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Indiana Counseling Association Presents The Conversations that Shape Us Conference: What You Wish Other Mental Health Counselors Understood

Cultural Responsiveness: Cultural Values, Relational Context & Positive and Negative Emotion Suppression

Guolin Zhang, PhD
Stefánía Aegisdottir, Ph.D., HSPP
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Pricing

Information

Date & Time

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Identify at least three cultural variables (cultural values, self-construal) that influence why and how much client utilizes emotion suppression

  • Contrast at least two clinical functions of positive and negative emotion suppression and their impacts on client psychosocial wellbeing

  • Analyze at least three social and relational contexts that influence the psychosocial impacts of emotion suppression

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is to increase clinical knowledge of cultural influences on emotion suppression and how positive and negative emotion regulation strategies impact psychosocial well-being.

Description

In this presentation, presenters will discuss cross-cultural studies on emotion suppression and its impact on psychosocial functioning. Presenters will also draw from recent research to discuss how cultural values and relationship context may influence the relationship between emotion suppression and relationship satisfaction and depressive symptoms. The importance of considering culture and cultural values when conceptualizing emotion suppression will be emphasized to avoid over-pathologizing the use of suppression to regulate emotions.

Target Audience

  • Addiction Professional
  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker

Presenters

Guolin Zhang, PhD
Guolin Zhang, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University, Behrend. Bringing clinical experience across hospital systems, community mental health centers, and university counseling settings, she specializes in culturally responsive interventions for marginalized and diverse populations. Her research centers on emotion suppression, cross-cultural emotion regulation, Global South psychology, and the development and assessment of multicultural competencies. As an educator, researcher, and supervisor, Dr. Zhang is dedicated to equipping mental health professionals with the cultural awareness, empirical insights, and practical skills needed to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and improve clinical outcomes.
Stefánía Aegisdottir, Ph.D., HSPP
Dr. Stefánía Aegisdottir, Ph.D., HSPP, is a Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling at Ball State University, where she also serves as Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling MA program. A licensed psychologist with a Health Service Provider in Psychology endorsement in Indiana, she maintains an active clinical practice at The Briarwood Clinic, providing psychological evaluations and therapy for individuals, couples, and families. Her specialized clinical training includes Gottman Method Couples Therapy, CAMS Suicide Assessment, and trauma-focused modalities. An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Aegisdotti is an APA Fellow (Division 17: Society of Counseling Psychology and Division 52: International Psychology) and a recipient of both the Ursula Gielen Global Psychology Book Award and the Henry Davis International Psychology Mentoring Award. Her research focuses on cross-cultural counseling competencies, global mental health beliefs, help-seeking behavior, and the accuracy of clinical judgment. With over two decades of experience in clinical supervision, higher education instruction, and international immersion training, she brings extensive academic research and real-world clinical insight to continuing education instruction.