Welcome to Learning and Teaching Systemic Therapy Podcast, the official Society for the Teaching of Marriage and Family Therapy (STMFT in short) podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Sofia Georgiadou. I created STMFT and this podcast as an antidote to the isolation I experienced as an early-career academic. I also created STMFT and this podcast as a space to allow myself and my colleagues to share resources and bridge the way we do systemic therapy with the way we teach systemic therapy in our classrooms.

Here with us today we have:

Dr. Mary Nedela is an Assistant Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), a licensed marriage and family therapist in Connecticut and Michigan, a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She received her master’s degree in child development and family studies with a specialization in marriage and family therapy from Purdue Calumet (now Purdue Northwest). She received her doctoral degree in human development with a specialization in marriage and family therapy from Virginia Tech. Dr. Nedela has taught several undergraduate and graduate courses in marriage and family therapy, human development, and psychology. Additionally, she has comprehensive clinical experience working in various clinical settings, including in-home programs, in-patient style settings, and outpatient settings. She is particularly passionate about LGTBQ+ individuals and their relationships with family, friends, and partners. Additionally, she is driven to increase the quantity and quality of clinical services available to LGBTQ+ communities. Her specific research area of interest includes relational well-being among bi+ individuals and their partners.

Our PhD Student guest today is Joyce Miles Jacquote. Joyce is an LMFT Supervisor, an LCDC, and going into her third year as a DMFT student at National University's Marriage and Family Therapy program. On top of all of that, she is the owner of a solo private practice, Overcoming Miles Counseling, PLLC which offers telehealth services in CO, TX, UT, and WA. In her private practice, she focuses on providing therapy to romantic partners, queer platonic partners, and families; however, they may present or define themselves. Her therapeutic passions are serving the communities that she is a part of, including the Black and Brown communities and Queer communities. When not providing therapy, Joyce is providing clinical supervision to LMFT Associates and MFT graduates interns as well as giving presentations, appearing on podcasts, and writing blogs to educate others.

Questions discussed in this episode:

1. If you have a client caseload in addition to your course load what have you found to be helpful when it comes to balancing both along with your personal life?
2. What resources do you recommend for an early-career instructor to learn how to create a meaningful syllabus for the courses that they teach?
3. What tips do you have to keep a class engaged when teaching an online synchronous course?
4. Are there specific skills or experiences that you would recommend an early career profession focus on to advance in this field?
5. What strategies do you find most effective for building connection and collaboration with your peers in the field?

Resources:

Society for the Teaching of Marriage and Family Therapy (STMFT) website: https://stmft.coastmft.org/

STMFT Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stmft

Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) website: https://cirtl.net/