The AAMFT Podcast

This week Eli sits down with Dr Howard Liddle. Dr Liddle is a professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, and Director of the Center for Treatment Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Liddle's research focus is on the development, testing, implementation, and dissemination of family-based treatment for adolescent substance abuse and...

Frank Anderson, MD, is both a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who specializes in the treatment of trauma and dissociation. Franks sits down with Eli to discuss the current state of psychopharmacology, and how medicine and talk therapy can work hand in hand to drive client results. He discusses strategies for therapists to stay on top of the latest treatments and therapies, when and how to make a...

Dr. Ellen Wachtel is a renowned couples’ therapist and author of the book The Heart of Couple Therapy. She sits down with Eli to discuss the core ingredients of effective couples’ therapy, the importance of hopefulness to the therapeutic process, and how a person’s legacy issues can impact their current relationship. She also shares examples of her unique use of the geneogram, and ways in which co...

Constance Ahrons was a ground-breaking systemic therapist who challenged negative stereotypes about divorce and was an early advocate for collaborative divorce. She was the author of The Good Divorce and participated in groundbreaking longitudinal research on the effects of divorce on children. In this episode she discusses her early career and influences including working with Carl Whitaker, her...

Patrick Carnes, PhD, and Stefanie Carnes, PhD, LMFT are the founder and president, respectively, of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals. In this episode, they discuss the unique nature of being a father and daughter team in the field, their treatment approach to compulsive sexual behaviors, and the impact of these behaviors on couple and individual functioning in ord...

Jay Lappin trained in the relational architecture of Structural Family Therapy with Dr. Salvador Minuchin. He currently maintains a private practice, teaches at Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania, leads workshops and work as an independent consultant. Jorge Colapinto has written and lectured both nationally and internationally on structural family therapy and currently teaches at the Drexel...

Mary Jo Barrett is an author and the Executive Director and co-founder of The Center for Contextual Change, Ltd. She holds a master’s in social work from the University of Illinois Jane Addams School of Social Work and is currently on the faculties of University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, The Chicago Center For Family Health, and the Family Institute of Northwestern Unive...

Kaethe Weingarten, Ph. D., directs the Witness to Witness (W2W) program, a nonprofit organization that consults to individuals, families, and communities locally, nationally, and internationally to transform toxic witnessing of violence and violation to active compassionate witnessing with others, for the Migrant Clinicians Network. She discusses her early life experiences and the origins of the W...

This week’s guest is Megan McCoy, LMFT, PhD an adjunct faculty member at Kansas State University where she teaches courses for the Financial Therapy Certificate Program. An expert on financial therapy and healing financial infidelity, Her research interests truly focus on how to create more empirical evidence to support work that she has seen change so many lives in her clinical experiences. She d...

Ian Kerner, PhD, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist, NYT bestselling author, and nationally recognized sexuality counselor who specializes in sex therapy, couples therapy and working with individuals on a range of relational issues that often lead to distress. He discusses negative associations with pornography and erotica and how these can be overcome, the move away from a language of addiction...

Dr. Laura Frey is the principal investigator for a grant funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention that examines the effect of parental expressed emotion on adolescent disclosure of suicide ideation and a professor at the University of Louisville where she heads up the Couples and Family Therapy program. Dr. Quintin Hunt is a professor at Brigham Young University. His research inter...

The symptoms of adult ADHD can be particularly damaging in close relationships, especially if those symptoms have never been diagnosed or treated. Melissa Orlov has been working and speaking on the topic of adult ADHD since 2007 and wrote The ADHD Effect on Marriage. Her interview focuses on difficulties faced by adults with ADHD, from getting diagnosed, to overcoming shame and stigma, and chromic...

Karlin J. Tichenor and Corey E. Yeager are co-authors of the chapter "Letters to the Field" in the Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy. In this episode, they define historical trauma and its influence on African American client systems. They discuss the importance of story-telling as a belief system that indigenous Africans and African-Americans have passed down intra- and inter-generationally, an...

Mudita Rastogi is an LMFT, grant consultant, coach, and educator. She is the associate co-editor of the Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy and author of the chapter, "Systemic Conceptualization of Interventions." In this episode, she discusses systems thinking in a global framework, effective interventions with underserved populations, and the psychological and relational effects of oppression an...

Janice Abrahms Spring is a clinical psychologist and nationally acclaimed expert on issues of trust, intimacy, and forgiveness and author of multiple books on infidelity including a radical model for when not to forgive. In this episode, she discusses how to help couples come to an agreed definition of infidelity, what couples need to realistically rebuild their relationship and manage triggers, a...

Laurie Charlés and Saliha Bava are the authors of a chapter in the Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy titled "Systemic Therapy & Global Mental Health." During this episode, they reflect on their experience with professional development and training within global mental health, specifically the necessary skills and relational process when family therapy is taken outside of our borders, the languag...

Howard Markman and Scott Stanley are internationally recognized researchers who have authored over 100 publications and whose work has spanned over four decades. During this episode, they talk about their many years of collaboration including the development of the PREP® curricula for relationship education and enhancement. Reflecting on the clinically relevant findings from 40 years of the progra...

Gwyn Daniel is a systemic psychotherapist and trainer at the Tavistock Institute in London. She is the author of the chapter "Families in Chronically Unsafe Community Environments" in the Handbook of Systemic Therapy. In this episode, she discusses the impacts of trauma, political violence, and dislocation on family life, particularly for Palestinian families. Interventions are shared that aim to...

Sean Davis is a professor at Alliant International University and the author of seven books including a widely used textbook in the field. In this episode, he talks about the often overlooked skill of writing: for therapeutic effect, for self-care, for your practice. He discusses the advantages of writing to complement clinical skills, including critical thinking and persuasive abilities, and shar...

Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and author of the NYT bestseller Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. which is currently being adapted as a television series. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The Atlantic’s weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column. In this episode, she shares her non-traditional path to become an MFT. She discusses how her column provides a window into how therapists...

Eliana Gil is the founding partner of the Gil Instititue for Trauma Recovery and Education. A play therapy pioneer, Gil talks about integrating family therapy and play therapy and finding ways to invite children into the adult world through alternate ways of expression. She talks about how to feel comfortable in working with kids and enliven a process that many struggle with verbally. Finally, she...

Ben Fineman is an associate MFT and Caroline Wiita is a marriage and family therapist in training. Together they host the podcast Very Bad Therapy, which talks about what goes wrong in the therapy room and how it could go better, interviewing both clients who have had bad experiences and experts who share insight from their years of experience. In this episode, they discuss the need for young prof...

Dr. Markie Twist is an award-winning sexuality educator and sexologist. In this episode, she discusses attachment and sexuality in the digital age and the need for MFTs to treat technology as a growing, changing member of the relational system. The Couple and Family Technology framework she co-developed is explained, as well as assessment and four essential micro-skills in addressing technology. F...

Celia Falicov is a family therapist, author, teacher, and clinician, internationally known for her work with Latino and immigrant populations. In this episode, she shares how she was shaped by her upbringing in Argentina, and later as she migrated to the US and studied in London. She discusses the differentiation between cultural diversity and social justice and reflects on the biggest changes she...

Michael Yapko is a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist, internationally recognized for his work in developing strategic outcome focused psychotherapists and advancing the clinical applications of hypnosis. In this episode, he shares stories of the pioneers in the field that influenced him, and his own work in applying systemic thinking to hypnosis and strategic therapy. He disp...