in North America? What are their needs, struggles, and contributions? What challenges may they represent to host societies? Details on assimilation, psychosocial functioning, values, heritage, and misconceptions, as well as practical guidelines and therapeutic tools, are presented in this intermediate workshop.

Webinars are converted to video on-demand programs with closed captioning after the live air date

• List two positive descriptions and two negative generalizations about Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Easterners.
• Provide some examples of the struggles, needs, challenges, and psychosocial functioning of Arab Americans in terms of their generational adaptation and coping styles in North America.
• Describe some differences between the processes of assimilation-integration and fragmentation-isolation experienced by Middle Easterners and Arab Americans.

Naji Abi-Hashem, PhD