Kourtnie Carroll's Archive

AAMFT Conference 2012

0 Commentsby   |  10.17.12  |  Uncategorized

This year the annual American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy conference was held in Charlotte, North Carolina! Several faculty and a few second-year students were able to travel and experience the conference and all it had to offer. In addition, Dr. Sara Blakeslee, Dr. Jaime Goff, Austin Brown, and Priscilla Griffin presented a poster about the Efficacy of EFT-Based Relationship Enrichment. In order to hear a little more about the trip, Amy Passmore and Kendra Arsenault were kind enough to write about their experiences.

“I really enjoyed the conference.  There was a wide offering of breakout sessions to attend (much more than at the state conference) on topics such as hoarding, eating disorders in adolescence, incorporating exercise into therapy, and more. It was energizing to see so many professionals in our field coming together to learn about new techniques and research.  I left with a lot of helpful information for treating varied types of clients and creative ideas for implementing new interventions.” -Amy Passmore

“Going to conference was very educational. I went to several different break-out sessions that really impressed me. I went to a session on eating disorders and group therapy, which was incredibly informative and really interesting. The women showed a video that linked eating disorders and lack of intimacy. Another session I went to talked about expectations, hope, and alliance. This session was a great reminder of the importance of connecting with a client well before the first session. You can help clients to know the quality of therapy they will receive by your referrals, website, and first phone call. Finally, I went to the showcase. This was the most exciting part for me. I was able to meet and greet with the PhD programs I am interested in. I really enjoyed talking with these prospective schools and seeing what they had to offer and what I could bring to the table. Overall, it was nice to be in a professional environment where I felt like my career path was validated and developing all at once.”  -Kendra Arsenault

Overall, this AAMFT conference this year was a very educational and energizing to those who were able to attend. All of us here at the Marriage and Family Institute will be anxiously awaiting the AAMFT annual conference next year in Portland, Oregon!

New Year, New Cohort!

0 Commentsby   |  08.30.12  |  Uncategorized

As the Summer comes to an end, the Marriage and Family Therapy program welcomes a new cohort! The incoming class of 2014 is made up of a very diverse and energetic group of 22 students. The second year students were so kind as to throw a welcome party for the new cohort at Play Faire Park here in town. Some of the highlights of the party included a wonderful cookout, a little rivalry in miniature golf, and a great time of fellowship. The second year students were very supportive and offered many words of encouragement as the first class drew near.

After this first week of class, the first years came out with all of the feelings of excitement and  nervousness that go along with a new journey. Many of the first years have eagerly began hours of observation and are becoming acclimated to the clinic. In addition, the first year students have began getting to know each other and building friendships. Highlighted below are a couple students from the new cohort that were willing to share some of their background.

Adam Clement joins the cohort all the way from Overland Park, Kansas! For his undergraduate career, he studied Personal Financial Planning at Kansas State University. There are two main experiences that led to his interest in Marriage and Family Therapy. He was a Resident Assistant in his time at KSU, but he also worked as a Peer Financial Counselor in a free student-run financial counseling service for KSU students. He is looking forward to the small private college atmosphere, the clinical emphasis of the program, and the Christian focus.

Holley Craft did not have to travel far because she just finished her undergraduate degree in Family Studies here at Abilene Christian University! Over the past couple of years, she had two different youth group internships at local churches. In addition, Holley has spent her Summers working at two camps. The combination of these experiences gave her direction and reassurance that she would like to work with families and adolescents when done with the Marriage and Family Therapy program.