As an AAMFT clinical supervisor, associate professor and course chair in Case Conference (Phillips Graduate Institute's Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program's signature course demonstrating live therapy) and Family Systems, Yvette Melvin has been integral to the Philips community for almost two decades. She received her master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute in 1996. After a brief conversation with Yvette, her passionate belief in the power of genuine connection is immediately noticeable.
In her private practice, Yvette works with people of all ages and describes her therapeutic approach as one that is “a collaborative process focused on fostering hope and resilience while clients search for meaning and purpose in their lives.” She works from a systemic lens and utilizes various therapeutic modalities including humanistic, existential, object relations, and post-modern concepts. Yvette feels it is important for students to learn and investigate various therapeutic methods. She incorporates research informed treatment and approaches such as mindfulness, attachment theory, and advances in neurobiology. “Part of the excitement of teaching psychotherapy is exposing students to these various methods and concepts so that each student can determine which modalities are consistent with their beliefs and values.”
Yvette's areas of expertise include grief and loss and medical family therapy treatment for clients, and their families, who are confronting cancer, Alzheimer's, and other life-changing conditions. “All of us experience grief and loss at some time in our lives and this can include not only the death of a family member but also the loss of a job, a relationship, or one's cultural identity due to immigration status. A medical condition and aging may also evoke a sense of loss for an individual or family”.
Having lived in and practiced family therapy in culturally diverse Southern California, Yvette appreciates the opportunity to work with a wide range of culturally diverse populations. “Phillips Graduate Institute has always been committed to providing counseling and educational services to a broad range of clientele and celebrates this diversity. This is one of the reasons I remain passionate and excited to be teaching and supervising in Phillips Graduate Institute's Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program”.
As a well-respected mentor and teacher for the next generation of marriage and family therapists, Yvette works with students to understand the psychological impact of their own experiences with their families of origin. Equipped with this self-knowledge as well as current clinical research, her goal is to help future therapists to truly connect with their clients in an authentic way.
“I'm excited about working with our new class of Master of Marriage and Family Therapy candidates and helping them draw on their own unique strengths and experiences. Los Angeles Education Center of Campbellsville University is a wonderful place to learn about these ideas and to become a research informed clinician.