Workshop Description:

This experiential session is designed for therapists interested in integrating ancestral healing practices within the therapy process, grounded in African-centered psychology, Ifá cosmology, and indigenous wisdom traditions.

Reclaiming ancestral traditions is not only a form of cultural affirmation—it is a radical act of resistance to erasure, historical trauma, and disconnection that can surface when relying solely on Western forms of therapy. This session guides participants through practical methods for assisting clients to remember, acknowledge, pay tribute to, and gain information regarding their ancestors.

Participants will explore ethical, cultural, and clinical considerations in using genograms, ritual remembrance, and restoration practices within psychotherapy. Through ritual-based exercises, participants will engage their own ancestral lineage to deepen clinical empathy, spiritual insight, and cultural competency.

This session blends theory with practice, allowing clinicians to experience and learn methods for helping clients:

reconnect with ancestral memory,
identify trans-generational patterns and strengths,
draw upon ancestral wisdom for psychological healing,
and engage the sacred as a protective and restorative resource.

Learning Objectives:

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

Discuss ethical, cultural, and best practices for incorporating genograms, rituals, and ancestral healing within the psychotherapeutic process.
Demonstrate practical, culturally grounded techniques to help clients remember, acknowledge, and engage with their ancestors for healing and guidance.
Apply African-centered models of self and community healing (e.g., the extended self, collective consciousness, and Orí) to case conceptualization and treatment planning.
Integrate ancestral healing practices in therapy to support clients’ recovery from transgenerational trauma and historical loss.
Deepen their own clinical insight and cultural competence by exploring their personal lineage, spiritual inheritance, and ancestral wisdom.

AGENDA

9:30 -10:00 Registration

10:00 - 11:45 Welcome and Morning Session

11:45 - 12:00 Break

12:00 - 1:50 Afternoon Session (Continued)

1:50 - 2:00 Afternoon Session & Distribution of CE Certificates

Continuing Education

CE Credits | 6 Ethics | Psychologists

CLOCK HOURS | 6 Ethics | Social Work

CE Hours | 6 Core | School Psychologists & Counselors

LMFT’s related hours

Get Connected

Instagram - @AHealingParadgim

LinkedIn - I fetayo Ojelade, PhD

YouTube - A Healing Paradigm

Facebook - @AHealingParadigm

References:

Dennison, A., & Powell-Watts, L. (2021). Ancestral healing in psychotherapy. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 8(3), 188.

Joseph, B., Dickenson, S., McCall, A., & Roga, E. (2023). Exploring the therapeutic effectiveness of genograms in family therapy: A literature review. The Family Journal, 31(1), 21-30.

Ojelade, I. (2021). Let the Òrìṣà speak: Traditional healing for contemporary times. In K. Cokley (Ed.), Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting anti-Black racism (pp. 143–164). Cognella.

Ojelade, I. (2025). Yemọ̀já ’s sacred waters: Integrating healing ritual into therapy, Siyabonana: The Journal of Africana Studies, Volume 3.

Puhlman, D., Shigeto, A., Murillo‐Borjas, G. A., Maurya, R. K., & Vincenti, V. B. (2023). Qualitative genogram analysis: A methodology for theorizing family dynamics. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 15(2), 276-291.

Reclaiming Ancestral Wisdom in Therapy