This episode focuses on social constructionism with one of the leading figures in the field, Kenneth J. Gergen Ph.D.

We hear about how radical the ideas were at the time of its conceptiopn and the people who believed in its contribution to psychology and supported its evolution. Ken tells us his personal and professional stories of the history and development of his key ideas within social constructionism alongside some of the challenges when sharing with the wider field.  Ken discussed the key elements of its application in the therapeutic context and his futures hopes.


Bio (taken from Taos Institute website)

Kenneth J. Gergen, Ph.D., is a founding member, President of the Taos Institute and Chair of the Board, and the Mustin Professor of Psychology at Swarthmore College. Gergen also serves as an Honorary Professor at the University of Buenos Aires. Gergen received his BA from Yale University and his PhD from Duke University, and has taught at Harvard University and Heidelberg University. He has been the recipient of two Fulbright research fellowships, the Geraldine Mao fellowship in Hong Kong, along with Fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Alexander Humboldt Stiftung. Gergen has also been the recipient of research grants from the National Science Foundation, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the Barra Foundation. He has received honorary degrees from Tilburg University and Saybrook Institute, and is a member of the World Academy of Art and Science.

Gergen is a major figure in the development of social constructionist theory and its applications to practices of social change. He also lectures widely on contemporary issues in cultural life, including the self, technology, postmodernism, the civil society, organizational change, developments in psychotherapy, educational practices, aging, and political conflict. Gergen has published over 300 articles in journals, magazines and books, and his major books include Toward Transformation in Social Knowledge, The Saturated Self, Realities and Relationships, and An Invitation to Social Construction. With Mary Gergen, he published an electronic newsletter, Positive Aging (www.positiveaging.net) distributed to 20,000 recipients. 

Gergen has served as the President of two divisions of the American Psychological Association, the Division on Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, and on Psychology and the Arts. He has served on the editorial board of 35 journals, and as the Associate Editor of The American Psychologist and Theory and Psychology. He has also served as a consultant to Sandoz Pharmaceutical Company, Arthur D. Little, Inc, the National Academy of Science, Trans-World Airlines, Bio-Dynamics, and Knight, Gladieux & Smith, Inc.

In this episode we discuss the Queensland Institute of Family Therapy's (QIFT) meta framework for integrative practice. Founders, Kate and Leonie talk about how practitioners are embracing and integrative approach and their experience of developing the framework. 

Topics covered include:

• The main elements of the framework 
• How integrative differs from traditional approaches in family therapy 
• What it contributes to the wider systemic field 
• Throughout the conversation we hear about case examples & teaching points about the model.

For any training enquiries related to:

• Key Skills in Family Therapy
• Working Safely with Families and Trauma
• Systemic Integrative Practice Masterclass
• Trauma-Informed Care For Midwives
• Trauma-Informed Care In The Emergency Department
• 3 Hour Trauma-Informed Care lecture

Please note that from June 30th 2024 QIFT will no longer be operating but you can contact Kate & Leonie directly to enquire about the framework or their practice.

You are welcome to contact Kate directly ([email protected] or 0408528380) for any training enquiries related to Working Systemically with Stakeholders and Live Supervision: Systemic Supervision In Action.

You are free to contact Kate for any other training in family therapy, trauma, staff wellbeing, student welllbeing and anxiety, and other various topics.  For more information please visit www.drkateowen.com.  You can also stay in touch by joining her mailing list and following on social media platforms such as:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drkateowen
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/drkateowen
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkateowen
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbcwwK4FFb4MVxxZ6KMqwQ

After June 30th you are welcome to contact Leonie directly ([email protected] or 0401002544) for any training enquiries related to Systems and Stories: A Narrative Therapy Approach to Meaning Making and Change, and Picture This: Harnessing the Therapeutic Power of Genograms, as well as any other training in family therapy, trauma and various topics.

For more information on other training Leonie provides you can visit her website https://www.drleoniewhite.com/community-events-and-training  and you can also stay in touch with Leonie by subscribing to her monthly Resource Letter www.drleoniewhite.com and via her Professional Social Media and LinkedIn
https://www.facebook.com/drleoniewhite
https://www.instagram.com/drleoniewhite
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-leonie-white-9a915489

This episode is about Shadi Shahnavaz’s insightful book “Working systematically with refugee families and couples: exploring trauma, resilience and culture” We discuss areas such as:
-Effects of trauma
-Seeking therapeutic help
-Cross cultural therapy
-Refugees lived experiences
-Frameworks for engaging & supporting families and couples
Shadi guides us through her personal and professional journey of working in this area and enlightens her process with case studies and resonances to develop compassionate & effective practice


Bio:

Dr Shadi Shahnavaz is a social worker and systemic therapist. She has worked for over 25 years with complex families and individuals and has extensive experience in working with refugees. Shahnavaz presents and provides training on attachment theory, working with trauma, and working systemically.

Book reference:

Shahnavaz, S. (2022). Working systemically with refugee couples and families: exploring trauma, resilience and culture. Taylor & Francis.


Reviews:

'Dr Shahnavaz is to be commended for writing such a useful book, especially during these times when the phenomenon of refugees is so prominent in our societies. It is unique because of its specific focus on couples and families and its systemic approach, examining the interactive implications of these forms of adversities. The inclusion of relevant clinical material brings to life the complexities of these painful realities, whilst it also indicates ways of effectively addressing them. The book will be a valuable resource both for specialists and for the general public.'

Renos K Papadopoulos, PhD, Professor at the University of Essex, UK. Author of Involuntary Dislocation: Home, Trauma, Resilience and Adversity-Activated Development (Routledge, 2021)

'An important and timely contribution to the clinical work with highly traumatized refugees and their families—very moving, personal and instructive! Essential reading for all practitioners listening to seemingly unspeakable narratives...'

Dr E. Asen, Consultant Psychiatrist, University College London & Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, UK

'At one level, Dr. Shahnavaz’s honest new book is an academic text, with a comprehensive review of literature and an examination of the contemporary political and social contexts in which refugee lives are embedded. At the heart of the book are compelling real-life accounts of refugee couples’ experiences and journeys, woven in with the author’s reflexive experiences of migration. It is these narratives that transport the book from an academic text to a complex hybrid between historical biography and autobiography. The book is written in a lucid and accessible style and includes a helpful overview and critique of therapeutic interventions for refugee couples and families. It skillfully examines the controversial subject of whether cultural and linguistic matching between the family and therapist is necessary for the therapeutic relationship. The book is a "must read" for students and teachers of refugee studies; for clinicians working with refugees; for service providers and policy makers; for service users; and for all those who are interested in culture, couple and family relationships and the impact of transgenerational trauma.'

Dr Reenee Singh, Consultant Family and Systemic Psychotherapist & Founding Director, London Intercultural Couples Centre at the Child and Family Practice, UK

In this episode we speak with the much respect Dr Harry Aponte about his career, contributions and process of becoming and being a therapist.  He shares with us stories oh how he became interested in systemic practice and his early days in structural systemic family therapy. We take a deep dive with Harry as he discussed the key ideas that informs his approach, the important people who have helped shape his practice and the values that he holds in his therapeutic work. 

This episodes explores structural approaches, the use of self and working with marginalised communities. 


About Dr Harry Aponte:

Dr. Harry Aponte has made significant contributions in the area of Family Therapy. An Afro-Caribbean male, Dr. Aponte’s work has been crucial in building better systems of care for those considered “underprivileged.” As a trailblazer in the mental health field, Dr. Aponte fought to change the narrative around African American and Hispanic American families from the stigmatizing term “disorganized” to that of resourceful.

While working in the “inner city” of Philadelphia, Dr. Aponte pioneered the idea of eco-structural therapy. This move shifted the stigmatization of early mental health practices for those who identified as BIPOC, and influenced a form of therapy that accounted for the many socioeconomic and racial factors that influenced these families. This shift helped to coordinate efforts to build collaborative practices across multiple disciplines in hopes of providing the best services for at risk families. Dr. Aponte has continued to influence the field of family therapy and mental health, especially for those who identify as BIPOC, through his many articles, books, talks, and teaching of therapists across five decades.

Resources:

https://apontetraininginstitute.org/

Editor of The Journal of Family Therapy (JFT), Sarah Helps joins us to discuss the history, contribution & value of JFT. Sarah shares her passion for research and its important role in the systemic field. She shows how research can support practice through developing knowledge and deepen our understanding of process. She talks us through how to get involved with the journal and debunks  fear of creating meaningful research.

The Journal of Family Therapy advances the understanding and treatment of human relationships constituted in systems such as couples, families, professional networks, and wider groups, by publishing articles on theory, research, clinical practice and training.

Bio:

Dr Helps is a consultant clinical psychologist and systemic psychotherapist. She started working at King's College Hospital after qualifying in 1995 and has recently returned to lead the growing paediatric psychology service.

She teaches on aspects of systemic research and practice at the Tavistock and the Institute of psychiatry, psychology and neurosciences. Over the course of two decades, her research interests have focused on hospital, staff, stress, parental adaptation to childhood illness, and more recently on how communication between clinicians and families works in a variety of healthcare settings. She is interested in growing just, evidence-based systemic practice informed by a plethora of forms of research and enquiry and supporting research that is born from genuine co-production between research-minded practitioners and the people with whom we work.

Dr Helps was appointed as JFT editor in 2023.

Sarah Helps, BSc, MSc, DclinPsy, DProf
Consultant Clinical Psychology / Lead for Paediatric Psychology
King's College Hospital, UK
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Editor_JFT

Editor of The Journal of Family Therapy (JFT), Sarah Helps joins us to discuss the history, contribution & value of JFT. Sarah shares her passion for research and its important role in the systemic field. She shows how research can support practice through developing knowledge and deepen our understanding of process. She talks us through how to get involved with the journal and debunks  fear of creating meaningful research.

The Journal of Family Therapy advances the understanding and treatment of human relationships constituted in systems such as couples, families, professional networks, and wider groups, by publishing articles on theory, research, clinical practice and training.

Bio:

Dr Helps is a consultant clinical psychologist and systemic psychotherapist. She started working at King's College Hospital after qualifying in 1995 and has recently returned to lead the growing paediatric psychology service.

She teaches on aspects of systemic research and practice at the Tavistock and the Institute of psychiatry, psychology and neurosciences. Over the course of two decades, her research interests have focused on hospital, staff, stress, parental adaptation to childhood illness, and more recently on how communication between clinicians and families works in a variety of healthcare settings. She is interested in growing just, evidence-based systemic practice informed by a plethora of forms of research and enquiry and supporting research that is born from genuine co-production between research-minded practitioners and the people with whom we work.

Dr Helps was appointed as JFT editor in 2023.

Sarah Helps, BSc, MSc, DclinPsy, DProf
Consultant Clinical Psychology / Lead for Paediatric Psychology
King's College Hospital, UK
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Editor_JFT

In this episode we meet Francesca Balestra and Laura Fruggeri, two of the authors of the book Psychotherapeutic competencies: Techniques, relationships, and epistemology in systemic practice (2002).  We have the opportunity to hear about the importance and value of competencies through the exploration of technical, relational, epsitimolgical and social aspects of competencies. 

The episode covers:
- the Methodological principles of competencies
-the 4 levels of systemic competencies (technical, relational, epistemological & social)
- case examples for each competency
- how to develop relational skills to develop trusting relationships so change can take place
- Ethics of competencies
- Irreverence
- Relationship between competency, context & clinical skills


Bio of guests:

Laura Fruggeri is a psychologist and psychotherapist and a former professor of psychology of family relationship at the University of Parma. Currently, she is the director of the Bologna Centre of Family Therapy and has been extensively teaching in the UK, Europe, and North and South America for more than 3 decades. She is the author of more than 100 publications in Italian, English, French, Spanish, Danish, and German.

Francesca Balestra, PhD, is a psychologist and psychotherapist. She is a family therapist, a researcher, and a trainer at the Bologna Centre of Family Therapy. Her research interests are focused on communicative and interactive processes between therapist and client in psychotherapeutic sessions.

Reference:

Fruggeri, L., Balestra, F., & Venturelli, E. (2022). Psychotherapeutic competencies: Techniques, relationships, and epistemology in systemic practice. Taylor & Francis.
Description of book:

This book provides a clear and concise description of the multifaceted notion of psychotherapeutic competencies, building on years of research and training and informed by a systemic approach. 

Psychotherapeutic Competencies clearly describes methodological principles to guide both trainees and experienced therapists through the definition of four levels of systemic competencies and illustrates each principle with compelling clinical case material. The book emphasises the need for therapists to develop relational skills, which allow for the consolidation of a trusting relationship in which change can take place, as well as acquiring a set of methods and techniques. Psychotherapeutic Competencies encourages therapists of all levels of experience and therapeutic backgrounds to develop epistemological competency and to deepen their awareness of the extended contexts in which they operate and of the possible effects of their practice at a social and cultural level. 

This book will be essential reading for psychotherapists of all therapeutic backgrounds, in practice and in training, who wish to enhance their understanding of competency, context, and clinical skill. It will also be a key text for systemic and relational psychotherapists, trainers, trainees, clinical supervisors, and researchers.

Batja Mesquita, social psychologist,  affective scientist, and pioneer of cultural psychology joins us to talk about her wonderful book Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions (2022).

In this episodes, we dive deep into the key ideas within the book and discuss the interplay with systemic ideas. Batja invites us to reconsider emotions as universal responses and takes an outside/in perspective on how emotions are created through culture. We discuss how this can be vital to understanding and navigating cultural differences in emotions. She skilfully presents how acknowledging these differences in emotions allows us ti find common ground, humanising and humbling us for the better.


About Batja:

Batja Mesquita is a social psychologist, an affective scientist, and a pioneer of cultural psychology. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and director of the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology at the University of Leuven. Before coming to Leuven, she was affiliated to Wake Forest University, the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the University of Amsterdam. Mesquita is one of the world’s leading authorities on the psychological study of cultural differences in emotions. Her most recent research focuses on the role of emotions in multicultural societies. She studies how emotions affect the belonging of minoritized youth in middle schools, and the social and economic integration of “newcomers” (i.e. newly arrived immigrants). Mesquita has been a consultant for UNICEF and the WHO, and most recently, she was a member of the core group of scientific advisors for the Happiness and Well-being (SEH) Project, and initiative of the Vatican in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

Link to website:

https://www.batjamesquita.com/


Reference:

Mesquita, B. (2022). Between us: How cultures create emotions. WW Norton & Company.

In this episode,  we speak with Dr. Ruth Van Reken who is the co-authour of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd ed., and author of Letters Never Sent. 

We explore Third Culture Kids (TCKs)—which refers to people raised in cultures different from their parents’ and who spent formative years in diverse environments. We delve into the psychological, social, and relational impacts, addressing identity, belonging, challenges, and the incredible advantages of a cross-cultural upbringing. These benefits encompass a broader worldview, enhanced cross-cultural intelligence, and heightened adaptation skills.


About Ruth: 

Ruth Van Reken is a second-generation Third Culture Kid* (TCK) and mother of three now-adult TCKs. She is co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd ed., and author of Letters Never Sent, her personal journaling seeking to understand the long-term impact of her cross-cultural childhood. For more than thirty years Ruth has traveled extensively speaking about issues related to the impact of global mobility on individuals, families, and societies. She is co-founder and past chairperson of Families in Global Transition.  In addition to her two books and many articles, she has written a chapter in other books including Strangers at Home, Unrooted Childhoods, and Writing Out of Limbo.  In 2019 she received an Hon. Litt.D from Wheaton College for her life's work. S


Websites:
crossculturalkid.org  (Personal Website)
crossculturalkid.org/blog/  (Blog)

In this episode we talk with Hendrix Hammond about identity, the use of self, positioning and emotions in the therapeutic and organisational contexts. We expand on his AFT 2022 keynote speech where Hendrix shares his own journey and how this has informed him and is present in his values and ways of working in practice. 

Hendrix Hammond bio:

Hendrix is a Consultant Couple & Family Psychotherapist and Lead Family Therapist for a London Local Authority. He is a qualified AFT (Association of Family therapy) Supervisor and is UKCP accredited and a BAATN member (Black, African & Asian Therapy Network)