Marlene F Watson

Black Lives Matter is a clarion call for racial equality and racial justice. With the arrival of Africans as slaves in 1619, a racial hierarchy was formed in the United States. However, slavery is commonly dismissed as that less than noble aspect of the United States' history without really confronting the legacies of racial inequality and racial injustice left in its wake. White supremacy, based on the myths of white superiority and Black inferiority, have obscured racial inequality and racial injustice, resulting in blaming the victims. Using Black Lives Matter as a platform, we focus on some key considerations for theory, research, education, training, and practice in clinical, community, and larger systems contexts. Broadly, we focus on Black Lives Matter, literally; Black dehumanization; historical oppression; healing; and implications for the field of family therapy. More specifically, we draw attention to health disparities, mass incarceration and aggressive policing, intergenerational racial trauma, restorative justice, and antiracist work.

The COVID-19 pandemic brings to the forefront the complex interconnected dilemmas of globalization, health equity, economic security, environmental justice, and collective trauma, severely impacting the marginalized and people of color in the United States. This lack of access to and the quality of healthcare, affordable housing, and lack of financial resources also continue to have a more significant impact on documented and undocumented immigrants. This paper aims at examining these critical issues and developing a framework for family therapists to address these challenges by focusing on four interrelated dimensions: cultural values, social determinants of health, collective trauma, and the ethical and moral responsibility of family therapists. Given the fact that family therapists may unwittingly function as the best ally of an economic and political system that perpetuates institutionalized racism and class discrimination, we need to utilize a set of principles, values, and practices that are not just palliative or after the fact but bring forth into the psychotherapeutic and policy work a politics of care. Therefore, a strong call to promote and advocate for the broader continuum of health and critical thinking preparing professionals to meet the challenges of health equity, as well as economic and environmental justice, is needed. The issues discussed in this paper are specific to the United States despite their relevance to family therapy as a field. We are mindful not to generalize the United States' reality to the rest of the world, recognizing that issues discussed in this paper could potentially contribute to international discourse.

Social justice tends to be narrowly defined as equality without due recognition of human dignity and respect for those whose daily lives continue to be adversely impacted by race. This article seeks to explore key issues and challenges at the intersection of social justice and race for couple and family therapy. These include: (a) defining social justice; (b) diversity and inclusion; (c) power and privilege; (d) witness; and (e) personal responsibility.

The Person of the Therapist Training (POTT) model developed by Harry J. Aponte was introduced first in the academic setting of Drexel University's Master of Family Therapy Program in 2002. Prior to Drexel, the model had been applied only in the private sector with postgraduates. This article describes the vision of the then Department Chair Marlene F. Watson and the process of branding the POTT model.

The Person-of-the-Therapist Training (POTT) model, developed by Harry J. Aponte, teaches trainees to intentionally and productively use all aspects of themselves for clinical effectiveness. The current study explored the perceived impact of POTT on the clinical work of 20 postgraduates of Drexel University's Master of Family Therapy Program. Findings suggest that POTT is effective, generating a purposeful therapeutic presence that comprises the therapist's way of being and the therapist's way of doing. Also, participants express being transformed by POTT and employing learned skills beyond graduation. Implications for training and future research are discussed.

Little has been written about the experiences and stresses of low-income African American youth witnesses of intimate partner violence ( ipv ). Specifically, what is not apparent in the literature is the impact of witnessing ipv on the self-identity and development of low-income African American youth. Results of semi-structured interviews with ten young adult African American males and females, ages 21–29, who witnessed ipv as low-income youth indicated major themes from three variables under study (impact of witnessing ipv on self-identity and development; experience of being a low-income youth; and experience of being African American). Within the variable of the impact of witnessing ipv on self-identity and development, six major themes emerged in the data: opposing ipv /taking a non-violent stance; not wanting to be abused, controlled or disrespected in relationships; becoming independent/growing up too fast; developing trust issues; engaging in aggressive interactions, internalizing issues and rationalizing ipv ; and growth from witnessed ipv /view of self as better person. Two core themes arose from the six major themes: loss of childhood/gain of independence and adolescent problems due to ipv exposure. Discussion and significance of the findings are presented within this work.

Marriage and family therapists grapple with the intersection of societal influence and African American clients’ presenting problems. Questions include: what impact has the historical trauma of slavery had on African Americans and what are the clinical implications of this trauma? This paper reviews the literature on the various residual effects of slavery (RES) within the African American community. A case vignette and a broad discussion of therapeutic techniques will be used to highlight the clinical implications of RES.

Drexel University's Couple and Family Therapy Department recently introduced a formal course on training the person of a therapist. The course is based on Aponte's Person-of-the-Therapist Training Model that up until now has only been applied in private, nonacademic institutes with postgraduate therapists. The model attempts to put into practice a philosophy that views the full person of therapists, and their personal vulnerabilities in particular, as the central tool through which therapists do their work in the context of the client-therapist relationship. This article offers a description of how this model has been tested with a group of volunteer students, and subsequently what had to be considered to formally structure the training into the Drexel curriculum.

The field of marriage and family therapy faces a growing imperative to reach historically underserved populations. African Americans are a prime example of a minority group in the United States that continues to be underserved by the current mental health system. We integrate Andersen’s ( 1995 , Journal of Health and Social behavior, 36 , 1–10) public policy model of health service use with Fox et al. ( 1995 , Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 6 , 434–468) revision of the rural de facto mental health services model (Regier and Goldberg, 1978 , Archives of General Psychiatry, 35 , 685–693) to develop a more inclusive and culturally sensitive framework that captures salient factors influencing African Americans’ entry into and engagement in therapy. Recommendations for overcoming barriers and suggestions for future research are presented.