Vietnam:
Cultural Competency
Central Vietnam: Hue, Hoian, & the white sands of Danang Vietnam’s famed Central Coast
May 4-13, 2024
22 Continuing Education Credits
The Vietnam Cultural Experience
Join Mind Body Passport, with internationally acclaimed, Dr. Stéphanie Larchanché, for our second annual cultural competency seminar, this year in central Vietnam! Our visit will be more than a typical tourist encounter. It provides participants with an opportunity to explore themes of cultural competency, through an intersectional perspective on mental health awareness, cultural interpretations of health and a political analysis on medicinal healing.
We will explore and venture to unique locations and have experiences not offered on typical tourist routes, exploring: ancient imperial cities, colorful UNESCO heritage sites, historic homes and gardens, meeting local families to share traditions, a ride down the renowned Perfume River, and more! Participants will be delighted to stay in 5-star boutique accommodations, complete with traditional Vietnamese cuisine, an array of wellness services, jungle bungalows and private white sand beaches.
Through an immersive itinerary, we will meet with local professionals innovating the cultural perception on mental health, making treatment more readily accessible, and destigmatizing the illusion of misfortune carried within local society and carried on through generational trauma
The Vietnamese have had thousands of years of invaders from different lands and cultures, which has influenced its culture and collective psyche. Locally, health resonates with a broader ethical and political value system that relates to cultural definitions of personhood, gender, boundaries, and spirituality. From an economic perspective, post-war reforms starting in the 1980s triggered a downward slope of the public health system, contrasted with a quick uprise of prosperity and with that anxiety, depression, and alcohol dependency. Local spiritual representations aggravate a holistic understanding of mental health, suggesting that negative circumstances and misfortune are reincarnations of ancestral spirits.
This trip will take you on an exploration of cultural competency as it relates to professionals' capabilities in engaging with individuals who do not share the same cultural representations. These exercises will involve reflections on decentering from one's own representations to take into account other intercultural possibilities. The aim is to develop practical skills on intercultural communication through new cultural contexts, as well as a collective analysis of the way in which such experiences can be applied in counseling, coaching, and psychotherapy.
Dr. Stéphanie Larchanché, is a medical anthropologist and psychotherapist in Paris, France. She received her academic training in the United States and in France, focusing on researching the intersection of immigration, identity, and mental health. More specifically, she carried out her fieldwork in mental healthcare institutions supporting immigrants and refugees. She is the author of numerous articles, of two co-edited volumes including Migration and Health (2022) with Nadia El-Shaarawi and Cultural Anxieties (2020).
Itinerary Highlights
5-star accommodations at a boutique beach resort, authentic cuisine, two wellness or spa services per day (Central Vietnam Beach)
5-star bungalows in an ancient jungle village (Hue)
Explore the food and coffee culture
Visit to Huế, a UNESCO World Heritage city, home to the Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital until 1945.
Dinner and activities with families in a local village, visit to a local school and/or orphanage
meet with local counselors/therapists
Dragon boat ride down The Perfume River
Excursions to local Pagodas and Temples
Guided breath work meditations, tai-chi and yoga sessions led by locals
Daily morning Social Dreaming workshops
Who Is This For?
- Psychotherapists
- Mental health professionals
- World and life learners
- Those with an interest in searching for and becoming culturally competant
- Those with an interest in the cultural history and story of the people in Vietnam
*No prior experience or knowledge required!
What Will You Gain?
- The clinician will be able to identify barriers and biases in treating individuals from different cultures.
- The clinician will be able to apply interventions based on the confrontation of cultural representations and the language spoken.
- Discuss and describe the culturally-specific needs of the client/patient.
- The clinician will be able to identify their own biases and prejudices in working with diverse populations.
- Discuss and describe why the development of cultural competence and culturally responsive services are important in the behavioral health field.
- The clinician will be able to describe the underlying structure of such socially-constructed categories as race, ethnicity, class, spirituality, sexual orientation, gender, and disability.
- The clinician will be able to identify and subdivide the steps needed to build bridges between cultural representations into the psycho-therapeutic process.
- Discuss and apply the concepts of Social Dreaming and how to utilize The Social Dreaming Matrix in psychotherapeutic settings.
What’s Included?
- All seminars and cultural activities per itinerary
- All cultural visits to museums, historic sites, and excursions
- Luxurious 5 star accommodations at a non- paralleled small boutique resort perched on the white sands of Vietnam’s famed Central Coast, where beautiful gourmet authentic cuisine is served: breakfast all day is included and 2 wellness/spa services per day are included + yoga, Tai Chi, breath work , creative activity, all included daily
(single room supplement available for additional cost—see below)
- All breakfasts
- 3 lunches
- 2 dinners
- On-ground transportation per itinerary
- Indulge in the food, and my favorite coffee culture
- Meet people living and working in mental health in Vietnam both locals and foreigners
- Visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites including: Hoi An, Pagodas, temples and more
- Visit a special school and/ or orphanage, and participate in an activity with the children
- Be part of village life and experience private dining in a family home
- Fishing and getting to know the local fisherman
- Stay in 5 star glorious bungalows in the quiet countryside in a rustic village setting surrounding by lush tranquil jungle gardens, yet near to famous historical landmarks and the city of Hue. The resort embodies the subtle and unique connection of treasured traditional style and Vietnamese modern art vibrancy.
- Get to know the friendly people of Vietnam who are incredibly kind and gracious.
- Visit an Imperial city
- Ride a dragon boat down The Perfume River
- Be creative making cultural crafts
- Delight in the beauty of Pagodas and spirituality of the Temples
- Meditation, Tai Chi and yoga led by locals!
Lecturers
Dr. Leslee Brown, PhD
Dr. Brown is President and Director of Mind Body Passport Inc. designing and leading international trips for adult professionals, offering continuing education credits worldwide. Dr. Brown's interests are multi-faceted, engaging topics of psychology, culture, art, psychoanalysis and social dreaming. She is passionate about weaving many disciplines and interests together and creating an atmosphere of growth and learning. Travel opens ones mind and creates change bringing new perspectives on living life. She also served as The Director of International Seminars and Gastprofessor at Sigmund Freud University, Vienna. International psychology and developing “psychologists without borders” has become her focus. Dr. Brown has been in private practice for over twenty years, has been a research psychologist for The Neurologic Institute and has served on faculty at UCLA Medical School teaching psychology and rapport building techniques to medical students. Dr. Brown was also assistant professor at The Chicago School and Director of Centers for International Studies. Leslee lives and works part time in in Los Angeles, part time in Paris, and the rest of the time is traveling the world.
Dr. Stéphanie Larchanché
Dr. Stéphanie Larchanché is a medical anthropologist and psychotherapist. Dr. Larchanché received her academic training in the United States and in France. Her research focused on issues at the intersection of immigration, identity, and mental health. More specifically, she carried out her fieldwork at specialized mental healthcare institutions catering to immigrants and refugees. This is how she had the opportunity to collaborate with Centre Minkowska in Paris, a world-renowned trans-cultural psychiatry clinic that has been catering to non-francophone refugees since the aftermath of WWII. Today, Dr. Larchanché is in private practice in Paris, France. For over 12 years, Dr. Larchanché directed activities at Centre Minkowska. Dr. Larchanché is published widely in a number of internationally known social science journals such as Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry; the Annual Review of Anthropology, Social Science and Medicine; Body and Society; and the American Behavioral Scientist. She wrote the “Migration and Health” entry for The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society. With colleagues at Centre Minkowska, she coauthored the background paper for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on “Cultural Competence and Training in Mental Health Practice in Europe”. She has recently authored a book entitled Cultural Anxieties: Managing Migrant Suffering in France (2020), an ethnography building on her ten-year experience as an anthropologist and therapist at Centre Minkowska. Dr. Larchanché also volunteers her time as an administrator and expert at France’s leading non-profit organization for interpreters in public institutions.
Cost
$4374 SAVE $300 when you pay in full
(regular price $4674)
Payment plan: $850 deposit + 5 monthly payments of $797 register by January 15th
Single room supplement: $1549
If there are no double shared rooms available, you will need to incur the single room supplement
Need a custom payment plan? Email us at info@mindbodypasspot.com
Want to earn $100 – or more? Refer a friend or colleague who signs up, and we’ll send you $100 for each referral.
Want your trip for free? Gather six people who sign up for the same course, and we’ll give you yours for FREE!
Questions? Contact Dr. Leslee Brown at info@mindbodypassport.com
or for a free one-on-one consultation click here.
Mind Body Passport is approved by the California Psychological Association to provide continuing professional education for psychologists. Mind Body Passport maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Mind Body Passport Inc. is also recognized as a CAMFT-approved Continuing Education Provider. Certificate awarded upon successful completion.
Health & Safety
Returning to travel in 2022 is our greatest passion and desire. The safety and well-being of Mind Body Passport Inc. participants (as well as our team, suppliers, and others) is of paramount importance to us. For admission to our courses, Mind Body Passport Inc. requires all participants to be fully vaccinated with CDC-approved vaccines.
Refunds
Travel medical insurance is mandatory. We recommend insurance that includes Covid- related delays and changes. Your insurance must cover personal injury, medical treatment, repatriation, and evacuation expenses. We also recommend that the insurance cover personal property and trip cancellation. Trip cancellation insurance may be the only means of receiving reimbursement for flights and other non-refundable expenses in the event the Trip is canceled, postponed, interrupted, or rescheduled, for any reason, by you or us. Look for insurance that provides “cancel for any reason” coverage.
Once fees are paid, absent Mind Body Passport’s approval in its sole discretion, no refunds will be issued. MBP reserves the right to cancel any trip or any portion thereof for any reason it deems appropriate including, but not limited to, low enrollment numbers, political instability, and/or health concerns.