We recently received word from The Commission
on
Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education that our
doctoral program was determined ready to continue with the next
step
in the candidacy process.
Dr. Lamar Woodham
As I sit in my office looking out over beautiful Bayou Desiard,
I'm thinking about recent events that have influenced our programs.
For those of you who might not know, at the end of the spring
semester we lost two of our faculty members. Dr. Janie Long, our
program director, was recruited by Purdue University, and Dr.
Brian Canfield accepted a position at the University of Southeastern
Louisiana as a department head. We certainly do miss both of them
and already their loss has impacted us. We also lost our secretary,
Stephanie Mulkey, who is now taking coursework in Computer Science.
We are fortunate to have added David Hale, (Ph.D. Nova University) to our faculty as an adjunct instructor. Dr. Hale, (private practice, Jackson, MS), has been teaching two of our doctoral courses this semester. Our expectations are that he will continue with us through the spring semester. The word from our students is that David is a valuable addition to our group.
The faculty has been busy with publishing, presenting, teaching, and supervising. We are currently developing a course in Cross-cultural Counseling that will be offered next summer utilizing a culturally diverse faculty and unique format. This should benefit our graduates who license in states requiring this specific area of study.
We are "pulling out all stops" in an effort to expand recruitment for our 2001 class. One of our doctoral Graduate Assistants, Amy Adams (1999 M.A., MFT) is serving as the coordinator of recruitment for the Ph.D. program. Dr. Harper Gaushell, along along with his Graduate Assistant, Trevin Campbell (1998 M.A., MFT), will be working diligently on recruitment for the master's program. Also, Dr. G. and Trevin continue to make our presence known through our website: www.ulm.edu/mft.html.
Last week I met with Dr. Dan Pryor of Methodist Children's Home to discuss the possibility of establishing a Task Force of employers of our graduates. Twenty of our graduates in the past twelve years have been employed by Dr. Pryor at the Children's Home. I am interested in helping to make our graduates the best possible, and I believe that this Task Force will allow us to revisit both our strengths and weaknesses as a program. I would like to hear from our alumni about this.
One last word. I am pleased to be
back in the position of Director for the MFT programs. I look
forward to working with our alumni, the faculty, and the ULM administration
as we continue to develop both the Master of Arts, and the Doctor
of Philosophy degree programs in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Dr. Glenda Holland
Department Head
We are excited about the atmosphere
of change within our department. Change is the catalyst for innovation
and the infusion of new ideas and methods. Change is the operant
word in the Marriage and Family Therapy program. With change comes
growth and creativity. We welcome and support Dr. Lamar Woodham,
who was recently reappointed as our program director for MFT.
He is tried and true, and we appreciate his expertise in that
leadership role. We welcome aboard David Hale, PhD., who is teaching
courses in MFT. We look forward to working with David and anticipate
with excitement the expertise he brings to the program.
We have had other significant changes as well. While we will miss the leadership of Dr. Janie Long, we wish her the best in her ne position with Purdue University. Likewise, we wish the best for Dr. Brian Canfield, who recently assumed the position of department head at Southeastern Louisiana University. We know the quality of leadership and expertise they take with them will serve their respective universities well.
Accreditation efforts are ongoing
throughout the College. We recently completed the annual report
for CACREP, and continue to improve our programs as we examine
them using newly revised CACREP standards. MFT faculty have had
several discussions concerning proposed revisions in the COAMFTE
standards and recently submitted a response to those proposed
revisions. I also attended a conference in Washington D.C. in
preparation for NCATE 2000. Two strands that are common to all
these accrediting efforts are diversity and accountability. Expect
to see innovation and growth as we address these strands in all
of our programs. Our pro- grams are healthy and ready for the
challenges that lie ahead!
| Featured
Faculty Sally E. Thigpen Associate Professor AAMFT Clinical Member LA Licensed Psychologist LA Licensed Professional Counselor |
| Featured Faculty Amy M. Yates Associate Professor AAMFT Clinical Member & Approved Supervisor |
Featured
Faculty Harper W. Gaushell, Ed.D. Professor AAMFT Clinical Member & Approved Supervisor LA Licensed Professional Counselor |
| Featured
Faculty Charles L. Cole, Ph.D. Professor Endowed Chair in Marriage and Family Therapy AAMFT Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor IA Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist |
Featured
Faculty David Hale, Ph.D. AAMFT Clinical Member & Approved Supervisor in Training MS, TX Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist |
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Kelly Barnett, M.A.
Director of
Services
Granberry Family Ministries
The Louisiana Baptist Children's Home is a residential care facility with space availability for as many as 120 children at the Monroe campus. In October 2000 the Home opened another campus in Baton Rouge. The Granberry Counseling Center is the newest form of help to families through the Home. The Center provides affordable counseling for individuals, couples, and families in satellite locations across Louisiana. With the founding of the Granberry Center as an integral part of the Baptist Children's Home, Louisiana Baptist Children's Home's relationship with the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at ULM has opened doors for internship opportunities. The Baptist Children's Home considers the ULM Marriage and Family Therapy Program a valuable resource for the supply of qualified therapist interns. The Granberry Center also provides employment opportunities for graduating students not only desiring to remain in the surrounding area but those who wish to relocate statewide.
Jennifer Wallace, MA, NBCC
Counselor Intern
Graduated May 1999
Through my internship site external
to the Marriage and Family Therapy Center, I was fortunate enough
to have a job waiting after graduation at The Granberry Counseling
Center, a ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Children's Home here
in Monroe. Our vision is to assist people in strengthening and
preserving families. As a result, I work with a large number of
families and couples in crisis. The training I received in the
Marriage and Family Therapy Program at The University of Louisiana
at Monroe has proved to be invaluable as I work with these families.
There are many things I am still learning but the Marriage and
Family Therapy program at ULM provided a great foundation on which
to build my approach to therapy.
Dr. Dan Prior
Director of Clinical Services
Methodist Children's Home
Since my affiliation with
the Methodist Children's Home (MCH) in 1989, I have been impressed
with the quality of graduate students in the Marriage and Family
Therapy (MFT) program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe
(ULM). During the past 11 years, there have been numerous graduate
externs who have assisted our clinical staff in addressing the
needs of our residential youth and their families. Additionally,
Methodist Children's Home has employed 20 ULM MFT graduates. I
have always been pleased with the caliber of professionals from
your graduate program .
|
Wendell A. Ray, Ph.D. Professor AAMFT Clinical Member & Approved Supervisor Louisiana Board Certified Social Worker |
| Jessica-
Describe your role here at ULM. Dr. Ray- I have a Ph.D. in MFT and I am an MSW. I have been a faculty member here at ULM since January 1990. This is a good place I enjoy working here. We have excellent Doctoral and Master's programs in MFT. Jessica- What/who is the Mental Research Institute (MRI)? Dr. Ray- The MRI grew out of the 10 year long series of research projects into the nature of paradoxes in communication processes by Gregory Bateson and his team, Don Jackson, Jay Haley, John Weakland, and William Fry. The MRI itself was founded in 1958 by Don Jackson as the first freestanding family therapy institute in the world. The first federally funded investigation into the use of conjoint family therapy as the principal treatment method with schizophrenic patients occurred at MRI. The first federally funded family training program was at MRI. Jackson and Jay Haley, in collaboration with Nathan Ackerman, founded the first journal in the MFT field Family Process. In 1965 Richard Fisch, MD founded the first center ever in the world specifically to study how to make therapy more effective and efficient, the Brief Therapy Center at MRI. MRI research associates have produced many of the most influential contributions to family and brief therapy theory and clinical practice. So there have been a lot of "firsts" at MRI. Jessica- What is your past and current role at MRI? Dr. Ray- While writing my dissertation on Don Jackson in 1987, I began spending time out at MRI under the tutelage of John Weakland, Richard Fisch, Paul Watzlawick, and others. This led to my taking on the role of Archivist for MRI. For several years I have been a member of the MRI teaching faculty, which principally involves the training of residents via teleconferences about the history of MRI, the work of the Bateson Projects, the work of Jackson, Virginia Satir and other pioneering members of the MRI staff. I am also a member of the Brief Therapy Team at MRI, serving principally in the capacity of a researcher. Recently, MRI initiated a search for a new director. I was invited out for an interview, which culminated in my being asked to serve as director. To be given this opportunity and responsibility is a great honor, so naturally I accepted. Jessica- What are your hopes for MRI? Dr. Ray- As important as the MRI has been in the development of MFT, there are some in our fieldhave the perception that MRI is a wonderful place where numerous seminal contributions were generated but whose time has passed. That is far from my experience of MRI. In addition to a rich history, the MRI is currently staffed by some of the brightest and most creative research associates I've ever had the privilege to know. In the 40 plus years since MRI helped found the field, marriage and family therapy has flourished into a legitimate and distinct discipline. The stature of MRI has not diminished, but rather has so thoroughly permeated theory and practice that it is easy to run into people in our field who don't recognize MRI as the wellspring for much of the theory and practice techniques noted in Marriage and Family Therapy. I would hope to rekindle a broad based excitement about what MRI symbolizes to our field historically as well as current significance. Jessica- Howthis affect your relationship with ULM? Dr. Ray- What this means with regard to my relationship with ULM is that I am already a busy person and I am going to get much busier. I will be dividing my time during fall and spring semesters between teaching at ULM and regular visits to MRI. I will also be spending summers at MRI. I think this is a wonderful and unique opportunity for myself as well as ULM to have this kind of relationship with MRI. I really enjoy teaching here at ULM and intend to be here for the foreseeable future. What I'm going to strive to have happen is for ULM to avail itself of the many resources available through MRI and the varied therapeutic approaches represented by its many prestigious faculty. Conversely, it is hopefully going to be very beneficial for MRI to have an affiliation with an AAMFT approved Master's program and a Doctoral program that has just entered into candidacy status. |
Ellen Morris, a 1992 graduate of
our master's program, died in her Baton Rouge home on August 27,
2000. After completing our program, Ellen began working as an
intake counselor for Baton Rouge General Hospital. Her intelligence,
competence, and teamwork skills were easily noticed, and she was
quickly promoted to a managerial position. After
leaving Baton Rouge General, Ellen decided to obtain her doctorate.
Ellen will be remembered for her love of animals, her compassion
for children, her devotion to friends, and her dedication to her
family.
Janie Long, Ph.D.
Associate Professor-ULM,
1997-2000
Thanks for the leadership and wisdom
you brought to our program during your appointment as Program
Director.
Brian Canfield
Professor-ULM, 1989-2000
For your many years of service
and dedication to our program, our friend and colleague, thank
you.
Many thanks to Sharon and Gary
Booth for their donation to the Marriage and Family Therapy Foundation.
The Foundation was funded so that individuals, like you, can take
an active part in the growth of our Marriage and Family Therapy
here at ULM .
Please contact Lamar Woodham for Donations @ 318) 362-3005