AFTA Blog
AFTA's blog on progressive views on family centered, couple, and family therapy practices and policies.
Tribute to Douglas H. Sprenkle
Doug Sprenkle, a cherished friend, colleague, and mentor to many in family therapy passed away on August 16th, 2018 after fighting pancreatic cancer. His remarkable kindness and warmth is celebrated by many in our community whose lives he touched. His contributions to...
read moreWitnessing in Laredo
The post below is a reflection from Deliana Garcia who visited a Federal Court where people charged with illegal entry were processed. Ms. Garcia was one of our AFTA Conference 2018 Sunday Workshop presenters in Austin, TX. She is the Director of International...
read moreCaging Children: US Policy Traumatizes the Most Vulnerable
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This inscription on the Statue of Liberty has been a beacon to the world. Lately, it has become conditional, with an addendum like, “Offer may vary” or “Huddled masses from Norway...
read moreLetter from Outgoing AFTA President Jane Bardavid
Dear AFTA Members: As my term as president comes to an end, I want to thank all of you for your support and commitment to the work of AFTA. I feel honored and privileged to have served. Over the past several years, AFTA has faced enormous challenges - both internally...
read moreFamily therapy in the age of global mental health: Long live Shoufi-Mafi!
While family therapists may have skills that enhance the capacity to contextualize the suffering of the clients, supervisees, or trainees we work with, in global mental health one must be able to do this in relation to the broader political and economic factors in the country.
read moreCould I Be Unintentionally Hijacking My Work with Couples?
Learn how couples therapists can be reinforcing gender discourses unintentionally.
read moreNew Couples Therapy Approach Centers Societal Context and Mutual Support
Therapists know that sociocultural contexts such as gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, and class are important, but most practice models offer few guidelines for how to actually address these issues. The newly released AFTA Springer Brief Socio-Emotional...
read moreThe Intertwined Link Between Mental Health and All Aspects of Health
***Originally published at Mental Health Innovation Network*** Every Tuesday afternoon, my family therapy trainees and I meet to see clients at our university supported family therapy clinic. Yesterday, Simone,* a woman in her late 40s who was once a legal...
read moreFour Ways to Change The Culture of #Shame
“What does shaming create?” How do we create the results without shame?
read moreWhat if…? All the children by Joyce Maguire Pavao
What if we filed the federal and Arizona equivalent of a Massachusetts 51A on the government for abuse and neglect of those children who are piled up in warehouses for what seems like months now? What if we then did as we do when children are removed for abuse and...
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