Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects
Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (DMFT)
Advisor
Christopher Burnett
Abstract
The Flexible Practicum (FP) Model, founded by Dr. Christopher Burnett originated over a decade ago, offered me abilities to grow and develop with systems thinking to love and care as a self-centered family therapist. FP gave me love, joy, and happiness from the autoethnographic critical self-analysis lens. I used clinical theories and, I preferred to work from Bowenian natural systems theory to explore and process sickle cell family healing. Bowen's concepts of differentiation of self and positioning reflections addressed my own early child marriage, being a child-bride-runaway, abandonment, and vituperation. The Mental Health Institute (MRI) offered me a foundation to understand sex-role functions. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) allowed me to slow down the pace of therapeutic loving self-processing. Narrative Therapy (NT) offered me a cultural phenomenon to respect myself and others without normalizing judgment or objectifying identities. The differentiated essence of love-born sickle cell family healing! As Burnett (2013) put it, in the process of thinking to a differentiated level of differentiation and positioning self—It was necessary for the therapist to "both connect empathically and avoid fixer role" (Burnett, 2013, p. 69). Keywords: Burnett flexible practicum model, sickle cell family healing, autoethnographic critical self-analysis, Bowen natural systems theory, mental health institute, solution-focused brief therapy, narrative therapy
NSUWorks Citation
Mary I. Mukasa. 2022. Let’s go on an Adventure: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Marriage and Family Therapists in Office-Based Practice Incorporating Adventure Therapy. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (136)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/136.