The Whole Name Exercise: A Self of the Therapist Activity to Support Culturally Attuned and Inclusive Communities in MFT Training

ABSTRACT

The Whole Name Exercise is a self of the therapist training strategy designed to highlight the significance of family history and culture in the everyday lived experiences of the participants. This activity can facilitate self-reflection, group bonding, and play an important role in demonstrating values of equity and social justice. This article provides background on the significance of names, including historical and modern-day practices of dehumanizing people through naming and renaming practices. The Whole Name Exercise is described and suggestions to enhance the facilitation of the activity are discussed. Finally, two esteemed colleagues share the stories and significance of their names by responding to the questions in the exercise.

KEYWORDS:

• Teaching Exercise
• self-of-the-Therapist
• social Justice
• names
• marriage and Family Therapy
• therapists
• psychotherapists
• health Personnel psychology
• counseling
• Psychology

Acknowledgments

We want to thank Eliana Gil and thandiwe Watts-Jones for being willing to share their powerful stories and reflections about their names. We also want to thank all of the students who have engaged in this activity over the years for their openness, bravery, and authenticity, especially those students who agreed to let us share their stories.