January 13, 2021

Honored for her role as an executive program consultant in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Minority Fellowship Program, Stephanie Brooks, PhD, has been featured in the Minority Fellowship Program Times September 2020 newsletter. For the last five years, Brooks has been central to the development of the master’s and the doctoral programs, prioritizing a culturally responsive curriculum that extends beyond the classroom to research and practice. Specifically, she developed educational programming and increased the amount of professional development for students in the master’s program; and increased research training in the doctoral program, encouraging students to produce scholarly publications, which help other therapists better understanding mental health and substance use disorder within diverse communities.

With messages in writing and recorded in a video, students celebrate the impact Brooks has had during their time in the Minority Fellowship Program, sharing “Dr. Stephanie Brooks is a visionary, a wealth of knowledge, amazing thought leader, supportive and encouraging, an inspiration and motivator. …”

Known as an empathetic leader, Brooks prioritized the experience of self-care and self-reflection for students who have felt isolated in academic settings. The feature states, “Dr. Brooks’ invaluable contribution to the field of marriage and family therapy extends beyond her research and practice. …The work she has done to train over 300 researchers, teachers, practitioners and community advocates who have a unique skillset in mental health and substance abuse training has provided a greater reach for the field of MFT."

The mission of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Research & Education Foundation is “to fund systemic and relational research, scholarship and education in an effort to support and enhance the practice of systemic and relational therapies; advance the health care continuum; and improve client outcomes.” The Minority Fellowship Program is “dedicated to expanding the delivery of culturally competent mental health and substance abuse services to underserved minority populations and increasing the number of culturally competent marriage and family therapists.”

Stephanie Brooks, PhD, is senior associate dean for Health Professions and Faculty Affairs at Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions. She is also the interim program director of the Couple and Family Therapy PhD program. Brooks’ clinical and scholarly interests include, supervision and training, cultural diversity, social justice, Person of the Therapist Training, addiction and behavioral health.