Northcentral University

N O RT H C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y: N C U M F T S U P E RV I S O R C O R N E R 1 4 So what adjustments have been made as a program that informs our clinical training? First, prior to the death of George Floyd, which prompted recent civil unrest, the MAMFT program was in the process of revising the Cultural Diversity, Gender, and Family Development course. This course previously focused strongly on cultural competency and cultural sensitivity. The revised version of the course will include a focus on cultural humility, location-of-self, and increased development of empathy toward the experiences of others. We are also in the process of more intentionally integrating aspects of these concepts throughout our entire MFT curriculum. Many of these diversity, equity, and inclusion resources have been made available for our clinical students as well. Second, both within the larger Marriage and Family Sciences Department, and in particular amongst clinical faculty, we have been intentional about creating spaces to discuss social justice topics and events. In these discussions, we have focused not only on our own personal responses to recent events, but also how these experiences shape and inform us as clinical supervisors and therefore impact the work we do with clinical students. These conversations have acted as models for group supervision discussions as well. Third, there has been an increase in the work we do with clinical students to address the "elephant in the room." Using weekly supervision conversations, as well as integrating more role-play opportunities during these meetings, our clinical faculty have been working with students in order to increase their capacity to develop therapeutic trust and confidence as a means of creating space for courageous conversations around social justice with clients. Lastly, we have provided individual support to students who may need some additional assistance when it comes to processing, understanding, navigating, and addressing social injustices in and out of the room. Supports have included, but are not limited to, individual supervision, engagement in scaffolding social justice conversations, as well as engagement in anti-racist/anti-bias activities and study. These activities are meant to help bring additional awareness and build clinical capacity for our students. In the same way that our clients enter the therapeutic process at different places, we as a program recognize that students enter at different places in their development and awareness of anti-racist and biased ideas, both personally and professionally. Our clients do not experience the luxury of opting out of the hard work associated with working through difficult and painful experiences. As such, we expect our students to stay engaged and present as they continuously evolve in their thinking and in the practice of service, advocacy, and public participation in this important civil discourse. - Asha Sutton, PhD, LMFT MAMFT Program Director A recent article in FTM included the following charge to the field of MFT: "To justly address the issues poised here [related to systemic racism], we cannot be neutral. As MFTs, we have committed to acknowledging the human suffering is a reflection of the systems in which they endure and improving such systems" (Samuel, 2020m, p. 12). As a program, we are committed to not being neutral and exploring what that means. As was noted above by Dr. Sutton, the MAMFT Program Director, we have begun more purposefully and directly addressing these issues within our program and students' clinical experiences. In addition, we reached out to the doctoral students in our program and offered support and our commitment to working together to be a force for good in the world. The following excerpts from an email to students in the PhDMFT and DMFT programs in early June 2020 discuss our response to these challenges: We are currently facing two pandemics in the United States—one new and one present since the birth of the U.S.

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