A Warm Salutation to Each of You

One of my favorite novels is The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak. Set in 1939 Munich, Death tells the story of an assembled “family” amid chaos, fear, book banning, and love. I’m re-reading this book right now. It is essentially an MFT book, in that it recognizes that relationships are fundamental to the health and well-being of individuals, couples, families, and communities (italic portion is from the AAMFT Strategic Plan, 2021).

I’m re-reading The Book Thief, because as I write this column, we have many global issues we are facing: From the reoccurring surges of COVID-19, book banning in the USA, to war in Europe. And all the while in our own field, we face the ongoing tsunami of mental health needs. The world is talking about systems, about leadership, and thus inviting each of us to consider our own values, commitments, and personal dedication to healthy societies.

As the only mental health profession that full-throatily embraces systems theory for healing from pain, we are uniquely qualified to come alongside others. Ironically, and I don’t know how many of you fully know this, but AAMFT is essentially systems-based, both inside and out. In this article, I want to focus for a bit on the inside of AAMFT; how we have embedded within our very infrastructure recursive, systems theory.

The strategic plan is a document that guides every facet of the forward vision of AAMFT. Created and approved by the Board of Directors, the strategic plan guides the horizon and is the criteria under which the chief executive officer’s fulfillment of role is evaluated. Throughout the year, the CEO provides reports to the board that lay out the year’s workplan, gives updates of the work by staff in undertaking those plans, and delineates the success—or challenges—of those plans. Everything the CEO directs must fit the board’s strategic plan.

AAMFT via policy governance is strategic, long-term, and evolutionary. Put plainly, AAMFT does nothing without methodical consideration. AAMFT—the board and staff—require data, analysis of resources from within the Association (capacity of funds, staff resources, etc.,) and resources from outside our own Association (information, best practices, etc.), due consideration and planning. These plans are sometimes realized within the immediate future; often they are realized in the years to come.

Case in point, I had the unique privilege as sitting president to be present in a virtual meeting when members expressed gratitude for changes that were made to the AAMFT bylaws. As those members were communicating their appreciation, a rolodex unfurled in my mind of previous board and task force members’ faces and names. Then I saw the reports that were so faithfully crafted. These changes that were being lauded had been researched, data analyzed, consultants paid, legal opinions mined, members surveyed, and task forces, committees, workgroups, staff, and members had given countless hours to that action. In 2021, I just happen to be the president receiving the words of thankfulness; many others in years prior had done the diligent work required for those outcomes. I wished in that moment that each of those dedicated leaders of years past were sitting in my chair, hearing those words. I know they tirelessly worked for the profession and association, and I hope if you’re one of those previous leaders reading this now, you can smile knowing you made a positive impact in members’ lives.

Last year was a landmark year of hard work for the Board of Directors. As previously communicated, in March of 2021, the Board of Directors approved the sale of the building in Alexandria, VA. The sale of commercial buildings is a longer process than the average home sale, and the process is still underway. (See the May/June 2021 issue for full coverage of this decision and data of AAMFT’s historical workplace. Additionally, in 2021, there were nine task forces/committees conducting work on such areas as updates to the Governance Policies, DEI deep dive for analysis of integration throughout the Association units, and the Strategic Plan. Due to the heavy load of the previous year by the Board of Directors, 2022 and beyond is an undertaking by staff to incorporate much of that work that was set forth by the Board. While you may not see/feel the outcomes instantaneously—as the staff works toward those ends—you can know that you will, because we are systemically driven.

As 2022 continues to unfold—with news of the US President’s Fiscal Budget in Brief advocating for the inclusion of LMFTs in Medicare—our field is moving forward in exciting ways! The need is extremely high for our aid as relational, systemic thinkers. We can see clearly through the events of the last several years that the world itself functions systemically; how we live in our own geosocial location impacts others even across the world. We are each challenged anew to consider how we live out this relationally bound system, building community through our shared humanity.