East Carolina University Medical Family Therapy Doctoral Program

11/16/2021

Congratulations to Betul Kucukardali on receiving the 2021 Graduate International Student Award. Betul joined our program from Turkey in August and has such a passion for Medical Family Therapy. It is an honor to have her a member of our MedFT family!

09/01/2021

Dear Students, Alumni and Friends,
This statement was originally prepared by a colleague at another COAMFTE program, Mudita Rastogi, PhD, in response to recent events. Our MFT and MedFT faculty felt so moved by it that we wanted to adapt and adopt it to share it with you. All COAMFTE program directors are attempting to share statements as a way to extend support within and across programs. We are truly grateful for our colleagues and the way they extend compassion and support as we navigate such challenging times.

We watch images from Afghanistan with disbelief and deep distress. At the same time, there has been an earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Europe and China, and domestically, wildfires and hurricanes, to name a few crises. Future threats of climate disasters loom. Needless to say, COVID is also still devastating entire countries, communities, and families. At times, it is easy to retreat from all of this. Burnout, helplessness, and a sense of distance from those directly impacted can lead us to turn away.

As systemic mental health professionals, we have to do more.
For example:
• It is critical to remember that women and minorities shoulder a far, far greater burden of oppression from political instability and natural disasters. We need to be trained to recognize how crises impact individuals and communities differentially.
• Families are being displaced, and families have been separated due to unrest, poverty, and recent travel restrictions. We must take a global approach to learning systemic family therapy.
• Mass trauma is different from individual trauma in terms of both conceptualization and intervention. Systemic mental health professionals to be trained in both.
• Families bear the impact of traumatic events for generations. We need to recognize, prevent, and treat intergenerational trauma.
• Change comes not just at family and individual levels, but also via policy shifts, government actions, and global alliances. We need to think big and be advocates.
• We need to ensure that our interventions are appropriate, culturally sensitive, evidence based, and multilevel. As family therapists, we need to engage with multiple levels of systems to enable third-order change.

We are here to reinforce the call to both reflect and act. We encourage and challenge us all to take some time to consider what comes next. In addition to making donations to help refugees, survivors, and rebuilding efforts, let's keep ourselves well-informed. And how can we be even more effective as change agents? Let's engage in conversations with our peers, instructors, supervisors, and communities.
• What more do we need to know?
• What more can we do?
• What further questions can we ask?

Please know that if you or anyone you know is suffering and needs support the National Su***de Prevention Hotline is an important resource (1-800-273-8255) or text 741741 for crisis counseling 24/7.

We look forward to your thoughts, and continued engagement on these topics.

In peace,

Your ECU MFT and MedFT Faculty

03/01/2021

Students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), the HDFS faculty is seeking your help! We would like information about your experiences in HDFS and suggested ways in which we can better address racism, discrimination, and anti-Blackness in our academic programs. The HDFS Department has received funding from the Office of Equity and Diversity to collect these data which will be used to guide virtual conversations (conducted by an HDFS alum) with BIPOC alumni and then presented to faculty and staff. The purpose of this is to engage with current and former BIPOC students about their experiences in our academic programs in order to make curricular, andragogical, and policy changes that increase equity and inclusion in the department.
Please complete the survey here:

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09/29/2020

Dear Alumni, Current, and Prospective Students,

In the coming months the MFT/MedFT faculty anticipate that numerous conversations and posts will emerge on social media (family members, friends, alumni, community members), among politicians, and in news media outlets that will be patently inconsistent with the anti-racism and anti-discrimination statements adopted by our programs. While we are all entitled to exercise our first amendment right, we want to remind everyone that our professional code of ethics and adherence to its anti-discrimination principles is a professional obligation. The first amendment right does protect the freedom of speech and the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) offers a comprehensive and balanced approach to understanding what it involves: https://www.aclu.org/other/speech-campus. The ACLU challenges that restricting the rights of this basic freedom serves to jeopardize everyone’s rights in return. Ultimately, it is up to us to educate against harmful discourse that further divides and marginalizes. This is something our faculty members are taking very seriously and are continuously addressing. We are committed to creating safe spaces for this discourse to occur. Many of you are a part of that effort in making our programs more inclusive and welcoming places to learn and grow…..and we thank you.

Above all, the faculty would like to conclude with our commitment to the following anti-discrimination and anti-racism statements that we have adopted. Recent revisions to the ones adopted this summer reflect our continued commitment to making them current and remaining front and center to our work.

Antiracism, Anti-Discrimination Statements

The MedFT and MFT programs comply with the policies of the university regarding discrimination: “East Carolina University is committed to equality of educational opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants, students, or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, or disability. Moreover, East Carolina University is open to people of all races and actively seeks to promote racial integration by recruiting and enrolling a larger number of minority students. East Carolina University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.” Policies regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action are published in the Graduate Catalog only available online through the Graduate School’s website (see http://catalog.ecu.edu/content.php?catoid=13&navoid=1015&hl=%22Affirmative+action%22&returnto=search -action-obligations). In addition, the “Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Policy,” “Notion of Nondiscrimination,” “Sexual Harassment Prevention Plan, Policy, and Grievance Procedure for Complaints of Sexual Harassment,” and “Racial and Ethnic Harassment Policy” are published in the Graduate Catalog. In addition, the program has committed to the following statements of diversity, antiracism, and LGBTQ rights to healthcare:

Commitment to Anti-Racism and Inclusion:

The MedFT/MFT faculty and the Family Therapy Clinic at ECU confirm our commitment to disrupt the ongoing racism, discrimination, violence, and murders against Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We are deeply concerned and committed to fighting systemic and institutionalized oppression and racism with self-critical engagement. Our faculty and clinic continue to personally and professionally examine our own privileges and actively work to dismantle the oppression created by privilege in our society. We invite all of our students and alumni as well as members of the community to do this same work.
Initially approved by MedFT/MFT Faculty June 2, 2020
Revised September 18, 2020

Commitment to LGBTQ Healthcare:

The ability to receive any type of healthcare services should never be dependent upon one’s gender, sexual orientation, or any other social location. The MedFT/MFT faculty, students, and alumni are aligned with the LGBTQ community in support of their reception of equal healthcare opportunities. We stand ready to combat prejudice, violence, and discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community by continuing to partner with the East Carolina University Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center in delivering affirming healthcare services.

In response to recent governmental policies that limit healthcare opportunities for members of the LGBTQ community, the East Carolina University MFT and MedFT communities clearly state that members of the LGBTQ community are always welcome at the ECU Family Therapy Clinic.
Initially approved by MedFT/MFT Faculty June 23, 2020
Revised September 18, 2020

East Carolina University Academic Catalogs

07/10/2020

Congratulations to Dr. Jackie Williams-Reade (2011 graduate) & Max Zubatsky (Eds) on the publication of a Medical Family Therapy resource that will be so helpful to our field!

Self of the Therapist in Medical Settings: A Sociocultural and Systemic Perspective (AFTA SpringerBriefs in Family Therapy)

07/10/2020

Congratulations to Dr. Christine Borst (2013 graduate) on the publication of her children's book, "What is Coronavirus?" 100% of the profit from this book will go to helping families and small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and other pandemics.

What is Coronavirus?

07/10/2020

The MedFT faculty are proud to announce we have two more successfully defended dissertations to our family. Please extend your congratulations to Rachel Williams and Rebecca Levy on their major accomplishment this summer!

Rachel Williams: "ALS and Family Functioning"
Rebecca Levy: " Su***de Assessment in Emergency Departments: An Examination of Clinician Stress, Coping and Perceptions of Contextual Variables"

07/10/2020

A special congratulations to Dr. Braden Brown on being selected as the 2020 recipient of the AAMFT Foundation Dissertation Award. His dissertation entitled," Identifying the unmet behavioral health needs that resettled refugee youth present within primary health care settings."

06/03/2020

The MedFT/MFT faculty and the Family Therapy Clinic at ECU confirm our commitment to disrupt racism, discrimination, and violence, against our Black and African American community. We are deeply concerned with the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, George Floyd, and so many that have been killed or endured violence before them. We are committed to fighting systemic and institutionalized oppression and racism with self-critical engagement. Our faculty and clinic continue to personally and professionally examine our own privileges—especially our white privilege—and actively work to dismantle the oppression created by privilege in our society. We invite all of our students and alumni as well as members of the community to do this same work.

On June 11th from 1:00-2:00 (eastern) we would like to invite all current and former MedFT/MFT students to a community meeting. The intention is to hold a space of listening and dialogue and determine how to promote change through action. Information about the meeting is below:

https://ecu.webex.com/meet/hodgsonj

Meeting Number: 733 835 230

Join by video system

Dial hodgsonj@ecu.webex.com and enter your host PIN 6363.

You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.

Join by phone

+1-415-655-0003 US Toll

+1-415-655-0003 US Toll

Access code: 733 835 230

Host PIN: 6363

Global call-in numbers

06/02/2020

Dear Alumni, Students, and friends of the program. I know many of you are hurting. Enough is enough! We as a program stand as allies with those who experience institutional racism and daily threats of murder at the hands of the privileged. Their oppressive voices, actions, and beliefs are tearing up our families and cities and devaluing our people of color in this country. We need to help heal the psychological trauma that so many people are experiencing in our communities across the country. As if COVID was not illuminating enough of the injustice, the murder of George Floyd and countless others has highlighted the painful truth that this place we call our home is broken and has been for hundreds of years. The events of this past week is a product of the lack of action and listening by those who need to be more active listeners, the white majority. We take this responsibility seriously, and while COVID has us distanced socially, we need to reach out to one another to formulate ideas on what we can do together to listen better and to heal. Racism and systemic injustices have been struggling to be heard and we promise to be a better listeners.I promise to be a better listener. I promise to be a better ally. I have a lot of work to do. Written by Jennifer Hodgson.

08/31/2019

Your ECU MedFT/MFT faculty, sans Kit and Erin, giving their pirate support!

Our MFT faculty had a Paint it Purple Friday while they were at the annual conference of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy in Austin, Texas! Arrgh!

08/29/2019

Please attend this webinar sponsored by the AAMFT Families and Healthcare TIN on November 8th 1:00-3:00 CST! Members only...so please join!