How did you hear about the AAMFT Minority Fellowship Program? What encouraged you to apply?
I heard about the AAMFT Minority Fellowship Program from my mentor and advisor in my Master’s program in marriage and family therapy at Purdue University Calumet. The program seemed to fit with both my research and clinical focus, in the area of substance use, and also working with racially and ethnically diverse and underserved populations. My career plans included becoming faculty in a marriage and family therapy program, and I knew that training other clinicians to be culturally competent would become part of my job.
How has the fellowship impacted your professional engagement and outlook on Marriage and Family Therapy?
The MFP has inspired me to maintain both a teaching and research focus on racially and ethnically diverse populations and underserved populations. I am teaching the Diversity course in the MFT program at Texas Tech University now. I am an Assistant Professor in the MFT program at Texas Tech University. I also plan to clinically serve clients from underserved populations at a reduced fee to allow my services to be accessible to them.
Which trainings throughout the fellowship did you find the most interesting? Why?
Trainings focusing on the historical background and historical oppression of certain groups were the most interesting to me. As a systems thinker, these trainings allowed me to understand the context that certain patterns and outcomes are developing in.
Looking back, what is one thing that you took from the fellowship that you use today?
That the societal context we are raised in has profound effects on our health, and unfortunately can lead to health disparities for different groups.
How was the mentorship able to help you throughout the fellowship?
Mentorship helped me through the fellowship by guiding me to relevant experiences and professional connections. Mentorship helped me prepare for a faculty position in an MFT program, and gave me a better idea of what it means to be a teacher about health disparities and cultural competence.
To read more about Kristy Soloski's MFP experience, please read the Family Therapy Magazine here. The AAMFT Research & Education Foundation is offers a variety of ways for interested individuals to contribute to the goals of the MFP. Currently, the MFP is looking for Ad-Hoc Reviewers to server as initial reviewers on eligible applications for the Doctoral and Master’s fellowships. To learn more about this position please visit our Program Information page.