Ep 9: Teaching sex therapy, community care and centering intersecting identities - Dr. Anthony Pennant & MA Student Jazzy Bryant

Today we start our conversation from the premise that therapy is very political, as it has always been. The current legislation movement has affected so many vulnerable populations (anti-trans laws, erasure of LGBTQIA2S+ terms from government agencies and webpages, cancelation of grants supporting gender-expansive communities, prohibition of gender-affirming care for youth, state-specific abortion laws etc.). 

1. In what ways are we staying well enough as educators to resist the harm?
2. How does our resistance show up in teaching sex therapy?
3. How do we begin uncomfortable and vulnerable conversations about these topics with our MFT students?
4. What is multi dynamic relational therapy and how will it impact the way sex therapy is taught?
5. How is this model taught in the classroom by Dr. Pennant and what did Jazzy get out of it as a student?
6. How is the practice and legacy of intersectionality different in the classroom vs. in community and advocacy spaces?

Dr. Pennant is an international speaker and expert in neurodiversity, LGBT+ relationships, and attachment and foster care, with a dedicated focus on research in systemic intervention. With a doctorate in Couple and Family Therapy from Antioch New England, Dr. Pennant has made significant contributions to the field, serving as a master trainer for supervisors through the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and has published numerous scholarly works.

Dr. Anthony Pennant's The Colibri Center for Systemic Training: https://www.colibricentertraining.com/the-colibri-center

Based in Seattle, WA, Dr. Pennant operates a private practice where they provide therapeutic support and training, helping individuals and families navigate complex relational dynamics. Passionate about advocacy and education, Dr. Pennant engages audiences worldwide, sharing insights that promote understanding and inclusivity within diverse communities.

Resources recommended by Dr. Pennant:

• Aponte, H. J., Powell, F. D., Brooks, S., Watson, M. F., Litzke, C., Lawless, J., & Johnson, E. (2009). Training the person of the therapist in an academic setting. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35(4), 381–394. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00123.x

• Lutz, L., & Irizarry, S. S. (2009). Reflections of two trainees: Person-of-the-Therapist Training for marriage and family therapists. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35(4), 370–380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00126.x

• Pennant, A., & Shamoon, Z. (2022). Reflections on implementing the POTT program in a master’s clinical program. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 43(2), 182–196.  

  Full-text (open-access) available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anzf.1492

• Pennant, A., & Shamoon, Z. (2023). Person of the therapist: An ethical training model. In L. Nice and C. Eppler (Eds.), Social Justice and Systemic Family Therapy Training. Springer.

The future MFT and current Master’s student we have on the podcast today is Jazzy Bryant (they/them). Jazzy is a Black and Indigenous nonbinary full spectrum birth worker and systems thinker who is currently working towards a Masters in Couples and Family therapy. Jazzy is passionate about holistic care and reproductive justice as a liberatory and community led framework. Like many intuitive caregivers, Jazzy has always been called to care for those around them. Early on they discovered the power of nourishing bonds and openhearted support in healing attachment, increasing resilience, and promoting self-determination. Jazzy honors and channels their ancestors as they continue to remember and decolonize authentic ways of being and caregiving.

Link to a talk Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw did about the origins and meaning of intersectionality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DW4HLgYPlA.