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EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Tracy Todd
SENIOR EDITOR
Kimberlee Bryce
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Amanda Darnley
ADVERTISING
Shane Lo Maglio
DESIGN AND PRINT
Good Printers, Bridgewater, VA
Family Therapy Magazine (ISSN 1538-9448)
is published bimonthly (January, March, May, July, September, November) by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Inc., 112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3061. Printed in the USA. Periodical mailing from Alexandria and additional entry points. ©2016 by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), Inc. All rights reserved. Written permission for reprinting and duplicating must be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright. com.
The articles published in the Family Therapy Magazine are not necessarily the views of the association and are not to be interpreted as official AAMFT policy.
Manuscripts may be submitted electronically
to FTM@aamft.org or mailed to: Editor, Family Therapy Magazine, AAMFT, 112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3061. Telephone: (703) 838-9808. Concise articles (1800 words or less) are preferred. Authors should allow at least two months for a decision.
Single issues of FTM can be purchased for $10 at www.aamft.org/Store.
Advertising materials are due approximately eight weeks before the month of publication. Please call (703) 253-0447 or write to slomaglio@aamft.org for exact deadline dates and all advertising questions. All advertising must be prepaid.
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to: Family Therapy Magazine 112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3061
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We encourage members’ feedback on issues appearing in the Family Therapy Magazine. Letters should not exceed 250 words in length, and may be edited for grammar, style and clarity. We do
not guarantee publication of every letter that is submitted. Letters may be sent to FTM@aamft.org or to Editor, Family Therapy Magazine, 112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3061.
Twenty-five percent of this paper is post- consumer recycled material and preserves 17.49 trees, saves 7,429 gallons of wastewater flow, conserves 12,387,806 BTUs of energy, prevents 822 lbs of solid waste from being created, and prevents 1,618 lbs net of greenhouse gases.
2 FAMILY THERAPY MAGAZINE
Final Reflections
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
I W R O T E M Y final “official” column for the September/October Family Therapy magazine. For this issue, I have the opportunity to reflect on my tenure as President. Being able to serve AAMFT and its members has been an honor and a blessing in my life—one that I will always cherish.
One of the best things that happened to me in my time on the Board, including my time as a board member and as President-Elect, was the opportunity to serve with six different boards, thus far. Since board membership changes
every year, the “personality” of the board changes every January. It has been sometimes challenging, sometimes fun, and always energizing and rewarding because I have had the opportunity to learn from every single board member with whom I have served. It doesn’t matter whether I agreed or disagreed with
a given position, the importance of seeing and understanding things from a perspective different from my own has always been an important part of the work. I’ve also had the opportunity to learn from so many members and division leaders. I am grateful to all of you for your passion and dedication to the field.
In some organizations, Presidents may have a particular project they want to accomplish—a legacy, if you will—which may be fleeting and may often concern a special interest of the person holding the office. For AAMFT, the legacy of any individual president should not and cannot be the accomplishment of some personal goal of the President. Fortunately, our governance is structured in such a way that the Board of Directors is charged with being strategic and generative in order that the good of the whole Association is kept at the forefront. Michael Chafin, the previous President, wanted his “legacy,” for lack of a better word, to be transparency—to members, among board members, and for stakeholders. During my tenure as President, my watchword has been integrity. Like Michael, if I have a legacy, I want it to be about who we are as an Association and how we conduct ourselves in governance. Thus, integrity in board process and in
our dealings with staff, members, other associations, and other stakeholders
is a pivotal part of what I hope remains a vital part of our essence. Neither transparency nor integrity were the brainchild of any AAMFT President, but I think a deliberate focus on values we collectively hold is a necessary part of living out those values and serving our profession. Integrity in this work extends to being deliberate about financial stewardship, relevancy, and investing in the future.
I’ve watched the Association change in significant ways over the past several years as we work to take care of an ever-changing present while preparing for the future. Arguably, one of the biggest things that has happened within the Association in the past several years has been the threat to the license in Texas. This threat is not limited to just Texas. It impacts each and every current and future marriage and family therapist. It is with this backdrop that I have felt a responsibility to maintain integrity in leadership for both the Association and