The program director, Dr. Evan Imber-Black, founded the Center for Families and Health at the acclaimed Ackerman Institute for the Family where she was senior faculty and the Urban Institute for Families and Family Therapy Training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she has also served as Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Imber-Black is the author of more than 80 papers and five books and was the editor of Family Process, the premier scholarly journal in the field for eight years. She is a world-renowned expert on family rituals, family secrets, and working with larger systems.
Dr. Saliha Bava, LMFT an Associate Professor in the MFT program, is an AAMFT-approved Supervisor and advisor at the Taos Institute’s Doctoral and International Diploma Program. She was the Associate Director of the world-renowned Houston Galveston Insitute, a founding home for postmodern therapy. She is the Director of Research and Consultant to the International Trauma Studies Program and a Taos Institute Associate and advisory board member. She co-founded the International Certificate in Collaborative-Dialogic Practices and is the founding editor of the International Journal of Collaborative-Dialogic Practices. Dr. Bava served on the American Family Therapy Academy Board (2012-2017). She has numerous articles and over 100 national and international presentations to her credit in the area of Trauma, couples therapy, parenting, disaster mental health, collaborative practices, relational play, training, pedagogy, research, DEI and social justice approaches. She co-authored the Relational Book for Parenting and the upcoming Relational Practices for Workplaces. She is in private practice in NYC, working with couples and as an ADEI consultant.
Maria Vilanova, LMFT an Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Internship in the MFT program. Maria has provided clinical services to individuals, couples, and families in both the public and private sector. Maria specializes in providing therapeutic services to those who have experienced trauma and life cycle transitions using family therapy and family systems theory. Maria also specializes in cross-cultural relationships, and leadership. For the past eight years, Maria's work has been dedicated to working with our country's military personnel, our veterans, and their families struggling with mental illness and addiction. She recently joined SFCS as the agency’s Assistant Director. In her role, Maria supervises all aspects of the Scarsdale Community Youth Services Project and provides direct clinical services to adults, teens, and families through the family counseling division. She has a private practice in Westchester County.