Solution focused brief therapy association
We welcome new board member Olivia Wedel for 2025-2027!
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The members of our volunteer board of directors are thoughtful leaders who have made a significant contribution to our mission. Each one brings a unique set of skills and expertise to our organization. The board can be emailed directly to board@sfbta.org.
Carol Buchholz Holland
President
(she, her, hers)
Dr. Carol Buchholz Holland is an associate professor, school counseling coordinator, and CACREP liaison in the Counselor Education graduate program at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a licensed school counselor. While in graduate school, she completed training in school counseling and clinical mental health counseling. Prior to beginning her career in academia, she worked as a school counselor. Carol has presented internationally and throughout the United States on topics that pertain to the solution-focused approach, and her research interests include solution-focused applications in school settings and creative solution-focused counseling activities.
Shaema Imam
President-Elect
(she, her, hers)
Shaema Imam has her undergraduate degree in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University, her Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Calgary, and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver with a concentration in Mental Health and Trauma. She has worked in the fields of homecare (Canada), community development (Bahrain and Dubai), and community mental health and recovery from substance abuse (Atlanta). She is registered as an LMSW in the State of Georgia and is currently working as a suicide prevention specialist.
Johnny Kim
Secretary
(he, him, his)
Johnny S. Kim, Ph.D., LCSW, is a professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. Dr. Kim received his Master’s degree in social work from Boston College, Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas at Austin, and was a Council on Social Work Education Minority Clinical Fellow. His teaching areas include clinical social work theory and practice, solution-focused brief therapy, and school social work. Dr. Kim’s research focuses on evaluating solution-focused brief therapy, school-based interventions, meta-analysis and evidence-based practice. He has published over 50 articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and books. Dr. Kim is a member of the Research Committee for the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association and serves on the editorial board for several journals. Prior to his doctoral studies, Dr. Kim worked as a school social worker and case manager for community-based mental health agencies in Seattle.
Dawn Crosswhite
Treasurer
(she, her, hers)
Dawn Crosswhite, MSW, LCSW is an adjunct family member at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and has over 30 years of clinical practice experience. She specializes in working with adolescent females, and LGBTQIA-identified clients and their families who are often times involved in the juvenile justice system and child welfare.
Vicky Essebag
Board Member
(she, her, hers)
Vicky Essebag MEd - CPSY, OCT, CSFC (Toronto, Canada), pairs her extensive background in education, as a teacher, guidance counsellor, consultant and vice-principal, with her experience and expertise as a parent, family therapist, and solution-focused coach & trainer. Vicky is widely known for adapting the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) model to support effective relationships within families, schools, and organizations. She promotes success, well-being, equity and inclusion in all relationships. Vicky is a public speaker, instructional leader and consultant. Vicky is Founder of www.relationspaces.com, and Author of Relationspaces; A Solution-Focused Handbook for Parents.
Nate Guyton
Board Member
(he, him, his)
Nate is an LCDC and LPC-Associate (Supervised by Dr. Kelly Guidry, LPC-S) in private practice in the Greater Houston area of Texas. Nate’s passion for Solution-Focused Therapy began in his graduate program at TCU in Dr. Frank Thomas’s Helping Relationships class. Solution Focused Therapy brought a professional language and philosophy to Nate’s values of humility and servant leadership, values nurtured in his time playing Division I Football for TCU. Nate has contributed to SFBTA as a member by reviewing conference proposals, in addition to submitting his own, before being elected to the Board in the Fall of 2023. If Nate were to overhear a conversation about his work ten years from now, Nate hopes to find descriptions of a gently paced approach to conversations that promote co-construction of ideas grounded in his client’s feedback. Adaptable and compassionate, Nate will meet clients and colleagues where they are, trusting their good reasons for their positioning and respecting that the work he brings to solution-focused practice is only possible because of the giants who came before him and walk alongside him. He will demonstrate the wisdom to reflect on the words of others and the courage to change in response.
Mo Yee Lee, Ph.D.
Board Member
(she, her, hers)
Mo Yee Lee is Professor and PhD Program Director at the College of Social Work, The Ohio State University. She is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work and has served on CSWE Commission of Diversity and Social & Economic Justice & Commission on Research. Her scholarship focuses on intervention research using a solution-focused, strengths-based, systems-based, and integrative perspective in mental health treatment and in cross-cultural settings. She was Principal Investigator on research projects pertaining to Integrative Family and Systems Treatment, solution-focused brief treatment with domestic violence offenders, and use of meditation for treating female trauma survivors of interpersonal abuses who also have substance use problems. She is currently Principal Investigator of a Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) grant from Human Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) to prepare the next generation of mental and healthcare professionals to specialize in culturally responsive services with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ and transitional-age youth and their families. Mo Yee Lee has published “Family Therapy for Treating Trauma: An Integrative Family and Systems Treatment (I-FAST) Approach,” “Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Social Work: An empirically based approach to assessment and treatment,” “Integrative Families and Systems Treatment (I-FAST): A strengths-based common factors approach,” “Culturally Competent Research: Using Ethnography as a Meta-Framework,” “Solution-Oriented Social Work: A Practice Approach to Working with Client Strengths,” and “Solution-focused treatment with domestic violence offenders: Accountability for change.” The Oxford University Press published these books in 2020, 2018, 2014, 2013, 2011, and 2003 respectively. She is the recipient of 2008 Insoo Kim Berg Award for Innovative Research and Application of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy.\
Shirley Shani Ben-Zvi
Board Member
(she, her, hers)
Shirley holds a Masters of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) from Northcentral University, with a specialty in Medical Family Therapy. She also holds a certification in Thanatology (CT®) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Lastly, she is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Therapy (NLP).
Marcella Stark
Board Member
(she, her, hers)
Dr. Marcella Stark is an Associate Professor of Counseling at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. She holds licensure in Texas as a Licensed Professional Counselor and board-approved supervisor. Her research focuses on solution-focused supervision, applications of the solution-focused approach, counselor training, and mentoring within the counseling profession. Before beginning her career in academia, she provided counseling in college and university settings. She previously served SFBTA as President, Secretary, board member, and committee member, and she is currently serving as the 2024 Conference Chair. She's excited to share her town of Fort Worth for this year's in-person conference!
Marsha Wichman
Board Member
(she, her, hers)
Marsha, MS, LPCC, LAC is a dual licensed counselor with experience in Minnesota and North Dakota. She has been in the field for over 10 years and is currently in the Counselor Education and Supervision PhD program at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. Marsha is also certified in Animal Assisted Therapy and trained in EMDR, but truly believes that Solution Focused Therapy is part of everything she does.