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In Person
The Adolescent & Young Adult Collective (AYAC) 2026

Safety is Treatment: Creating Cultural Safety & Belonging in Treatment Spaces (3A)

Fawna Asfaw, CADC, CSUD, CLC
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Information

Date & Time

Description

People cannot fully engage in treatment environments where they do not feel seen, understood, respected, or safe. Drawing from experience as a counselor, case manager, recovery professional, and treatment owner, this presentation explores how culture, identity, belonging, and lived experience influence treatment engagement, trust, and recovery outcomes. Participants will examine how many behaviors commonly labeled as resistance, avoidance, or non-compliance may actually be adaptive protective responses shaped by cultural experiences, marginalization, and systemic barriers. Through practical examples, reflection, and discussion, attendees will learn how to create culturally responsive treatment environments that foster trust, strengthen therapeutic relationships, improve engagement, and support lasting recovery. This presentation offers a human-centered approach to cultural competency, helping providers move beyond awareness to create spaces where clients feel safe enough to be fully themselves and fully participate in the healing process.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Describe three ways cultural safety, belonging, and trust impact treatment engagement.

  • Recognize at least four common protective responses that may be misunderstood as non-compliance.

  • Identify three ways dominant cultural norms unintentionally create barriers to connection.

  • Apply four practical strategies for creating culturally responsive treatment environments

  • Demonstrate three ways to strengthen relationships with clients through cultural humility.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is to increase participants' understanding of how cultural identity, belonging, and lived experience influence treatment engagement, therapeutic trust, and recovery outcomes and develop practical strategies for creating more culturally responsive and inclusive recovery spaces.

Target Audience

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

Presenters

Fawna Asfaw, CADC, CSUD, CLC
Fawna Asfaw, CADC, CSUD, CLC, is a speaker, author, entrepreneur and recovery advocate dedicated to redefining what healing, resilience and renewal can look like for women. As the Owner and Director of The Makeda House & Collective, a premier transitional sober living and recovery network in Los Angeles, Fawna brings together lived experience, professional expertise and cultural insight to create empowering spaces for transformation and long-term recovery. With seven years of experience as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor, Certified Life Coach and private case manager, Fawna is known for her direct, compassionate and deeply authentic approach to personal growth and recovery. Her work focuses on helping women move beyond survival and build lives rooted in purpose, freedom and self-trust. Fawna is also the author of the acclaimed memoir Sober Daughter and host of the Sober Daughter Podcast, where she explores addiction, grief, identity, healing and the power of reinvention through honest storytelling and meaningful conversation. As a speaker and thought leader, Fawna brings a powerful voice to conversations surrounding recovery, cultural safety, women’s empowerment, resilience and life transformation. Her talks blend professional insight with raw honesty, challenging audiences to think deeper about healing, belonging and what it truly means to rebuild a life.

Financially Sponsored By

  • Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers