Seattle University hosted the American Association of Pastoral Counselors’ (www.aapc.org) Northwest Conference on October 30th and 31st. Over 60 participants representing various faith traditions explored becoming culturally competent in their work as mental health counselors, pastors, family therapists, and pastoral counselors. Seminar topics included formation and challenges of multicultural families, spirituality in multicultural families, the immigrant experience, and the ethics of caring for multicultural families.

Participants reported that they enjoyed the interactive nature of the conference. Participants learned through a case presentation, brainstorming activities, group dialogue, and panel discussions. Many participants indicated the case presentation by Marta M. Buell-Mejia, a 2009 graduate of the MAPC program at SU, helped deepen their understanding of spiritual pastoral care and psychological treatment. 

Learn more about our Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling program.