Ep 8: Strengthening Systemic Thinking in MFT Training: Dr. Merchant and Dr. Ilkmen

Learning and Teaching Systemic Therapy

Questions we explored in this episode:

1. Why is it important for MFT students to strengthen their theoretical skills earlier compared to other counseling related fields?
2. What are some tools to facilitate choosing a theoretical orientation?
3. How do you balance teaching foundational theories while encouraging students to develop their unique therapeutic style?
4. What challenges do your students face when applying theory to practice, and how have you helped them bridge the gap?
5. What strategies have you used to help students broach topics around culture with their clients?
6. How do you think current trends in systemic therapy (e.g., teletherapy, trauma-informed care, somatic-based approaches) influence the teaching of systemic theoretical orientations?

Dr. Merchant is an Associate Professor and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Abilene Christian University. She is also the Chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Studies. Dr. Merchant is an alumna of ACU (’04) and earned her Doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy at Texas Tech (’15). Dr. Merchant facilitated a Batterer Intervention and Prevention Program until last year. She is currently the Presiding Member of the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, and is the state delegate to the Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards. She has two adult sons, could eat tacos for every meal, and loves plants despite her brown thumb.

Dr. April Nisan Ilkmen received both her masters and Ph.D. degrees in Couple and Family Therapy from Adler University in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Ilkmen is the Clinical Training Director and Assistant Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Northern Illinois University. Dr. Ilkmen’s teaching and clinical interests are related to attachment in romantic relationships and issues of social justice in the field of psychotherapy. Dr. Ilkmen grew up in Turkey, has lived in Canada, and now resides in the U.S. Her immigration experience, and multi-cultural background allowed her to become a culturally sensitive clinician and professor. Her clinical approach is the attachment-based model, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a model that permeates her clinical practice as well as her teaching and supervision methods. Her approach to therapy is informed by psychodynamic models, helping each individual to understand their unique struggles in the past and present in order to facilitate internal change. Dr. Ilkmen practices in Turkish, French and English. Dr. Ilkmen is currently enrolled in Psychoanalytic training program at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and in ongoing psychoanalytic supervision.

Resources discussed in this episode:

McDowell, T., Knudson, M. C., & Bermudez, J. M. (2019). Third‐Order Thinking in Family Therapy: Addressing Social Justice Across Family Therapy Practice. Family Process, 58(1), 9–22. https://doi-org.acu.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/famp.12383 ANVIET course activity Case Conceptualization Course Activity_Lisa Merchant Immigration Narrative Reflecting Team Group Activity_Lisa Merchant