Ep 2: Training Systemic Therapists: Dr. Afarin Rajaei & Dr. Ryan Lloyd

Learning and Teaching Systemic Therapy

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.
In this episode we have:

Dr. Afarin Rajaei, PhD, LMFT: Dr. Rajaei is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and esteemed author, dedicated to advancing personal growth, emotional awareness, and resilience through her professional work. She serves as the associated editor of the International Journal of Systemic Therapy and frequently presents on topics such as deep inclusion work, exploring romantic relationships, and integrated healthcare systems. Dr. Ryan Lloyd, PhD, LMFT-S, LCDC: Dr. Lloyd is a newly minted PhD, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor, AAMFT Supervisor Candidate, & Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor working in North Texas. He primarily works with clients with co-occurring psychiatric & substance use disorders, involved in criminal justice, high-conflict families & couples. He has worked in both inpatient & outpatient settings but he aims to get to teaching.

Dr. Lloyd's questions discussed in this episode:

1. What has inspired you most along your journey in training systemic therapists?
2. When beginning your teaching career, what did you find most difficult about getting started? What did you find most helpful?
3. What are some of tools/techniques you use to assist therapists in training, who are new to systemic thinking, who struggle with conceptualizing systems thinking?
4. If applicable, how do (or have) you navigate(d) gatekeeping with therapists in training?
5. What do you wish you would have known before entering your career in training therapists?

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/