Mental Health with Dr. Samantha Stokesberry

Mental Health with Dr. Samantha Stokesberry

Season 4: Episode 2

Today’s episode explores the application of Bowen family systems theory in understanding mental health. Dr. Sam Stokesberry is our guest looking at the importance of viewing mental health through a systems lens, the role of the counsellor in navigating their own emotional processes while supporting clients, and the significance of differentiation of self in therapy. The discussion highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of mental health that considers the interplay of individual and systemic factors.

Samantha Stokesberry, PhD, LPC, NCC is a licensed professional counsellor, consultant, speaker, and PhD candidate who grounds her professional work in Bowen Family Systems Theory. Her professional path was shaped by four years living in South Africa, where playing professional soccer and coaching at a futsal academy led her into nonprofit work and her first real world exposure to the human trafficking industry. These experiences played a role in her pursuit of a career in the mental health field and her desire to learn more about the dynamics of human trafficking. Today, she provides counselling to individuals and families in Texas and offers consultation and training services internationally. Sam specializes in working with trafficking survivors and their families, as well as families impacted by incest, sexual abuse, and chronic anxiety. Sam has also trained at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in both the Continuing Studies program and the Postgraduate Program and her doctoral research, which will be published this upcoming year, examines the relationships between differentiation of self, family unit functioning, and post-traumatic growth in adult female survivors of trafficking in the United States.