A native of South Dakota, I have been married to my spouse Lori, an attorney and partner with Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller of Fort Worth, for 29 years. Our daughter Allison is a wildlife biologist. All three of us are Texas Tech grads!
Adjunct Faculty, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University and Clinical Supervisor, Brite Divinity School’s Pastoral Care and Training Center
EDUCATION
Ph.D. (1988) (marriage and family therapy) Texas Tech University
M.Div. (1980), North American Baptist Seminary, Sioux Falls, SD
B.S. (1975), University of South Dakota (sociology/social work)
BOOKS
Nelson, T.S. & Thomas, F.N. (Eds.) Solution-Focused Therapy: Clinical Applications. Anticipated publication date: October 2007.
Thomas, F.N. & Nelson, T.S. (Eds.) (1998). Tales from Family Therapy: Life-Changing Clinical Experiences. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.
Thomas, F.N. & Cockburn, J. (1998). Competency-Based Counseling: Building on Client Strengths. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS (partial list)
Thomas, F.N. (1999). Creating local knowledge in an electronic community: A learning project. The Journal of Systemic Therapies, 18(3), 69-76.
Thomas, F.N. (2000). Mutual admiration: Fortifying your competency-based supervision experience. RATKES: Journal of the Finnish Association for the Advancement of Solution and Resource Oriented Therapy and Methods, 2, 30-39. (view online at: http://www.ratkes.fi/jutut/artikkeli_12.shtml)
Thomas, F.N., Coffey, A., Scott, S., & Shappee, K. (2000). (How) am I competent to supervise? In Readings in family therapy supervision (pp. 52-54). Washington, DC: AAMFT.
O’Malley, P.W. & Thomas, F.N. (2001). A day in the life of a real, working systemic therapist. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 19(4), 32-44.
Thomas, F., Yingling, L., Mauldin, G., Coffey, A., Boglin, M., Mize, L., & O’Malley, P. (2001). Marital therapy: A case with therapy, supervisory, and ethical reflections. The Journal of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 6(1), 23-40.
Thomas, F.N. & Macallan, G. (Fall, 2001). Extraordinary moments: The use of humor in therapy. In CONTEXT: The Magazine for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (Brian Cade, Guest Editor), 11-13.
Thomas, F. & Durrant, M. (2002). Hit the next good pitch: Comments on Jill Freedman’s “Little League: The feel of dreams. ” In D. Baptiste, Jr. (Ed.), Clinical epiphanies in marital and family therapy: The practitioner's casebook of therapeutic insights, perceptions, and breakthroughs (pp 58-65). Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
Thomas, F.N. (2002). Humor in psychotherapy: The sixth sense. RATKES: Journal of the Finnish Association for the Advancement of Solution and Resource Oriented Therapy and Methods, 2 , 15-19.
Thomas, F. (2003, Jan-Feb). And justice for all: Social justice in marriage and family therapy training programs. Family Therapy Magazine, 34-36.
Thomas, F.N. (2005). I see that I see: A hero’s impact on a family therapist. Kybernetes: The International Journal of Systems & Cybernetics, 34 (3/4), 343-352. (special issue in memory of Heinz von Foerster, Monicka Broecker, editor).
Thomas, F. N. (2005, Spring). Must we “help?” RATKES: The Journal of the Finnish Association for Solution Focused and Resource Oriented Methods, (2), 35-36.
Thomas, F. N. (2005, Fall). This obsession with “balance.” RATKES: The Journal of the Finnish Association for Solution Focused and Resource Oriented Methods, (3), 42-43.
Thomas, F. N. (2005). Exercise of appreciation. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 16 (1/2), 135-136.
Thomas, F. N. (2006, Winter). How to be happy. RATKES: The Journal of the Finnish Association for Solution Focused and Resource Oriented Methods, (1), 30-31.
Thomas, F.N. (2006, Spring). Coaching: Ethics and significance. RATKES: The Journal of the Finnish Association for Solution Focused and Resource Oriented Methods, (2), 40-41.
Thomas, F. N. (2006). Brief therapy with humour beings. Solution News: The Bulletin of the United Kingdom Association for Solution Focused Practice, 2(3), 7-12. Download PDF at http://www.solution-news.co.uk/issues/solutionnews2(3).pdf.
Thomas, F. N. (2006, in press). Scout’s honor: Utilization with adolescents in family therapy. Journal of Family Psychotherapy. Accepted for publication.
Thomas, F. N. (2007, in press). Possible limitations, misunderstandings, and misuses of solution-focused brief therapy. In T. S. Nelson & F. N. Thomas (Eds.), Solution-focused therapy: Clinical applications. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
Thomas, F. N. & Nelson, T. S. (2007, in press). Assumptions within the solution-focused brief therapy tradition. In T. S. Nelson & F. N. Thomas (Eds.), Solution-focused therapy: Clinical applications. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS (partial list)
Contextual supervision: Sensitivity to culture and experience . A workshop presented at the International Family Therapy Association (IFTA) Conference, Oslo, Norway, June 14, 2000.
The other sides of the story: How trainees view supervision . A workshop presented with Adam Coffey, MS, Shari Scott, MS, and Kristi Shappee, BS at the Annual Conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), Denver, CO, November 3, 2000.
Solution-focused supervision: The trainees’ voices . A workshop presented with Kristi Shappee, MS at the European Brief Therapy Association (EBTA) Conference, Dublin, Ireland, September 28, 2001.
Humor in psychotherapy and social work . An all-day workshop presented at the Summer University of Helsinki (Finland), September 9, 2002.
Resiliency: Working with people from a strengths perspective . An all-day workshop presented at the Summer University of Helsinki (Finland), September 10, 2002.
Searching for strengths in solution focused supervision. A workshop presented with John Wheeler (UK), Roger Lowe (Australia), Gill Fleckney (UK), Yvonne Greaves (UK), Michael Durrant (Australia) at the annual conference of the European Brief Therapy Association (EBTA), Cardiff, Wales, September 13, 2002.
Advanced solution-focused: Ethics and issues . A workshop presented with Judy Swint, PhD at the annual conference of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (TAMFT), Dallas, TX, January 25, 2003.
Interactional think-tank inaugural meeting . Participated on a panel including Bradford Keeney, PhD, Paul Watzlawick, PhD, Richard Fisch, MD, Wendel Ray, PhD and Giorgio Nardone, PhD for a two-day
conference at the Mental Research Institute (MRI), Palo Alto, CA, July 25-26, 2003.
Competency-based counseling with couples. A workshop presented for the Taiwan Institute of Psychotherapy (TIP), June 11, 2004, Taipei, Taiwan.
Competency-based counseling with children and their families . A workshop presented for the Taiwan Institute of Psychotherapy (TIP), June 13, 2004, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
Competency-based supervision . A workshop presented for the Taiwan Institute of Psychotherapy (TIP), June 12, 2004, Taipei, Taiwan.
Increasing therapeutic competence: An ethical obligation. A workshop presented with Bruce Kuehl, PhD at the annual conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Atlanta, GA, September 12, 2004.
Serious creativity in supervision. A workshop presented with Thorana Nelson, PhD at the annual Conference of the Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association (SFBTA), Park City, UT, November 5, 2004.
Ethics: Aspirations and clinical applications. A five-hour workshop presented with Michael Chafin, MEd and Shobha Pais, PhD at the annual conference of the Louisiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (LAMFT), Baton Rouge, LA, February 10, 2005.
Flourishing through self-care: Resources and creativity . A 20-hour institute presented for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Summer Institutes, Santa Rosa, CA, August 1-4, 2005.
Approved Supervisor Refresher Course . A five-hour workshop presented with Shelley Green, PhD at the annual conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), Kansas City, MO, October 20, 2005.
Aspirational ethics: Beyond laws and codes. An ethics workshop presented as a featured presenter at the Annual Conference of the Louisiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (LAMFT), Baton Rouge, LA, March 2, 2006.
Ethics and self-care: A resource-focused approach. An all-day workshop presented for the Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers (LASACT), Baton Rouge, LA, July 26, 2006.
Possible limitations, misuses, and misunderstandings of solution-focused brief therapy. A plenary panel presented at the Annual Conference of the European Brief Therapy Association (EBTA), Krakow, Poland, September 24, 2006.
The dance of supervision. A five-hour institute presented with Shelley Green, PhD at the Annual Conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), Austin, TX, October 19, 2006.
Clarifying the questions: Spirituality and solution-focused practices. A workshop presented with Mark Mitchell, MA, Dvorah Simon, MSW, and Duane Bidwell, PhD at the annual conference of the Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association (SFBTA), Denver, CO, November 4, 2006.
Solution-focused supervision: Processes of creativity. A workshop presented with Thorana Nelson, PhD at the annual conference of the Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association (SFBTA), Denver, CO, November 4, 2006.
The “rules of life” as therapeutic ethics: Wisdom and strategies. A four-city ethics tour (Metairie, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Ruston, LA) presented for the Louisiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (LAMFT), November 15-18, 2006.
Ties that bind: Solution-focused therapy with families. A workshop presented for the Youth Care Professionals Training Institute (YCPTI), All Church Home for Children, Fort Worth, TX, January 26, 2007.
Self-care and the family therapist. An invited all-day workshop to be presented at the Annual Conference of the Louisiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (LAMFT), Baton Rouge, February 27, 2007.
