Friday, April 17th
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Embodying a Radical Self-Love Ethic for Leadership
Ashley Hicks
In this session, participants will learn about a radical self-love ethic informed by Black Feminist Politics and how this ethic can be embraced and embodied when engaging in personal and professional leadership. Radical self-love rests on the idea that self-love is not focused solely on individual well-being but is a political act directly tied to dismantling systems of oppression. As leaders, we will explore 1) what it looks like for our professional practices to reflect our inherent wholeness and unique embodied experience; 2) how we can construct our lives in such a way that they are shaped by our personal values/commitments and the need for resistance and renewal; and 3) how we might we make leadership and vocational choices that liberate ourselves, those we lead, and our communities. Drawing on the wisdom of Black Feminist Politics, we will examine how Black womxn leaders, past and present, have and continue to embody a radical self-love ethic to lead with integrity and confidence, promote innovation and creativity, foster growth, build community, and engage in effective communication. The implications and impact this ethic can have on the field of systemic therapy will be discussed.
Leading a Systemic Mental Health Practice: Applying Family Systems Theory to Organizational Development
Caprice Lambert
Cat Sterling
This presentation explores the application of Family Systems Theory to the development and leadership of a successful mental health practice. Starting from an origin story of a practice built on systemic tenets—growing from 3 to 25 clinicians across two offices, with a multidisciplinary training program and extensive community outreach—this session will delve into why a systemic lens is crucial for both clinical work and organizational development. We will discuss how Dr. Murray Bowen's Family Systems Theory, which views individuals and their behaviors as interconnected within a larger emotional unit, can be applied to understand and improve team dynamics, communication patterns, and overall organizational functioning in a business context.
Key takeaways will include:
- Clinical Application: Learn how a systemic approach ensures clients are seen as part of a larger system, facilitating expedited support for other family members and fostering collaborative consultation among clinicians for a holistic understanding of the family gestalt.
- Organizational Integration: Explore practical applications such as using a "genogram" for organizational charting, fostering awareness of individual impact on the broader system, and recognizing the eco-systemic influence of local, state, and federal environments on the company.
- Systemic Problem-Solving: Understand how to address company issues both individually and systemically, focusing on achieving "2nd order change" for deeper, more sustainable solutions.
Attendees will gain insights into leading a mental health practice by looking at the "gestalt of the company," fostering a truly interconnected and resilient organization.
Articulating Intersectional Identities into an Authentic Leadership Style
M. Evan Thomas
Ivonne Harting, MS, LPC, LAC
This presentation will focus on systemic advocacy for the queer and trans community. Both presenters are leaders in QTAN who work on advocacy at the local, state, and national level. The presenters will discuss advocacy that is occurring in QTAN with the partnership with AAMFT, how attendees can get involved with advocacy, and the ethical importance of advocating for the queer and trans community as an LMFT. Both presenters will share how they have navigated their intersectional identities and how they have been able to connect them with their leadership style, goals, and dismantling barriers in leadership.
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Trauma-Informed Leadership: Learn How to Transform Your Leadership Style
Heather Katafiasz
Trauma is being recognized as one of the most influential mental health issues, as it has such widespread impacts that it not only influences those who experienced the trauma, but also those who are connected to that person, including friends, family, and coworkers. With this recognition, clinicians have an increased awareness that they must approach their work with clients through a trauma-informed lens. While trauma-informed approaches to client care are rapidly being implemented, less discussion has occurred regarding how to take a trauma-informed approach to leadership.: This workshop will the framework that authenticity and embodiment are imperative to teaching about trauma-informed leadership, this workshop will help leaders understand how to embody a trauma informed approach in their leadership style. Specifically, the workshop will cover how to apply SAMHSA’s 6 key principles of a trauma-informed approach to leadership (SAMHSA, 2018). Lastly, this workshop will discuss what leadership styles are most appropriate within a trauma-informed framework. The format of this workshop will be a combination of a didactic component to provide foundational concepts and experiential activities to help the attendees explore what it means to be a trauma-informed leader.
Leading Change in South Asia: Pioneering Systemic Therapy and Scalable Relational Mental Health in Bangladesh
Umme Kawser
This session explores the leadership journey behind launching Bangladesh’s first university-based systemic therapy clinic, an initiative aimed at addressing the critical gaps in relational and family mental health care in South Asia. Grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and systemic principles, the clinic offers a scalable and culturally responsive model of care that integrates clinical training, community engagement, and research. The speaker will outline how leadership, cross-cultural adaptation, and local capacity-building converged to develop this pioneering initiative. Attendees will gain insight into how context-specific innovation can inform broader global strategies for expanding relational mental health infrastructure in low-resource settings.
The Neurobiology of Leadership: What Every MFT Should Know
Lorne Epstein
In times of rapid change and emotional complexity, today’s leaders need more than strategy; they need insight into the brain. This interactive session bridges neuroscience and leadership to help MFTs understand how stress, bias, and emotional regulation shape decision-making in high-stakes environments. Participants will explore the four core brain-based traits that influence leadership effectiveness and learn practical tools to foster clarity, adaptability, and resilience in both family systems and workplace settings.
An Inquiry into the Art of Systemic Leadership
Anthony Mielke, DMFT, LMFT
Through an autobiographical lens, this presentation will explore the art of systemic leadership by integrating systemic and humanistic concepts with real-life leadership development and experiences. Some foundational concepts of systems thinking will be presented to provide the context in which themes of mentorship, connection, and value-driven decision-making will be discussed. Additionally, resilience and vitality as a leader will be explored through the lens of humanistic principles with a particular emphasis on navigating the potentially paradoxical relationship between productivity and the lived experience of the person, both in and out of the workplace. Consideration will be given to power and privilege, multisystemic factors impacting leadership experiences, and self-as-leader throughout the presentation.
Saturday, April 18th
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
The Authentic Leader
Rebecca Cobb, PhD
Amanda Veldorale-Griffin
Therapists are trained to be self-aware, attuned, and present. When therapists step into leadership roles, those same relational skills are often overlooked in an attempt to maintain control or authority. This presentation explores how authentic leadership—grounded in self-awareness, honesty, and transparency—can transform professional relationships, build trust, and create more effective teams and organizations. This presentation will examine the core qualities of authentic leadership. Presenters will share personal stories from their experiences in different leadership roles, highlighting moments where attempts to maintain power through performance fell short, and how returning to authenticity led to greater impact.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how self-awareness and vulnerability can enhance leadership, and practical strategies for integrating authenticity into their own leadership roles.
Reflexive Leadership: Transforming MFT Systems Through Self and Relational Power
Jennifer Sampson
Leadership in marriage and family therapy is at a crossroads. Many of us step into supervisory, academic, and organizational roles prepared to lead others but not always prepared to examine how our own histories, biases, and relational patterns shape the systems we influence. This session introduces Reflexive Leadership, a model grounded in the Person of the Therapist (POTT) framework, systemic theory, and decolonizing practices.
Through powerful stories, research-informed principles, and reflective practice, we will explore how leaders’ own Signature Themes influence their approach to power, decision-making, and team dynamics—and how cultivating reflexivity can transform supervision, education, and clinical organizations into more equitable, relational, and impactful systems.
You’ll leave inspired to lead differently: centering equity and collaboration, aligning leadership practice with systemic values, and modeling the self-awareness we ask of our clients and supervisees. Whether you are an experienced director or an emerging supervisor, this session invites you to reflect on your own leadership journey and take the next step toward liberatory, relational leadership in MFT.
From Surviving to Leading: Navigating Vicarious Trauma While Holding Leadership Roles
Octavia Neal
Lisa Torres
In times of ongoing crisis and collective stress, therapists, particularly those within leadership roles, are often expected to lead with clarity and stability while quietly carrying their own vicarious trauma. Navigating agency, community, and advocacy work, the cumulative toll of trauma exposure can undermine clinical presence, relational integrity, and decision-making capacity.
This session explores the often-unspoken impact of vicarious trauma on leadership and introduces sustainable, trauma-informed practices to help clinicians lead with intention rather than exhaustion. Participants will learn how trauma shows up in leadership behaviors, explore the concept of clinical containment, and develop somatic, relational, and systemic strategies to promote regulation, accountability, and sustainable care.
Grounded in experiential reflection, cultural humility, and trauma stewardship, this session affirms the humanity behind the leadership title and equips participants with a practical leadership wellness toolkit—designed to foster wholeness, not burnout.
Supporting Early Career MFTs Through Network Leadership
Andrew Benesh, PhD
Early-career clinicians face unique professional challenges as they transition from being graduate students to working professionals. Navigating these challenges can be overwhelming, leading to recent graduates feeling overwhelmed, disconnecting from their professional associations, and leaving the MFT field.
In this session, participants will explore common challenges to early career success and professional engagement, and learn about strategies for better supporting early career clinicians as network leaders. Through collaborative dialogue, participants will be invited to share successes, opportunities, and creative solutions for re-engaging early career clinicians with professional organizations.
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
What’s Inclusion Without Family: Advancing Family Inclusion in School-Based Mental Health Services
Angela Lamson
Samuel Heath
This session will be grounded in a systematic review that examined the extent to which school-based mental health services (SBMHS) integrate family inclusion practices in pre-K through 12th-grade settings. Guided by systems theory, the review applied two conceptual frameworks—Levels of Integrated Healthcare (Heath et al., 2013) and Levels of Family Inclusion (Pratt & Sonney, 2020)—to assess the degree of professional collaboration and family involvement in empirical research. Using PRISMA guidelines, three databases (PubMed via MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL Complete) were searched between December 2024 and January 2025. Inclusion criteria required peer-reviewed empirical studies that focused on SBMHS with family involvement and integrated care with at least one mental health professional. Out of 302 initial records, 33 studies met full inclusion criteria, with 36 total rankings due to multiple framework assessments in two articles. Findings revealed that most studies demonstrated low levels of family inclusion and moderate levels of professional integration. Specifically, 14 articles reflected family inclusion alone, 11 demonstrated integrated professional care without family inclusion, and 8 incorporated both. No studies reached the highest level of family inclusion, and most professional integration occurred at level four (co-location with limited systems integration). These results suggest that while schools are advancing interprofessional collaboration, family engagement remains underutilized. Implications underscore the need for structural, policy, and practice reforms to elevate the role and impact of families in school mental health systems. The findings highlight opportunities to create more culturally responsive, sustainable, and family-centered SBMHS to effectively address youth mental health needs.
Cultivating Leadership in Systemic Family Therapy: Local Innovations from South Asia
Shreya Sharma
Umme Kawser
Systemic family therapy has traditionally developed within Western contexts, but applying it in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka requires a deep understanding of local family structures and relational norms. This session specifically focuses on developments in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where practitioners are pioneering grassroots innovations and culturally responsive adaptations of systemic therapy. It highlights how local leaders are developing sustainable therapeutic models by incorporating collectivist values, extended family roles, intergenerational traditions, and social hierarchies into their systemic approaches. Drawing on clinical experience, training efforts, and both quantitative and qualitative research, the speaker will also explore barriers to implementation, including stigma, limited infrastructure, and gaps in professional training. Participants will learn practical strategies to foster leadership development and expand family therapy practices in culturally diverse and resource-limited settings across South Asia.
Do You Have What It Takes? What Does it Take to be an Epic Leader in the Field of MFT or on the AAMFT Board of Directors?
Silvia Kaminsky
Carol Podgorski
Many members have the misconception that one has to be at the pinnacle of their career, have much free time or disposable income, or have years of AAMFT governance experience in order to serve at the level of the AAMFT Board of Directors. Since the inception of the Leadership Development and Recruitment Committee (LDRC) in 2023, pathways to leadership have been intentionally broadened by a shift to association’s best practices, skills and competencies, and DEI which support the mission of AAMFT’s strategic plan. In many ways, the qualities and skills inherent in being in AAMFT leadership are in sync with the path to impactful leadership in the field of systemic therapy. This workshop will take the mystery out of becoming a Board Member by demystifying the “clues” inherent in determining whether you are ready for service on the AAMFT Board or Directors, and what those criteria really are, so that you can proceed with intentionality on a path that is personally rewarding while serving and thriving in the profession you love!
Participants will utilize an AAMFT Leadership Inventory Tool in order to assess their overall readiness for different levels of AAMFT leadership, to identify areas that require development, and to become aware of opportunities within and outside of AAMFT to do so.
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Empowering Emerging Leaders in MFT: Delta Kappa’s Role in Professional & Leadership Development
Michelle Robertson, PhD, LCMFT
AnnaLynn Schooley, PhD, LMFT, LMHC
As the Marriage & Family Therapy field continues to grow in quality and reach, the need for ethical, culturally responsive, and visionary leadership becomes more urgent. This presentation explores how Delta Kappa, the International Marriage & Family Therapy Honor Society, cultivates leadership in both graduate-level trainees and early-career therapists. Rooted in its mission to recognize and promote excellence in scholarship, research, and clinical practice, Delta Kappa encourages the development of future leaders who embody integrity, inclusion, and systemic thinking. Participants will examine how Delta Kappa fosters personal and professional growth through academic achievement, service, and advocacy. The session will highlight concrete ways that Delta Kappa can serve as a foundation for leadership development from the classroom to clinical practice—and beyond.
From Start to Finish: How to Pitch, Write, and Publish Books in MFT
Rebecca Cobb, PhD
Jacob Priest, PhD, LMFT
Are you interested in publishing your own book but don’t know where to start? Learn about the benefits of publishing academic, clinical, and general audience texts; how it relates to leadership in the field of family therapy; and exactly how to do it. In this session, presenters will share their unique experience with publishing books related to the field of family therapy. Presenters will review the process of publishing edited books and solo-authored books. The difference between academic texts and books written for larger audiences will also be discussed. Step-by-step instructions for publishing your book will be provided. In addition, presenters will share tips and tricks for each step along the way.
Leading Through Uncertainty: Embracing Radical Hope as Resistance
Jamila Holcomb, PhD, LMFT
In an era marked by social unrest, political instability, systemic inequities, and collective uncertainty, effective leadership in the field of systemic family therapy demands more than strategic agility: It calls for emotional courage, compassion, and transformative vision. This presentation explores the concept of radical hope, not as passive optimism, but as a deliberate act of resistance and a powerful leadership stance that transcends momentary crises. Drawing on trauma-informed, liberatory, and culturally responsive frameworks, this presentation invites leaders to reimagine uncertainty as grounds for connection, innovation, and collective liberation. Through reflective exercises and actionable strategies, this presentation will examine how systemic leaders can harness radical hope to inspire teams, strengthen communities, and uphold the dignity and humanity of those most impacted by systems of harm. Participants will leave equipped with tools to embody radical hope and a renewed justice-oriented commitment to leading the field of systemic family therapy forward, amidst uncertainty.
Hormones and Him: What Every Leader Needs to Know About Male Attachment, Avoidance, and Emotional Regulation
Rehema Gathumbi
In the evolving landscape of mental health leadership, one truth remains dangerously under-acknowledged: men are struggling emotionally quietly, biologically, and relationally. Yet, many of these same men hold key leadership positions across industries, shaping workplace culture, economic decisions, and family systems. As a leader in the field of marriage and family therapy, I am calling for a paradigm shift; one that moves beyond the myth of male stoicism and instead interrogates how hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone profoundly shape men’s emotional regulation, attachment patterns, and avoidant behaviors.
This session explores the neuroendocrinological realities often overlooked in clinical conversations and leadership circles. We’ll examine how hormonal profiles influence men’s capacity to lead, build trust, resolve conflict, and engage meaningfully at work and home. Male emotional shutdown, often mislabeled as arrogance, detachment, avoidance, or apathy, has tangible effects: it weakens family bonds, fuels toxic workplace dynamics, contributes to mental health stigma, and carries economic consequences in lost productivity, absenteeism, and decision-making under emotional constraint.
Drawing from clinical research, real-world cases, and my leadership experience across therapy, media, and organizational development, I’ll offer powerful tools for leaders, supervisors, and board members who want to champion men’s emotional well-being not just as a mental health issue, but as a strategic imperative. Because when we ignore men’s emotional pain, we don’t just risk families, we risk the future of healthy leadership.
If we are to lead true systemic change, we must make room for male vulnerability, starting at the hormonal level.
Career Curves: Chaos, Curiosity, and the Path to MFT Leadership
John Robbins, PhD, LMFT
Ivonne Harting, MS, LPC, LAC
Career development is often framed as a linear journey—predictable, goal-oriented, and reinforced by external validation. Yet for many marriage and family therapists, especially those socialized with gendered expectations, the path into and through leadership is often winding, nonlinear, and shaped by complex contextual forces. This session invites participants to reconsider leadership identity through a systemic lens, drawing on key concepts from Chaos Theory and Olson’s Circumplex Model, with a particular focus on adaptability.
Participants will be introduced to Chaos Theory not as a formula to be mastered, but as a conceptual framework that values unpredictability, authenticity, and responsiveness in career development and leadership. Olson’s model, widely known for assessing family dynamics, will be adapted here to consider how flexibility and adaptability can offer a new way of understanding individual professional pivots. Both models invite reflection on how growth often occurs not in rigid planning, but in openness to change.
The session will center the often-unspoken stigma around career pivots into the MFT field from unrelated professions, especially those not traditionally viewed as stepping-stones to mental health leadership. Gendered narratives around leadership, expertise, and ambition will be explored, with attention to how these dynamics shape both internalized self-perception and external career validation.
Presenters will share personal stories of career transition, modeling vulnerability and clarity in naming how systemic forces have influenced their own leadership identities. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own paths and share brief insights in community. This session seeks to both normalize and honor the complexity of career shifts, while offering clinicians, educators, and supervisors new ways to support others navigating similar transitions.
Together, we will explore how embracing uncertainty—and reimagining adaptability—can become a powerful foundation for authentic leadership in the MFT field.