Eighteen months ago, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy began the process of "divorcing" itself from it's
state divisions. Expensive
legal battles coupled with
waning member enroll-
ment has required AAMFT to shed its previous level of responsibility for its state organizations. This
"restructuring" of its
relationship with LAMFT and other state associations has been part of a plan to reduce expenditures and improve the long-term financial outlook for AAMFT. But what does the restructuring mean for the state divisions themselves? Is the mandatory restructuring in any way beneficial to regional jurisdictions, or is it purely for the welfare of the national organization? How will our state professional organization function after the mandatory restructuring is complete? The LAMFT membership is discovering that the answers to these questions are complex and sometimes confusing.
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The Upcoming Membership Vote
AAMFT has required state divisions and their executive boards to meet certain benchmarks as part of the corporate restructuring. At the culmination of the restructuring process, you, the LAMFT membership, will be required to vote on a post-restructuring plan for our state organization. The plan we choose will determine our effectiveness in the coming years to advocate for MFT in our state. The LAMFT Executive Board has not yet announced the date of the balloting. In any event, we believe that before we are called upon to make this crucial vote, we should have the facts . .
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Getting The Facts
After extensive dialogue with representatives of AAMFT who are overseeing the
restructuring, knowledgeable MFTs from around the state, and members of the LAMFT Executive Board, the RRI consortium believes it has compiled the most comprehensive and thorough look yet at the facts about the restructuring as well as the complex issues being called forth by the restructuring process. Before you vote, click on the downloadable documents below to get informed!
NEW DOCUMENT!
Tom Moore, MA, M.MFT, LPC-S, LMFT-S, details the most recent developments in the restructuring process and offers an analysis of LAMFT President Tom Caffery's rationale for believing that dissolving our state organization and accepting a poorly-defined post restructuring agreement with AAMFT is the only viable option for Louisiana stakeholders.
Tom Moore, MA, M.MFT, LPC-S, LMFT-S, AAMFT Clinical Fellow and former LAMFT Executive Board Member, describes his personal quest to get answers about the restructuring of LAMFT and his rationale for coming to the conclusion that he must reluctantly vote "NO" on the proposed GIN.
UPDATED 11-5-18
A comprehensive and detailed look at the reasons for the restructuring of our national and state professional organizations, the progress LAMFT has made to date in implementing the restructuring, and the post-restructuring options available to LAMFT and its members. Note that as new information becomes available, this document will be updated. Keep checking with RRI to get the latest information!
UPDATED 9-28-18
A quick, comparative look at all the options being offered to state divisions by AAMFT, the "pros and cons" of each, and a proposed rationale for making a decision about which option is right for Louisiana MFTs.
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A former member of the LAMFT Executive Board, former chair of the MFTAC, AAMFT Clinical Fellow, and a thirty-year advocate for MFT in Louisiana reaches out to the LAMFT Executive Board with a call for transparency, due diligence, and teamwork.
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For over a decade, RRI has been an independent source of information about issues that impact the practices of non-medical mental health providers in Louisiana. Learn more about who we are, how we function, and why we sometimes ruffle some feathers!
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