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Hello, my name is Kate Warner, and I direct the Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy Program. Before I arrived at VSU, I directed the Family Therapy program at Seton Hill College. I graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan with a major in Sociology and later completed my PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University in South Florida. I am an American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Approved Supervisor and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator. I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Florida and Georgia. In addition to my training in Marriage and Family Therapy and Family Mediation, I’ve spent time in private practice as well as working at a domestic assault shelter and in a home-based family preservation program.
I am a qualitative researcher, My research interests include sex therapy, open adoption, exploring the ways women who have been physically and sexually abused can be helped to find and amplify their resiliency, and the use of therapy with children involved in the juvenile justice system—especially therapy that is provided by balanced and restorative justice programs.
As a therapist, I am committed to non-pathologizing methods of therapeutic intervention. In fact, it was the non-pathologizing aspects of Family Therapy that drew me to the field. I don’t find labels useful, and I work hard to help my clients in ways that don’t leave them with a negative definition of themselves. I also work from a systemic/contextual perspective. I believe all behavior makes sense in context. One of the things I love about family therapy is learning how each client’s perspective makes sense to them. In addition, I also consider myself to be a constructivist, which for me means that I expect each person to have a unique meaning system that I must understand before I can begin helping them find ways of changing that fit their world view.
I teach several classes in the MFT program, including Clinical Practicum, Foundations of Family Therapy, and Ericksonian Hypnosis. All of the therapy ideas and interests I’ve described above inform my teaching.
Choosing a program that leads to a career as a clinician can be a confusing process. I would be glad to talk with you about a career in Marriage and Family Therapy. Please feel free to give me a call or email me, my contact information is below.
Kate Warner, PhD
Director & Professor
Marriage & Family Therapy Program
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA 31698
Phone: 229-293-6264
Fax: 229-293-6265
Website, http://www.valdosta.edu/soc/mft/