Please join us in congratulating our Spring 2020 MFT program area graduates Dr. Emily Gary, Dr. Amy Morgan, Dr. Mary Nedela, and Dr. Evan Thomas.

  • Dr. Emily Gary’s dissertation was entitled, “Religious Disaffiliation and Family Relationships: A Grounded Theory Study of LGBTQ+ Women’s Experiences.” Dr. Gary is currently living in North Carolina and working at a practice that provides couples and sex therapy.
  • Dr. Amy Morgan’s dissertation was entitled, “The Mediating Effects of Family Resilience Processes in the Context of Paternal Incarceration: A Structural-Equation Analysis of the Family Inequality Framework among Danish Families with School-Aged Youth.”  Dr. Morgan will be starting a position as an Assistant Professor in Family Science/Couple and Family Therapy in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland. In this position, Dr. Morgan will be teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, clinically supervising master’s students, and conducting research examining the health, wellness, and resilience processes of families impacted by parental incarceration.  Dr. Morgan is also looking forward to continuing policy work, both with research and legislative advocacy, at the state and federal level for issues that impact the profession of MFT and consumers of mental health services.
  • Dr. Mary Nedela’s dissertation was entitled, “Bisexual Relationships: Investigating the Impact of Attitudes Regarding Bisexuality on Relationship Satisfaction among Female Same-Gender Couples.”  In January 2020, Dr. Nedela joined the faculty at Central Connecticut State University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Family Therapy. In this role, Dr. Nedela teaches courses in the marriage and family therapy master’s program.
  • Dr. Evan Thomas’s dissertation was entitled, “Appalachian Church Leaders: An IPA Study to Understand Their Experience with Substance Misuse.” After graduation, Dr. Thomas will continue his work as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy at Converse College, assuming the role of Department Chair in August 2020.  Dr. Thomas is looking forward to continuing to work in Appalachia and to training clinicians on how to be more mindful of culture when providing therapy services to clients living in the region.