The AAMFT Podcast

In this episode, Eli sits down with Dr. Jaime Goff and Dr. Sara Blakeslee Salkil to discuss the MFT Licensure exam. Jaime holds a Ph. D. in Couple and Family Therapy from Michigan State University and a Certificate in Executive Coaching from Southern Methodist University. Sara is the program director of the online Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy program and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studi...

Scott Sells holds a Ph. D. in both Marriage and Family Therapy and Social Work from Florida State University. He has over 20 publications and has authored three books including “Treating the Traumatized Child: A Step-by-Step Family Systems Approach.” Scott specializes in working with impossible or stuck cases whose families have not been successful with other counselors. First, Scott explains what...

Fred P. Piercy, PhD, is professor and head of the Department of Human Development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Piercy has won both national and university teaching awards. He has written over 160 published articles, 5 books, and 35 funded grants. Dr. Piercy served as the editor of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy from 2012-2017. In this episode, Dr. Piercy d...

Dr. Toni Zimmerman is an expert on all things AAMFT Supervision. She has directed the CSU Family Therapy program for almost 25 years. She has won many awards in her academic career and she is a staple in the Fundamentals of Supervision training program at AAMFT. Eli sits down with Toni to discuss the trends in MFT Supervision and her impact in the field. She first discusses her origin story and so...

Guy Diamond is the Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Associate Professor at Drexel University in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Along with his co-authors, Drs. Gary Diamond and Suzanne Levy, Dr. Diamond has written the first book on ABFT, Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed Adolescents. In this episode, Eli chats with Guy about ho...

Terry Real is the founder of the Relational Life Institute, a family therapist and teacher for 30 years, and an author of many popular books including his breakout book “I Don’t Want to Talk About It”. In this episode, Terry discusses how his family dynamics led him to pursue therapy and details how his father and other life experiences  brought him to working with men specifically facing mental h...

Dr. Ben Caldwell is part of the faculty at California State Northridge, an author of five books, and the chair of the Legislative and Advocacy Committee for the California division of AAMFT.In a discussion about advocacy and his thoughts on the MFT profession, Eli and Ben talk about his origin story as an MFT and how he started his work in advocacy. He expresses why advocacy should be important to...

Michele Weiner-Davis is an internationally renowned relationship expert, best-selling author, and professional speaker that specializes in helping people change their lives and improve important relationships. Eli sits down with Michele and discusses her own struggles that made her a better therapist, parent, and spouse. She discusses her origin story and discusses who her biggest influences were...

Diane Gehart is a professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at California State University Northridge and has practiced psychotherapy for over 15 years. Eli sits down with Diane to discuss mindfulness and the benefits it has in the MFT field. She discusses her career journey and how mindfulness played a part in her career. She provides her definition of mindfulness and differentiates it from other...

Dr. Monica McGoldrick is the Co-Founder and Director of the Multicultural Family Institute. She is also the author of many popular books, including “Genograms: Assessment and Intervention,” and "Women in Families," just to name a few! In this episode, Eli sits down with Monica to discuss her life, her journey, and her many accomplishments as a family therapist. Listen in as Monica discusses her ca...

Dr. Manijeh Daneshpour is an LMFT with over 20 years of academic research and clinical experience centered around multiculturalism, social justice, premarital and marital relationships of Muslim family dynamics. Eli sits down with Manijeh as she tells powerful stories about her family of origin and her work with clients as it pertains to multiculturalism and cultural diversity. She discusses how b...

In this episode, Eli interviews Tim Dwyer, President of AAMFT, and Steve Harris, Editor of JMFT about their background and journey through the field. They discuss their visions for the future of AAMFT and the Journal, and how their work benefits the members of AAMFT and the field of marriage and family therapy. First to be interviewed is, Dr. Steve Harris. He discusses the topics he would like to...

Harry Aponte is a clinical associate professor in Drexel University’s Couple & Family Therapy Department. Eli chats with Harry as he reflects on his career journey, including how his upbringing in the Bronx prepared him for community work.  He discusses his work with person of the therapist, advising therapists that their personal skills are what make techniques work. He talks about how his pr...

Host Dr. Eli Karam sits with two of the leading therapists in the field of Medical Family Therapy, Dr. Angela Lamson and Dr. Jennifer Hodgson. Medical Family Therapy is a field that has its own set of competencies and interventions, with its own unique skills and training. It looks at health from a biopsychosocial/spiritual framework. In other words, it looks at health, loss, trauma, and death in...

Host Dr. Eli Karam sits with two of the leading therapists in the field of Medical Family Therapy, Dr. Angela Lamson and Dr. Jennifer Hodgson. Medical Family Therapy is a field that has its own set of competencies and interventions, with its own unique skills and training. It looks at health from a biopsychosocial/spiritual framework. In other words, it looks at health, loss, trauma, and death in...

Bill Doherty is an educator, researcher, therapist, speaker, author, consultant, and community organizer. In this episode, he recounts with Eli his experience in the Catholic church and how circumstances including “failed celibacy” led him to leave the priesthood. He shares how his extensive work doing community presentations led to years of interaction with judges and lawyers, eventually creating...

In this episode, Dr. Eli Karam sits down with Shelly Smith and Jennifer Labanowski to discuss Online Therapy. Online Therapy is one of the most requested topics for discussion in the MFT profession. In this podcast, you will find out the factors that led Shelly and Jennifer to pursue this career after first being skeptical of this type of therapy. They will discuss the four areas of research to kn...

This episode’s guest is Dr. Tracy Todd. With years of experience as an MFT and the current CEO of AAMFT, Tracy and Eli discuss the future of AAMFT and the new programs we are introducing to benefit the advancement of the profession. He describes how MFTs can benefit from mixed-reality simulation training, new Topical Interest Networks, future-building events like the Leadership Symposium, and the...

David Schnarch is a world-renown sex and marital therapist. Eli sits down with David and talks about his career and influence on the field. He discusses how failures led him to come up with the crucible approach, and the revolutionary idea that sexual problems are predictable and normal. He considers the essential qualities a therapist should have to effectively practice sex therapy, touching on h...

In the second part of Eli's interview with Dr. Sue Johnson, they continue their discussion of the "person behind the model." Sue talks about the lessons learned from her first marriage and reflects on 30 years of marriage with her second husband. She shares the epiphany that led to the development of EFT, and tells a story of a time when two-thirds of the room walked out of her conference presenta...

Sue Johnson is the creator of Emotionally Focused Couples and Family Therapy. In part one of Eli’s interview, Sue recalls how her upbringing in an English pub affected her relationships with her parents and community, and established her comfort level with interpersonal drama and emotion. Sue explains her mother and father’s stark differences in parenting and the effect her mother’s preference tha...