Keynotes - SFTC 2026

The Connection Crisis: What Relationships Mean in an Increasingly Isolated World

Thursday, 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. ET

Loneliness, social isolation, and declining social connection have emerged as defining public health challenges of our time, impacting individuals, families, workplaces, and communities around the world. Yet amid these challenges lies an opportunity to rethink how we build meaningful relationships, foster belonging, and strengthen the social fabric that supports health and well-being.

In this engaging fireside conversation, Dr. Murthy will explore the growing connection crisis through the lens of public health, sharing insights from his national work on loneliness, community, and human connection. Together, with AAMFT President-Elect Adrian Blow, the discussion will examine why relationships are fundamental to individual and societal well-being, how technology and cultural change are reshaping the way we connect, and what gives us reason for hope. This conversation will set the stage for the conference by challenging attendees to consider the vital role relationships play in creating healthier individuals, families, and communities.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States

Dr. Vivek Murthy is a physician, best-selling author, and the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States who has deepened our understanding of how to improve our health. He has advised Presidents, governors, legislators, corporate leaders, educators, and healthcare organizations on a wide range of public health issues. Dr. Murthy has been recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on health, and his landmark initiatives as Surgeon General have spurred public dialogue and new policy and program initiatives around the world, particularly with regard to mental health, technology and health, workplace well-being, loneliness and isolation, and tobacco. He served as co-chair of the White House COVID-19 Task Force under President Biden, and he has also written Surgeon General reports on the threat of health misinformation and the health worker burnout crisis. His 2022 Surgeon General’s Framework on Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being has been widely cited and increasingly adopted by large and small organizations seeking to improve the health, engagement, and performance of their workforce. And his 2023 Surgeon General’s Report on the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation opened up a conversation in America about a new dimension of health - social health - and how it affects our physical and mental health, educational and workplace outcomes, and political polarization.

Dr. Murthy is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, and he has authored perspective pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and New England Journal of Medicine. He has also served as co-chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Connection as well as co-chair of the National Academy of Medicine’s Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience.

From 2022-2025, Dr. Murthy hosted the podcast “House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy,” where he interviewed a wide range of people - humanitarians, artists, chefs, authors, researchers, faith leaders, and others - about how to compose a life of fulfillment and well-being in a busy and chaotic world. Given his strong belief in the power of the arts to promote health, Dr. Murthy also conceived of the 2023 musical production Songs for Hope, which featured artists and public health heroes together at the Kennedy Center for a night of healing and community. He is also the author of the Surgeon General’s Recipes for Connection, an innovative product which guides people on how to create gatherings around food that can build community and reduce loneliness. Dr. Murthy has advised companies like Airbnb, Netflix, and Estée Lauder on pandemic preparedness and workplace well-being. He has also served on the boards of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the RAND Corporation, and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Dr. Murthy earned his BA from Harvard University, magna cum laude, and his MD and MBA from Yale. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He has cared for thousands of patients and taught hundreds of medical trainees during his clinical years, and has conducted research in vaccine development and the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials. Vivek has also built non-profit organizations focused on HIV/AIDS and improving the US healthcare system, as well as a health technology company to accelerate collaboration in clinical trials.

Dr. Vivek Murthy is married to Dr. Alice Chen, and they have two children in elementary school. A native of Miami, Dr. Murthy plays the mridangam, a percussion instrument used in classical South Indian music. He has appeared on Top Chef and has shared his childhood love of mangos - and his mango peeling skills - on a viral Bon Appetit video that received millions of views.

Relationships in a Changing World: Global Perspectives from Marriage and Family Therapists

Friday, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET

While the challenges of loneliness and social disconnection are global, they are experienced differently across cultures, communities, and family systems. Marriage and family therapists are uniquely positioned to observe these changes firsthand and to help individuals, couples, and families build stronger, healthier relationships.

This dynamic closing panel brings together internationally recognized marriage and family therapists from around the world to explore how relationships are evolving across different cultural contexts and what these changes mean for the future of systemic and relational therapy. Drawing on their research, clinical expertise, and lived experience, panelists will discuss emerging trends affecting families, the influence of technology and social change, cultural perspectives on connection and belonging, and the unique role of MFTs in addressing one of the defining challenges of our time.

Rather than offering a single perspective, this conversation will provide a global view of how the profession is responding to an increasingly interconnected yet often disconnected world, leaving attendees with new insights, renewed optimism, and a shared vision for the future of marriage and family therapy.

	Dr. Michelle Karume Dr. Michelle Karume is a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) clinician and professor, with specializations in Medical family therapy (MedFT), Program development and Evaluation, she is an author and a Leader in Systemic Family Therapy in Africa. Her core values are health and spirituality, which both lend themselves to her philosophy that health is not the absence of disease but rather the inclusion of biological, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing. The biopsychosocial-spiritual framework is at the cornerstone of all her clinical and research work. Her research and leadership skills have lent themselves to developing MFT programs in Kenya, in the development of The Systemic Family Therapy Association-Kenya where she also serves as the Advisor on the board. Her current research is on “Collaborative Stress”, a stress management model she recently coined in lieu of answering the current stress burden that many are grappling with. Her clinical interests have led her to run a solo private practice for over 10 years. Sessions encompass: individual, couples, children, group therapy and family therapy. She also runs the annual Recro Grief Camp for grieving children. For corporate organizations she facilitates mental health discussions, and give trainings on the same. As an educator she has the privilege of teaching at the Undergraduate, Masters and Doctorate level. As an author-she finds ways of connecting complex theoretical practices and brings them to your family living room as a way of healing and enhancing family cohesion. As a student of life, Dr. Karume continues to immerse herself in knowledge, whereby her classroom is beyond the four walls of her clinical and research practices.
	Dr. Ruben Parra-Cardona Ruben Parra-Cardona earned his Ph.D. degree in couple and family therapy at Texas Tech University. Currently, he is the inaugural Roger and Carol Nooe Endowed Chair at the College of Social Work, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His cultural adaptation research focused on low-income Latine communities has been funded for 15 consecutive years by the National Institutes of Health. This work has led him to be a core research team member of studies focused on the cultural adaptation of parenting programs across the US, Mexico, and South America. Parra-Cardona has also served as an expert consultant for federal agencies in the United States affiliated with the US Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Parra-Cardona has received the AAMFT Outstanding Publication Research Award, the Adrian Blow Outstanding Innovation in Research Award and most recently, the Culture and Diversity Award by the Society for Prevention Research.
	Dr. Reenee Singh Dr. Reenee Singh is a Consultant Family and Couples Systemic Psychotherapist, with over thirty years of clinical experience. She is currently based at the Child and Family Practice in London, where she is the Founding Director of the London Intercultural Couples Centre. She was the Editor of the Journal of Family Therapy and the CEO of the Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. Reenee is the author and editor of four books and numerous articles on intercultural couple relationships, issues of ‘race’, culture and qualitative research. She joined Professor Adrian Blow and a team of American scholars as the only non-American Associate Editor of the Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy. She presents her work at national and international conferences and teaches all over the world.
	Professor Timothy Sim Timothy Sim is an internationally recognised social worker and family therapist whose professional formation and lived experience span Sichuan (China), Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. He holds a double bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Chinese Studies from the National University of Singapore, a Master of Science in Family Therapy from King’s College London, and a doctoral degree in Family Studies from The University of Hong Kong. His current work centres on strengthening the disaster resilience of children and supporting multi-stressed families affected by addiction, incarceration, and complex, multiple adversities. A defining feature of his scholarship and practice is the contextualisation and localisation of family therapy through practice research and transdisciplinary collaboration across disciplines and sectors. His contributions are widely recognised internationally and is the most cited scholar in family therapy and social work scholar in Singapore. He actively advances the field of practice research through service on editorial boards of leading international journals and through the organisation of major international conferences and training. Beyond his professional commitments, Tim finds renewal in walking through reservoirs and museums, drawing inspiration from the creativity of nature and humanity, and from the dynamic interaction between the two. Please visit his website for more information on him: https://www.suss.edu.sg/academics/schools-college/faculty-listing/detail/timothy-sim