Ep 10: Training systemic therapists from a decolonial perspective: Dr. Ashley Hicks & Danielle Barcelo

In this episode of the Learning and Teaching Systemic Therapy Podcast, listeners are introduced to the amazing Dr. Ashley Hicks and Danielle Barcelo, a PhD candidate in MFT. Our discussion centers on decolonizing systemic therapy within our educational practices. Dr. Hicks provides us with wonderful examples of activities from her own MFT courses. She teaches with a focus on cultivating critical consciousness and examining biases in ourselves, as well as our foundational models. She also shares her strategies for navigating institutional constraints on curriculum, handling student resistance, and effectively using self-disclosure in therapy and education. We discuss creating community agreements, creating fertile ground for open discussions on race and identity, and advancing our own and our students' cultural humility in therapeutic practices.

Dr. Ashley Hicks' bio:

Ashley A. Hicks, PhD, IMFT-S is a licensed marriage and family therapist, AAMFT approved supervisor, researcher, consultant, speaker, and teacher. She is Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the OSU Couple and Family Therapy Clinic at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.  Ashley is the founder of Our Lineage Our Legacy LLC and she offers trainings and presentations at the local, state, and national level to mental health providers, healthcare providers, clergy, community and government groups to address mental health concerns such as disordered eating, anti-Black racism, race-based stress, trauma informed and focused care.  Ashley has worked in several clinical settings with diverse populations including racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ populations, homeless and those experiencing poverty. Her clinical practice and research focus primarily on the needs Black individuals and families including womxn and those struggling with body image and eating concerns.

Danielle Barcelo's bio:

Our PhD in MFT student guest we have with us today is Danielle Barcelo. She is a PhD Candidate at National University, a fully online COAMFTE-accredited program where she is getting her PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in Children and Adolescents. Danielle is completing her dissertation on High-Conflict Post-Divorced or Separated Co-Parents and their impact on children, adolescents, co-parents, and other systems. Danielle is a LMFT in Colorado, where she received her MA-MFT, as well as two post-master's certificates, one in Counseling Children and Adolescents, that prepares you to become a Play Therapist and another in Depth Psychotherapy. Danielle is also an AAMFT Approved Supervisor Candidate. She is a Latinx Group practice owner, therapist, and supervisor in Denver, Colorado, where she was born and raised. Danielle identifies as a Hispanic/Mexican American/Chicana and Native American female. Danielle has over 10 years in the field working primarily with underserved populations. Danielle is continuing to grow her practice and has 15 therapists in her practice, 2 supervisors, an office manager, and a health and wellness coach. 

Questions we explored in this episode (sourced by Danielle Barcelo):

1. How do you personally decolonize MFT teaching in your own teaching? What are some examples on how you do that in your own teaching?
2. How do you appropriately self-disclose as the self/person-of-the-professor relating to decolonization of MFT teaching. 
3. How do you handle when something at the institution level is “out of your hands/control” so to speak, when it comes to how colonization influences curriculum and structure of teaching MFT?
4. How do you partner with students on decolonization of MFT teaching?
5. What kind of community involvement is included in decolonization of MFT teaching?
6. How do you talk about white power and privilege, oppression, racism, bias, etc. in MFT teaching?

Resources by Dr. Ashley Hicks:

• Alexander, M. (2020). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness (10th anniversary ed.). The New Press.
• Boyd-Franklin, N. (2006). Black families in therapy: Understanding the African American experience (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
• Deliberate Practice in Systemic Therapy: https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/deliberate-practice-systemic-family-therapy
• Location of Self: Opening Doors to Dialogue on Intersectionality in the Therapy Process: https://www.ackerman.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Watts-Jones-Dee-Location_of_Self.pdf
• Bringing Location into the therapy room (video): Dr. Thandiwe Dee Watts Jones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGIW8xANdCw
• Sociocultural Attuned Therapy Article:  Knudson-Martin C, McDowell T, Bermudez JM. From Knowing to Doing: Guidelines for Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy. J Marital Fam Ther. 2019 Jan;45(1):47-60. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12299. Epub 2017 Nov 10. PMID: 29125887. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29125887/