Counseling and Family Sciences faculty - Carmen Knudson-Martin, PhD

Professor of counseling and family sciences, coordinator of PhD program in marital and family therapy, and AAMFT approved supervisor.

Welcome!

I am the coordinator of the PhD program in marital and family therapy at Loma Linda University. My job is to ensure that students receive quality, state-of-the-art MFT education and the opportunity to develop their strengths and talents in a supportive yet challenging environment and also to work collaboratively with students on research and scholarly projects.

My background

My training in marital and family therapy was in the sociology department at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. There I was able to integrate my interests in the social context with methods and skills to help people grow in their relationships, develop their strengths, and solve personal and emotional problems. Before my doctoral studies I was a family life educator in high schools. I was fortunate to live and work in a variety of countries around the world, including Iran, Senegal, Jordan, and Costa Rica. Thus my understanding of what it means to be human has been shaped by a wide range of experiences and people, including my childhood on a farm in North Dakota and my previous teaching in universities in Montana and Georgia.

My professional interests

I considered myself a social constructionist before it was fashionable to do so. All my professional writings have in some way focused on the interplay between individual and family development and the social context. I see people as both influenced by and influencing their social environment. Much of my work in recent years has addressed gender, particularly in relation to changing relational ideals and equality. This interest grew out of my passion for working with couples and finding my ability to help them achieve the kinds of relationships they wanted limited by old, often invisible constructions of gender. I am also interested in the relationships between physical and emotional health, interpersonal relationships, and social/political contexts. I am fascinated by the theories that guide our field and see myself as one who participates in the critique and development of new theory, with special emphasis on the political and ethical implications how we conceptualize problems and treat them.

What I teach

Over the years I have taught courses in nearly all aspects of marital and family therapy. I am currently teaching advanced qualitative research, advanced theory, systemic approaches to therapy, doctoral practicum, and the dissertation seminar.

Personal interests and relationships

My husband John and I love the outdoors. We live in California and Oregon with our two dogs and a cat. Our daughter Kyara has finished nursing school in Montana and is practicing in Oregon. Our son Chris is a computer engineer. He is married to Melanie and lives in Portland, OR. I spend a lot of time on the phone maintaining these connections. Over the years I have gained a lot of firsthand experience figuring out how to integrate work and family life!

See Carmen Knudson-Martin's curriculum vitae (PDF).

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