Mercer University School of Medicine will host Dr. Rick Weinberg as the featured speaker for the 2025 Armour Lecture Series, in partnership with the Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (GAMFT). The event is scheduled for September 26 at Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta, running from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dr. Weinberg, who serves as a clinical associate professor at the University of South Florida’s Department of Child and Family Studies, will present on “Using Neurobiology and Positive Psychology to Reawaken Love and Advance Couple and Family Therapy.” The lecture is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members. Discounted tickets are available for students and Mercer faculty.
Dr. Weinberg holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology from the University of South Florida, and completed his clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He teaches graduate-level courses in marital therapy, family therapy, group therapy, as well as undergraduate courses on behavioral health and family dynamics. Licensed since 1984 in Florida, he maintains a clinical practice in Tampa.
Elizabeth Bizzell, LMFT—therapist at Mercer Medicine, faculty member in Mercer’s Master of Family Therapy program, and vice president of GAMFT—said: “The GAMFT and School of Medicine have a long-standing partnership and a shared commitment to provide exceptional education and training opportunities for students and members throughout the state. We are fortunate to learn from such an experienced clinician and educator as Dr. Weinberg. I look forward to learning how to incorporate his work into my practice with couples and family.”
Students enrolled in Mercer’s MFT program are encouraged to attend to explore recent findings from fMRI research related to interpersonal neuroscience, relationship science, and positive psychology as they apply to couple and family therapy.
The Armour Family Therapy Lecture series was established through a gift by retired faculty members Drs. Mary Anne and Rollin Armour upon their retirement in 1998. Dr. Mary Anne Armour joined Mercer’s School of Medicine when it opened its first class in 1982; she later co-directed the master’s program in family therapy that she founded at Mercer in 1983 before retiring as associate professor in 1998. Dr. Rollin Armour served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences before retiring as professor in the Department of Christianity that same year.
Mercer University School of Medicine was founded with a mission focused on preparing physicians for service primarily within rural or medically underserved communities across Georgia—a goal reflected by more than half its graduates practicing within the state today; most serve rural or underserved areas (https://medicine.mercer.edu/about/). The school offers multiple degree programs including master’s degrees in preclinical sciences or family therapy along with doctoral degrees covering biomedical sciences or rural health sciences.
