This presentation led by Dr. Lisa Fontes explores the delicate and controversial line between corporal punishment and physical abuse, and how ethnic culture influences our work on these issues.  Participants will learn practical techniques for helping families from all groups reduce their use of violent parenting with their children. Examples will be drawn from African American, European American, Somali, Latino, Asian, religious, and military families.

Lisa Aronson Fotes, PhD, works to make mental health, social service, and criminal justice systems more responsive to culturally diverse people.  She is the author of the books: Invisible Chains: Overcoming Coercive Control in Your Intimate Relationship, Interviewing Clients Across Cultures: A Practitioner’s Guide, and Maltreatment and Violence Against Women.  She has worked as a family, individual, and group psychotherapist, and has conducted research in Santiago, Chile, and with diverse people in the United States.  Dr. Fontes is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.  She is a popular conference speaker and workshop facilitator, and blogs for publications including The Huffington Post and PsychologyToday.com.  Dr. Fontes completed a Fulbright Foundation Grant in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  As a volunter, Dr. Fontes has worked with Somali refugees and with homeless children in Massachusetts.