In a recent interview, Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, stated, “When you’re in a situation like this, you do anything you can (2020).” He also stated, “We’ve been around 117 years. We were the arsenal of democracy during two World Wars, we built iron lungs for polio victims. Whenever we’re called on, we’re there.” Of course, Ford was referring to the company’s response to COVID-19. This spirited attitude toward dealing with international and national challenges is reflected throughout AAMFT: AAMFT members, Board, and staff.
Associations strive to create a well-balanced partnership between members being subject matter experts helping to inform the association, a board of directors that strategically drives the association, and staff that manages operations. During this time, all three entities within AAMFT worked in nearly perfect syncopation. To witness such coordination and cooperation is positively overwhelming. As CEO, I owe gratitude to many members for their recent contributions.
AAMFT members, the Board of Directors, and staff demonstrated dedication to quickly and effectively respond to the pandemic and racial injustices. Both issues will endure, and I am very confident that AAMFT, with assistance from its outstanding members, will continue to admirably respond. I offer my sincerest gratitude to everyone for helping to make AAMFT a true leader within the field of marriage and family therapy.
—Tracy Todd, CEO
Members
AAMFT is second to none with active, dedicated, and motivated members. Members have superbly stepped up to assist AAMFT with every request for assistance—sometimes with a very short timeline and very high goals.
Virtual Hangouts
To connect socially isolating members, AAMFT created virtual hangouts with volunteer members and staff hosting the Hangout. Sessions filled quickly, and with additional sessions being added. The hangouts were exceptionally well-received and provided AAMFT with important information on the issues affecting members. Thank you to the following moderators:
Arturo Morales for hosting a Spanish speaking Hangout.
Vanessa Bradden, Ralph Datema, Lauren Kahn, Melissa Overton, Laura Schmidt, James Verser for hosting COVID-19 discussions.
Camille Lefleur, Lamba Aziz-Hanifzai, Brianna Davis, Maria Dominguez, DeAnna Harris-McKoy for hosting racial injustice discussion sessions through their work with the Margins to Center: Cultural Connections among C/MFTs Topical Interest Network.
Alex Iantaffi and Mary Nedela for hosting the discussion around Pride and Racial Injustice hosted by the Queer and Trans Advocacy Network.
Shacoya Graham for hosting a hangout discussion about MFTs and Systemic Change.
As one member commented about the Hangouts, “this made him feel more connected to MFTs and AAMFT than anything else we have done.”
Blogs
During this time, the AAMFT Blog has focused on resources for consumers and MFTs. Members wrote several perspective pieces aimed towards both the MFT community and public, on topics such as self-help for MFTs, boundaries for working from home, tips for couples in quarantine, and working with children virtually. A special thank you to the following members for contributing critical information:
Michelle Weiner Davis — Couples and COVID-19
Sarah Harris — Online Therapy with Children
Shacoya Graham — MFTs for Systemic Change
Webinars
To distribute timely and relevant information, several members and interest networks seriously stepped up to develop and deliver essential content:
Kat Hertlein — An Introduction to Setting up a Telebehavioral Heath Practice: Competencies and Considerations
Kentucky Geographical Interest Network — Technology Assisted Services with Ethics
Couples and Intimate Relationships Topical Interest Network — Working with Couples in Telehealth
New York Geographical Interest Network — Legal and Ethical Issues for NY Practitioners
Queer Trans Advocacy Topical Interest Network — Telehealth with Queer and Trans Clients
Alabama Geographical Interest Network — Telehealth Training
Arizona Geographical Interest Network — Ethics for Uncertain Times
South Carolina Geographical Interest Network — Telehealth Practical Considerations
Margins to Center: Cultural Connections Among C/MFTs Topical Interest Network — Addressing Marginalization in Therapy
I feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful Association.
At Home Series
In order to bring a bit of inspiration, education, and camaraderie (albeit through the chat function) to family therapists around the world, AAMFT quickly mobilized well known speakers to spend time sharing their thoughts. A very special thank you to the following:
Harry J. Aponte — Person of The Therapist Model (POTT) – Mastering the Use of Self
Manijeh Daneshpour — The Ethics of Care and Cultural Competency: Family Therapists as First Responders
Michael D. Yapko — It’s Crisis Time and We Need to Step up Our Game: How Hypnosis Can Help Our Clients – and Us
Sue Johnson — Taking Care of Your Most Important Relationships – Challenges and Opportunities in the Time of Corona
David Schnarch — Traumatic Mind Mapping During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Froma Walsh — Love, Loss, & Resilience in the Time of Corona
Bryan Doster — At Home with Brittany Packnett Cunningham
Thank you all at AAMFT for all you are doing to help us, quarantined at home, to be engaged with AAMFT, with our colleagues, and to have the opportunity to be excited about our field at a time when it is easy to want to give up and not stay connected.
Informational Resources
Member to Member information resources received sincere expressions of appreciation.
Disastershock: How to Cope with the Emotional Stress of a Major Disaster by Brian Gerrard, PhD, Emily Girault, PhD, Valerie Appleton, EdD, Suzanne Giraudo, EdD, and Sue Linville Shaffer, EdD, EdD, and Sue Linville Shaffer, EdD.
First Responder Toolkit (developed by members at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health)
DeAnna Harris-McCoy, PhD and Taimyr Strachan, MS — Black Women and Depression: Removing the Cape (member created resource; FTM)
Resources for parents and children by Family Therapists in Schools and Systemic Therapy Across the Lifespan Topical Interest Networks
Resources for the elderly from Systemic Therapy Across the Lifespan, Topical Interest Network
Cherry Tolbert, MA — First Person: Dear Black Professionals of AAMFT (member created resource; FTM)
Ashley Hicks White, PhD — Mental Health and Black Adolescents (member created resource; FTM)
AAMFT Virtual Institutes for Advanced Systemic Family Therapy
The AAMFT Institutes, originally scheduled in Hawaii, needed to be transitioned to a virtual format. Impressive was witnessing how quickly faculty adapted to the virtual format. Thank you to the following:
Intensive Instructors: Scott Sells, Manijeh Daneshpour, David Treadway, Chris Habben, Sarah Lyon
Instructors: Renu K. Aldrich, Melody Bacon, Ronald Bacon, Saliha Bava, Elisabeth Bennett, Richard Bischoff, Adrian Blow, Anja Busse, Bryan Cafferky, Karen Carberry, Sarayu Chandrashekar, Laurie Charles, Katelyn Coburn, Tammy Daughtry, Jay Daughtry, Bria Davies, Brady Eisert, Joshua Gebhardt, Tony Sam George, Crystal Hemesath, Natalia Holubec, Lauren G. Kahn, Veronica Kamerling, Marilena Karamatsouki, Heather Katafiasz, Brooke Keilholtz, Lorin Kelly, Alice Lynn, Teresa McDowell, Paulina Medina Mora Maurer, Gena M. Minnix, Megan Miranda, Rikki Patton, Sebastian Perumbilly, Fred Piercy, Gertie Pretorius, Ginger Rowan, Daniel Rowan, Bettina Shapira, Chelsea Spencer, Sandra Stith, Paul Springer, Gayatri Swaminathan, Tina Timm, TAM Tsz-lun (Alan), Addy Wissel, YIU Yan-yee (Cindy), Yulia Watters, Jason Whiting, XIA Li-Li (Lily)
Thank you so much for a wonderful At Home Series! Today’s session was beautiful. Loved it!
Staff
Since mid-March, when all staff transitioned to working from home, they have been providing nearly seamless services to members. Highly valued is the ability of AAMFT to provide responsive and effective member services. Between March 1 and July 1, the AAMFT member services department had a total of 9,801 calls and emails. On average, member services fully resolved membership requests/challenges within 20 hours. Typifying member sentiment was this member comment, “I had fast, friendly, compassionate service, and all my needs were taken care of almost instantly. Thank you!”
Because of AAMFT’s emphasis on being member informed and Board driven, it is easy to see why AAMFT experienced over 80,000 points of engagement with the Association. Ranging from increased ethics calls and consultations, to the first ever Virtual Hill Day, to the Minority Fellowship Training, to Approved Supervision, AAMFT programs and benefits continued seamlessly. Not only have MFTs from the USA and Canada engaged with AAMFT programming, but family therapists from around the globe, including from Saudi Arabia, Greece and Switzerland, participated.
Staff also contributed to blogs. Vanessa Bradden, LMFT, content development specialist for AAMFT wrote:
- Tips to Support Mental Health Amid Concerns about the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Coping with Social Distancing: Tips for Managing Time, Stress, and Anxious Feelings
- Working Remotely During the Pandemic: Boundaries Matter
- Support for the Therapist: Who Prepared Us for a Pandemic
Board of Directors
Swift programming changes, necessary deviation from normative routines and ongoing scheduled work requires a nimble and adaptive Board of Directors. The AAMFT Board continued to meet virtually, engaged in productive Network discussions, and through the Executive Committee made rapid decisions. Valuing a responsive organization, the AAMFT Board is using all available resources to help AAMFT members with self-care, adaptation, and education. I offer sincere thanks to the AAMFT Board for their nimbleness and commitment to ensuring members and staff can provide information that helps to advance the practice and profession of marriage and family therapy.
- Coping with Social Distancing: Tips for Managing Time, Stress, and Anxious Feelings
- Working Remotely During the Pandemic: Boundaries Matter
- Support for the Therapist: Who Prepared Us for a Pandemic
Other articles
Conversations Must Lead to Action
Obviously, I’m privileged. Nearly every situation, challenge, and opportunity provides me advantages that other people do not experience. Recognizing this, over the years I have dealt with the range of emotions that accompany this: guilt, frustration, embarrassment, worry, anger.
Tracy Todd, PhD
Noteworthy
Data Note on mental health and Black Americans and Therapy Talk on working for racial justice.
To the Class of 2020
Late one night before this was due, I paused for a
moment to process what the last two years have put me through.
Alejandra Franco, MA, AAMFT Student member, Class of 2020