Transforming Systemic Therapy Education through the eyes of International MFT Students and Educators

With us today on the podcast we have Dr. Tatiana Melendez-Rhodes. She is an Associate Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Central Connecticut State University. She is a Licensed marriage and family therapist in Connecticut, a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, (AAMFT), an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and a fellow Fulbright Scholar. She received her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Connecticut. She was also a clinical Psychologist in Peru. Dr. Melendez-Rhodes has taught several graduate and undergraduate courses of marriage, family therapy, supervision and psychology in the United States and Peru. Dr. Melendez-Rhodes has worked in public hospitals, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, private practice and outpatient mental health organizations in the US and Peru. Her research interests focus on family violence, immigration issues, interpersonal acceptance-rejection, couples therapy, and clinical practice and outcomes. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented her research at national and international conferences.

The PhD student we have with us today is Shazia Imran. She is a Co-Founder and CEO at NTL Laboratory (clinical laboratory, blood laboratory, testing, molecular). Shazia Imran holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from Loyola University Chicago and a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Psychotherapy from Northwestern University. She is currently a doctorate student at Adler University. In addition to her advanced degrees, she has many certifications, including Yoga-Informed Psychotherapy and Financial Decision-Making, from one of the elite universities in Chicago, the University of Chicago. 

Currently, she is doing her clinical practicum through Live Oak, helping couples and families with many different areas of life. In the past, she worked in the community setting for the state of Illinois as an on-call psychotherapist for all north-side hospitals of Chicago. She has done a tremendous job in the community and at NTL Laboratory. Over the past 8 years, she has served multiple roles in the company.

In this episode, we'll be exploring questions that have been pre-sourced from Shazia and Sofia:

1) When you think about your journey, what comes to mind? Can you share your experience/ journey of moving to the U.S. and transitioning into teaching systemic therapy? What challenges did you encounter along the way?

2) When you think of culture, how did your cultural background influence your approach to teaching systemic therapy, and what strengths and growing edges did you experience?

3) What are resources you share with students and challenges you provide them with to advance their systemic training?

4) What changes or improvements would you like to see in systemic therapy, especially how it is taught and practiced in the U.S.?

 

Contact Shazia Imran:

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/shazia-imran-chicago-il/360873 

Email: Simran@adler.edu and Shaziaumrani786@gmail.com 

 

Contact Dr. Tatiana Melendez-Rhodes:

Faculty Profile: https://www.ccsu.edu/person/tatiana-melendez-rhodes 

Phone: (860) 832-2256

Email: tatianam@ccsu.edu 

 

The 2nd MFT Educators International Gathering will be on March 19, 12pm-2pm Central Time.
✅ Register here: https://lnkd.in/gzXQUQaZ

🔆 Our 1st MFT Educators International Gathering
(January 15, 2025) involved participants from the UK, US, Canada, Italy, Greece and Slovakia, with each sharing their experiences and observations about our field.

👉 As a group, we explored ideas to advance our field, such as hosting sessions, writing reports or books, and raising awareness. We discussed the opportunity of collaborating at an upcoming international conference. Some of us are thinking about creating introductory workshops for other professionals to learn about systemic thinking. Others talked about discussing study abroad collaborations.

Shila Rashid (The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust) and Sofia Georgiadou (University of Houston-Clear Lake/Northwestern University) are inviting you to a conversation with one another – across continents, across our different contexts – to consider these important questions and opportunities for collaborations to advance our incredible field.
This gathering is for CFT/MFT trainers, instructors and professors of all ranks (clinical supervisors, lecturers, senior lecturers, adjuncts, assistant/associate/full professors, chairs) across all geographical locations.

 

Resources by Dr. Tatiana Melendez-Rhodes:

Meléndez -Rhodes. T. (2018). International Immersion: Promoting first-hand  interaction with other cultures. Family Therapy Magazine, 17(1), 8-12.

McDowell, T., Goessling, K., & Meléndez, T. (2012). Transformative learning through international immersion: Building multicultural competence in family therapy and counseling. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38, 365-379. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2010.00209.x 

Harris-McKoy, D., Gutierrez, D., Strachan, T., & Winley, D. (2017). Women of color in marriage and family therapy programs. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy: An  

International Forum, 29(1-2), 28–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2016.1272170

Gopal, A (2011). Internationalization of higher education: Preparing faculty to teach cross-culturally. The international Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(3), 373. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ946163.pdf