The Systemic Way – Details, episodes & analysis

Dr Jamila Holcomb is a marriage and family therapist and supervisior in Florida joins us to discuss racial trauma. Given the current climate and the ongoing wrestle with racism and its impact on communities and individuals this episode offers essential tools for anti racist practice.

Jamila takes us through the important area of racial trauma in clinical settings. We hear her talk about defining racial trauma, barriers to addressing it, clinical best practices for therapists and supervisors and a call to the field!

https://www.holcombcounselingandconsulting.com/

In this episode we speak with Marianne Le Coyte Grinney about mental health and tech. Marianne is the founder of Held Mind an organisation that offers training, support and consultation on mental health, sobriety and recovery on platforms such as web 3 and discord. She takes us through her personal and professional journey with the world of tech and the need to understand this world and why mental health matters in these communities. We hear about the culture of these platforms, inclusivity and the growing dilemmas and conversations around making these spaces safe and accessible to everyone.

Bio:
Marianne Le Coyte Grinney, the founder of Held Mind and Founding Member of Therapist’s DAO is a dynamic force in mental health services. Juggling roles as a psychotherapist and clinical lead in the UK’s NHS, Mental Health advisor for World of Women, Director of IRIS Psychotherapy and Labour Party councillor.

She’s a recognized presence in web3, relentlessly advancing social justice and mental health access. As one of the 100 most inspirational women in web3, Marianne utilises this momentum to destigmatise and advocate for universal access to mental health and recovery support. Her passion, innovation, and steadfast commitment to social justice continue to make her a vital figure in web3 and beyond.


https://www.heldmind.com/

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

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)

In this episode we talk with Flavio Cannistra, Jeff Young and Katy Stephenson all about Single Session Therapy (SST). They share their professional experience and lived examples of the approach in action. We are introduced to the philosophy, key principles, benefits, challenges and ethics of SST and get an insight to how it can transform practice,  systems and how services are delivered. 

Guests:

Jeff Young (PhD) is Emeritus Professor, La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He is a clinical psychologist and family therapist who has worked, published and presented in the area of Mental Health for over 38 years. He was Director of The Bouverie Centre, the world’s largest specialist family therapy centre between 2009 & 2022.

Katy Stephenson, Family and Systemic Psychotherapist working in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service community team in NHS, Dorset Healthcare Trust. She has worked predominately with children, young people, their families/carers and significant others for over 20 years. 

Flavio Cannistrà, is co-founder and co-director of the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy and the ICNOS Institute, a school of Specialization in Brief Systemic Strategic Psychotherapy. He has published articles on Brief Therapy in international journals and has been a conference speaker in Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan.

His publications include “Terapia a Seduta SIngola. Principi e pratiche.” (2018, Giunti, translated into English and Japanese) and “Terapia breve centrata sulla soluzione. Principi e pratiche” (EPC).

Link to symposium:

https://www.singlesessiontherapies.com/single-session-therapy-symposium/