Saint Louis University Medical Family Therapy Program

Congrats to our students who successfully passed their summer session thesis/dissertation defenses! We wish you all the best in your continued journeys and look forward to the numerous ways that you’ll impact the field. 
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Doctoral Students:
Andre Morgan
Kiara Hill

Master’s Students:
Phoebe Cook

I’m so proud of the great turnout by our program at the 2026 MedFT Intensive Conference in Denver this past weekend. Wenjin Wang, Shannon Lawton-O’Boyle, Rachel Livingston, and Krys Mustwillo all attended the conference in-person. We also had multiple research posters at the conference from several students and faculty. It’s great to see the energy and enthusiasm of our students in their training and development in medical family therapy! 

Virtual attendance is still open for the Second Annual Medical Family Therapy Intensive Conference in Denver! There’s an amazing lineup of talks and breakout sessions throughout the two day event. The theme of this year’s conference aims to address the future workforce of MFTs in healthcare and medicine. Frank deGruy and Larry Mauksch are ready to give a great opening plenary on July 10th!
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Registration:
https://lnkd.in/g3rgkZHA

Almost 40 in-person and virtual attendees came to the June Gottman training for the St. Louis MFT Consortium! Dr. Clay Brigance did a terrific job in his presentation and offering unique perspectives of this approach in therapy. A big thanks to Mary Donjon, Aline Hoffman, Brittani Evans and Shannon Lawton- O’Boyle for their help in volunteering for the event. And a special thanks to Mary Beth Harper in providing important state updates for Missouri.

Save the date for the next quarterly talk!

September 18th from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM.
“Sociopolitical topics in therapy: Exploring the boundaries of these conversations”
Knieba Jones-Johnson, LMFT
More details to come soon!

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Three of our Master’s students did an amazing job presenting at the SLU 1818 Grant Reception! The 1818 Community Engagement Grant Program celebrates the over 200-year history of SLU giving back to the St. Louis community. Students, faculty and staff who receive the grant help make a positive impact in the community, in partnership with a local nonprofit organization.

Pictured: Brittani Evans, Erendira Garcia-Guzman, and Kayla Hoover.

Faculty mentor: Dr. Dixie Meyer

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SAVE THE DATE!!

“Gottman Next Level: Advanced Skills for Practice”
-June 12th from 9:00am-1:00pm
-The St. Louis MFT Consortium Half Day Intensive
-Saint Louis University Education Union
-Hybrid Event
-$50 for all attendees (in-person registrants get free breakfast, lunch, and a folder of the presentation materials)

Payment Link: https://lnkd.in/g9nBghBZ

Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/gM8XNwj4

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The program wants to congratulate our 2025-2026 award winners! This group of recipients has achieved amazing things in their careers. We’re very fortunate to have such wonderful students, alumni, and colleagues help grow and expand our program.

-Master’s Student of the Year: Kayla Hoover
-Doctoral Student of the Year: McKenna Walsh
-John DiTiberio Award: Laura Burch from SLU Department of Psychology
-Michael Garanzini Award: Cara Merritt from Youth in Need
-Rising Alumni Award: Angela Hiefner

The program wants to congratulate our second year doctoral student, Rachel Livingston, for accepting a pre-doctoral fellowship at St. Mary’s Family Medicine Residency in Grand Junction, Colorado! She will be getting amazing mentorship under Randall Reitz, Mike Olson, and others in her continued MedFT and Integrated Care Training. Rachel will continue the great legacy of SLU graduates who have received advanced training through Grand Junction’s Residency. Congratulations, Rachel!

This week, we released our inaugural MFT program newsletter!

Look for:
- Program applications remain open until May 1 for the Master's and PhD programs.

- Free CEU/CME training events on healthy aging, neurodiversity, and transgender health.

- Sliding scale services at the Center for Counseling and Family Therapy with embedded specialty clinics, including a new clinic, the Interdisciplinary Neurodiversity Clinic.

- Give the gift of education by donating to the Center to support our student therapists.

If you'd like to be added to our email list, email the program at [email protected].

Link to newsletter- https://queerandtranswellnessclinic.my.canva.site/mft-program-spring2026newsletter

We had great representation by our students and faculty at the SLU Primary Care Research Symposium! The following students and faculty had poster presentations at the conference:

McKenna Walsh-Doctoral student
Aline Hoffman-Doctoral Student
Shannon Lawton O’Boyle-Doctoral student
Sara Isbell-Doctoral Student
Mary Sommer- Master’s student
Dr. Dixie Meyer-Faculty
Dr. Shelly Dalton- Faculty

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