CURRENT ISSUE VOLUME 24, NO. 1
January / February 2025
CURRENT ISSUE VOLUME 24, NO. 1
January / February 2025
CURRENT ISSUE VOLUME 24, NO. 1
January / February 2025
FEATURES
Weaving Advocacy into the Fabric of MFT: A Podcast Discussion
Dr. Kristen Benson, an MFT educator, advocate, and researcher, met with Dr. Sofia Georgiadou in the “Learning and Teaching Systemic Therapy” podcast on October 24, 2024, and discussed how she has been integrating social justice advocacy into the core of her marriage and family therapy education, clinical practice, and research.
Sofia Georgiadou, PhD
& Kristen Benson, PhD
Bowen Family System Theory in Project Management
In today’s dynamic business environment, project management requires a nuanced understanding of interpersonal dynamics and organizational culture. As I delved into its complexities, it was evident that the profound impact of the Bowen Family System Theory within corporate project teams presents opportunities for MFTs interested in organizational consulting.
Karen Muhammad, DMFT
Exploring Burnout Prevention in Pastoral Counseling
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022) reported that over 19 million U.S. workers have quit their jobs. Of that, multiple studies indicate that between 21 and 67% of mental health workers may be experiencing significant levels of burnout in their profession (Morse, 2012). Burnout in mental health professionals manifests over time due to a continuous overload of responsibilities and expectations.
Sandra Brand, EdD & Eman Tadros, PhD
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Psychedelic-assisted therapy holds promise in transforming mental health. The term psychedelics was created by Osmond Humphrey, a Canadian psychiatrist in the 1950s, which means mind-manifesting (Walther & van Schie, 2024) or mind-revealing (Carhart-Harris & Goodwin, 2017). Psychedelic-assisted therapy involves using psychedelics in the context of therapy.
Jennifer Cahill, PhD
NEWS FROM AAMFT
Departments
A Message From the President
Greetings AAMFT members! I hope all enjoyed a restful, fun, and productive summer! This was a particularly hot summer in most areas of the contiguous United States (if not all over the globe!) and I hope everyone remained safe and cool.
Adrian Blow
Noteworthy
2024 Student Ethics Competition Essay – 1st Place
Both the AAMFT Code of Ethics (2015) Standard 1.9: Relationship Beneficial to Client and the ethical principle of beneficence require therapists to continue to provide services only so long as clients are benefiting from the therapeutic relationship (Murphy & Hecker, 2017). When practitioners are emotionally depleted and under elevated levels of stress, there is an increased risk for ethical violations (Barton, 2020; Murphy & Hecker, 2017).
Perspectives
Shifting Worldviews on Excessive Technology Use with Systemic Approaches
In today’s digital landscape, the pervasive presence of technology brings unique challenges to family dynamics, necessitating a reevaluation of traditional norms and values. As a therapist specializing in marriage and family dynamics, I’ve witnessed firsthand the profound impact of excessive technology use on familial relationships.
Ezra Lockhart, PhD
Perspectives
Weight Loss Medicine Isn’t Enough: Tackling Anti-fatness as a Systemic Therapist
Anti-fatness is a pervasive function of society. It dwells in the outermost layer of society’s systems and encroaches on each inner level, carefully harming everyone along the way. By the time people with larger bodies encounter explicit anti-fatness face-to-face, they have already accrued the brunt of implicit anti-fatness that has increased their marginalization.
Emani Sullivan, MS, Karlynn Sievers, MD & Tonya Cook, PharmD
Perspectives
Reimagining Resistance: An Invitation for a Systemic Exploration in MFT Supervision
The construct of resistance is frequently discussed during marriage and family therapy, yet it is often addressed without being located in a systems-oriented framework.
Danna Abraham, PhD & Afarin Rajaei, PhD
Perspectives
Neuronutrition: An Introduction to an Important and Complex Topic
The field of neuronutrition is an ever-evolving holistic, integrative, and interdisciplinary field of study.
Jerrod Brown, PhD, Bettye Sue Hennington, PhD, Tiffany Flaten, MEd, Jeremiah Schimp, PhD, & Jennifer Sweeton, PsyD
Perspectives
Embodiment & Equine Therapy: Anorexia Nervosa
Equine therapy helps develop mindfulness in clients as “horses are masters of being in the moment.” Mindfulness brings us into the here and now, so that we are truly able to show up and be in the moment.
Jennifer Cahill, MBA
Special To The Issue
She left me, but still she remains
Trapped in portals of time analogizing when picture frames became strange
Between what is and what was
A poem by Robert M. Cunningham Jr., MSFT
“
FTM is a connector to and from diverse family therapy practice, policy, supervision, and research leaders.
—Angela Lamson, PhD, LMFT
“
With cutting-edge and relevant articles, the FTM is the place I find practical systemic information.
—DeAnna Harris-McKoy, PhD
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The magazine is great because it shows what other remarkable things my fellow colleagues are doing in the field.
—Sheldon Jacobs, PsyD, LMFT