Ackerman Institute Class of 2016: Congratulations Graduates!

Written by Ackerman Institute. Posted in News Blog

Laurie Kaplan, Billy Benson, Arnie Angerman, Marybeth Jordan, Courtney Stursberg, Tara Starin-Basi, Cassandra Richmond, Yael Schlenger, Evan Imber-Black

The Ackerman Institute for the Family’s 2016 Graduates received their certificates
of completion of the Clinical Externship Program in Family Therapy in an intimate
ceremony held on July 20^th at The Ackerman Institute’s new downtown location.

Joined by friends, families, and clinical supporters, this year’s graduates were welcomed
with open arms as the next generation of family therapists in speeches by the Ackerman
Institute’s Lois Braverman, President and CEO, Lisa Lavelle, Director of Training and
Clinical Services, and Extern Supervisors Evan Imber-Black, Marybeth Jordan and
Laurie Kaplan.

Graduating externs recounted training experiences with their supervisors and offered
words of gratitude and support with one another, their supervisors, and their families in
attendance as they prepared to enter their careers as family and couple therapists with
the knowledge and experience gained through their training at the Ackerman Institute.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of graduate certificates and was
followed by a celebratory social reception.

Cassandra Richmond, Tara Starin-Basi and Yael Schlenger receive graduation address from Extern Supervisor Evan Imber-Black

Billy Benson shares memories of his training experience at the Ackerman Institute. Also pictured: Arnie Angerman, Courtney Stursberg

Lois Braverman, President and CEO with Lisa Lavelle, Director of Training and Clinical Services

2016 Graduates Billy Benson, Arnie Angerman, Courtney Stursberg, Lisa Lavelle (Director of Training and Clinical Services), Tara Starin-Basi, Cassandra Richmond, Yael Schlenger. (Not pictured: Amy Bauman and Mika Kallner)

Now at graduation you are in a unique place, graduates. To bring the finely
honed ideas you have developed during this training program— about how
to help families with their problems— and about what it means to work
from the idea that families are the single most important resource
available to individuals attempting to cope successfully with major
psychological, medical, or even societally-induced problems.

You will bring to your practice community, whether it is a public or a private
agency, ideas from your time here that I hope strengthen your practice, and
ultimately instill hope, both for you, and the families you serve.

Our dynamic institution has thrived for over 50 years because of the
incredible support of our board of directors, our alumni, our friends,
our innovated and dedicated faculty, and the curiosity and dedication of
our trainees. Thank you.

These trainees are dedicated and committed not only to their own learning
and expertise beyond their graduate degree, but to compassionately serve
the families that they see every week here at the Institute. I want to
congratulate them and I want to thank their families and their friends for
sharing them with us over these years.

-Lois Braverman, President and CEO,
Ackerman Institute for the Family 2016 Graduation Address

For more photos of the event, visit our Photo Gallery.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to this year’s graduates.