MFT doctoral student awarded $25,000

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Adriatik Likcani, a doctoral student in Marriage and Family Therapy, has received a second fellowship of $25,000 from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).

Likcani and his family live in Warrensburg, Mo., where he operates a substance abuse treatment clinic. “I have commuted to KSU for the past two years. It’s been so worth it to be trained by such a great group of faculty,” Likcani said. His major professor is Tony Jurich.

His areas of research include family therapy and substance abuse treatment, supervision, collaborative healthcare, trauma and telehealth.

The native of Albania is one of 20 fellowship winners. “The AAMFT Minority Fellowship Program’s objective is to expand the delivery of culturally competent mental health and substance abuse services to underserved minority populations by increasing the number of culturally competent minority marriage and family therapists, explained Sandra Stith, professor and director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program.

Award presentation will be in November at the organization’s annual convention. Funding comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Likcani received a M.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed a post-graduate certificate program in Medical Family Therapy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is a Certified Advanced Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) and currently pursuing licensure as a marriage and family therapist in Missouri.

He has worked in the field of addictions since 1993 as co-founder and vice president of Teen Challenge Albania, and later as substance abuse counselor in residential and outpatient settings in Missouri providing individual, couple, and family counseling.

His focus is to promote evidence-based treatment modalities and family engagement in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. He has provided trainings and professional presentations in Missouri and Kansas on substance abuse treatment approaches, effects of substance abuse on the family system, teenage drinking/drugging and co-morbidity, and on an array of other related topics.

His first AAMFT fellowship was for the 2007-2008 school year.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 and is filed under Dean's Blog.