Looking to take part in community leadership? HAMFT will be voting in November for the 2021 HAMFT Board and welcomes all interested applicants! Any members interested in holding these positions should contact Anousha Lakhani at programs@hamft.org by November 3rd. If you know a great candidate outside of HAMFT, please encourage them to join so they can apply!

Summary

Houston Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (HAMFT) is a nonprofit association set up as a 501c6 for tax purposes. The mission of HAMFT is to promote the field of marriage & family therapy by offering quality continuing education units based on marriage & family therapy principles, and to provide a space for building community and networking for marriage & family therapists, associates and students.

Board members are required to attend all board meetings or be represented by a board member at each meeting.

Board meetings are held immediately prior or following workshops as designated by the executive board.

Board Positions

EXECUTIVE BOARD

President Elect- shall serve a term of one (1) year and shall succeed to the office of President. In the absence of the President, the President-Elect performs the duty of President, including running the board meeting and presiding over the workshop. In the event that the President is not able to perform their duties for their term year, the President Elect will take over the President position and will perform duties as outlined above. The President-Elect shall be in charge of securing and collecting resumes from potential candidates for board positions for their term year and will initiate and obtain a vote from voting members for board positions.

Secretary- shall keep the records of all business meetings and meetings of the Board by uploading them to cloud storage, shall direct the distribution of minutes and reports to the Board, and shall be responsible for all official correspondence of HAMFT in conjunction with the Communication Director & President. In the event of their absence, their duties may be performed by another member appointed by the President.

Treasurer- shall oversee the management of funds for duly authorized purposes and shall assist the President in preparation of the annual budget. S/he will insure HAMFT is in compliance with all annual tax documents reporting as required by law. The fiscal year of HAMFT shall begin on the first of January. S/he shall be responsible for updating HAMFT’s Continuing Education (CE) sponsor status and for paying required CE Sponsor fees as specified in the licensing rules of each state licensing board of the mental health professionals in Texas. The Treasurer shall submit an annual financial report to the Board at the year’s end annually. The Treasurer shall assist the Membership Director with check in at workshops, taking payment for membership dues and/or making sure registration fees are paid.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Program Director I- shall serve a term of (1) year. The Program Director I shall be responsible for planning each workshop, including the coordination of speakers and working with Program Director II to make sure that duties of each position are fulfilled. They shall obtain a CV, brief bios, summary and meeting objectives for each workshop to be submitted to the Communications & Social Media Directors for publication and the Secretary for documentation. Program Director I will coordinate communication with each speaker regarding technology requirements prior to each event and any appreciation after. 

Program Director II- shall serve a term of (1) year and along with his/her committee members, shall be responsible for planning and securing refreshments at each workshop and working with Sponsorship chair should refreshments be sponsored. S/he shall bring name tags, Certificates of Attendance, Speaker Evaluations and handouts from Speakers to workshops/meetings.

Ethics & Diversity Director- shall serve a term of (1) year and shall be responsible for providing membership and the Board with information relevant to the professional practice and ethical issues of marriage and family therapy in Texas, including the impact of managed health care. S/He shall be responsible for educating the membership and the public regarding the AAMFT Code of Ethics. The committee shall not conduct investigations or consider allegations of violations of ethical principles made against members, nor shall it issue or render advisory opinions on ethical matters but shall refer such matters to the AAMFT Ethics Committee. The committee shall function in accordance with the Procedures for Handling Ethical Matters. S/He will also insure that leadership, programming and membership reflect the multicultural and diverse aspects of the field of marriage and family therapy and the community it serves.

Communication Director- shall serve a term of one (1) year and shall be responsible for writing, editing, assembling, and disseminating electronic announcements prior to each workshop/meeting, and will maintain HAMFT’s website. S/he will be responsible for the distribution of information regarding upcoming meetings and workshops in coordination with Program Director I. S/he shall be responsible for keeping an updated mailing list.

Social Media Director- shall serve a term of (1) year and shall be responsible for facilitating HAMFT’s social media presence and generally overseeing communications that reach the public’s eye. They will be responsible for the distribution of information regarding upcoming meetings and workshops in coordination with the Program Director I & Communication Director. The Social Media Director shall make sure that copyright laws are followed and shall maintain ethical standards when sharing communication pieces on social media that represent HAMFT and not the individual’s voice.

Membership Director- shall serve a term of one (1) year and shall be responsible for cultivating new members through programming that may include welcoming people at workshops/meetings and presenting information on HAMFT to local universities and/ or mentorship programs. S/he shall keep a list of the membership and will encourage renewal of current members. The Membership Director will ensure the database directory of members is accurate and up-to-date. The Membership Director, along with the Treasurer shall help with check in at workshops, bring sign in sheets, insure that sign in sheets are signed and membership dues or registration fees are paid.

Community & Social Chair (formerly Warm Hearth Scholarship & Sponsors Director)- shall serve one (1) year and shall be responsible for developing community, social, and networking events that foster relationship building within members and other community organizations. Responsible for securing and disseminating monies for the Warm Hearth scholarship, including receiving applications from applicants and having board members vote on approval for reward. They shall also be responsible for securing food sponsors for workshops as requested by the board.

Effective September 1, 2020 all license renewals, renewals of inactive status, and requests for inactive status must be submitted through the BHEC’s online licensing system. Additionally, requests for change of address and duplicate renewal permits may also be submitted through the online licensing system.

New Requirements for All License Holders 

• Last session HB 2059 passed, and it requires all medical and mental health professionals to complete a Human Trafficking Course before they have their license renewed. The Health Care Practitioner Human Trafficking Training website from HHSC has more info on the course, and also has a link to a free online course you can take. You will need to create an account, but you will get a free CEU for the class. You must complete an approved course and show proof to BHEC to have your license renewed. This goes into effect on 9/1/2020.
• Effective for renewals beginning with March 31, 2021 expiration dates, per Council rule 882.40(c), if you did not undergo a fingerprint based criminal history check as a condition of licensure, you must do so as a condition of renewal. Instructions on how to undergo a fingerprint based criminal history check will be posted on the Council’s website, www.bhec.texas.gov, in advance of the renewal deadlines beginning in March of 2021.

In efforts to extend accessibility to as many clients possible during the current COVID-19 concerns, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will exercise discretion in concern to HIPAA requirements and will not impose penalties on clinicians who work with clients via telehealth in the best of their abilities. This may expand the services clinicians may choose from at this time. 

Click here to read more in this post from TAMFT!

Many of you may be aware that American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy is restructuring and voted to abolish state chapters. In this process, AAMFT supported state chapters in making the decision to either restructure as an Independent Affiliate or an Interest Network in relationship with AAMFT.  Texas Association for Marriage & Family Therapy made the decision to move toward the Independent Affiliate status under AAMFT which would allow TAMFT to maintain their current infrastructure, finances, and to be an advocate for Texas Legislature and issues relative to Texas Marriage & Family Therapists.  TAMFT is expected to be set up as an Independent Affiliate under AAMFT by the end of 2018.

Due to the restructuring of Texas Association for Marriage & Family Therapy’s relationship with American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy, TAMFT voted to break their charter agreements with local chapters, including Houston Association for Marriage & Family Therapy. TAMFT will continue to be a resource to HAMFT, but HAMFT will no longer have an obligatory relationship which would require HAMFT members to pay to be a member of both TAMFT & AAMFT.  

Houston Association for Marriage & Family Therapy has been operating as an unincorporated, nonprofit association as a local chapter under Texas Association for Marriage & Family Therapy since its existence. With the changes that will be taking place with TAMFT’s restructuring under American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy, the current HAMFT board has voted to become an incorporated nonprofit corporation under Texas law and file for tax exempt status. This decision was made after consulting with several lawyers and Certified Public Accountants.   

Although Houston Association for Marriage & Family Therapy members are not obligated to be members of both Texas Association for Marriage & Family Therapy & American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy, we encourage our members to support TAMFT and AAMFT who will continue to be an advocate and great resource for our profession and share our common interest in proving quality marriage and family therapy.

How will all the above impact you as a member? It won’t! Houston Association for Marriage & Family Therapy will continue to provide quality Continuing Education Units on Marriage & Family Therapy issues/modalities, and workshops on maintaining the highest quality of ethical care for our clients. HAMFT also remains committed to providing you with a space for connection, community, support and networking.  

Sincerely,

Kristi Patterson, MA, LMFT, LPC, RPT

2018 HAMFT President

This legislative session, the Sunset Commission recommended the consolidation of the licensing boards for MFTs, LPCs, LCSWs and Psychologists.  The bill failed to pass and the behavioral health licensing boards will be back up for review in 2 years.  If you are interested in learning more go to:   https://www.sunset.texas.gov/

In case you missed it, The Texas State Board of Examiners added a new rule for those of us who work with our clients using any type of technology.  If you provide therapeutic services by phone, text, email, Skype, FaceTime, V-see or any other video conference method, this means you.  It is now an ethical violation to provide "technology-assisted services" without proper training.  According to the Texas Administrative Code Chapter 801, "licensees may use technology-assisted services only after receiving appropriate education, training, and/or supervised experience in using relevant technology. A therapist who uses technology-assisted services must maintain documentation of academic preparation and supervision in the use of technology-assisted services as part of the therapist's academic program or the substantial equivalent provided through at least 15 hours of continuing education and 2 hours every subsequent renewal period. Licensees must comply with this subsection by January 1, 2018." 

The regulations also go into great detail in how to structure a therapy session and provide informed consent.  Read more here:

 Title 22 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 801 

The Houston-Galveston Institute has put together 15 hours of training that meet the requirements of this statute.  I have asked HGI to offer a one-time, significantly discounted rate to HAMFT that allows us to bring this training to our members.  We will be offering the 15 required CEUs over a Friday and Saturday, January 19th and 20th, 2018.  Three of the 15 hours will be web-based.  The cost per person will be $175 for both days if you register by October 31st.  In the event of inadequate interest, the workshop will be cancelled.  So sign up! Location TBD.

To register, visit our events page.

 

By:  Mathis Kennington, President, TAMFT

Over the last several years, AAMFT has communicated to its divisions that the organization is experiencing a potential atrophy of membership. This is due in part to the fact that most AAMFT members across the United States are retiring and not enough younger members have become clinical fellows. To address this concern, AAMFT has proposed to dissolve its state divisions in favor of one national organization with the opportunity for members to organize in two distinct types. First, state divisions may choose to transition into special interest group. Interest groups are organizations of members who have chosen to affiliate and network around a common shared interest related to marriage and family therapy. That interest may be based on advocacy issues, specific types of therapeutic modalities or even geography. Second, AAMFT has offered divisions the opportunity to transition into Independent Affiliates. Affiliates are former state divisions who choose to retain their charter, maintaining an independent legal entity within AAMFT, but with certain restrictions. For example, Independent Affiliates no longer receive mandatory dues from division members as one of the changes AAMFT is making is that they are no longer requiring members to join their state division. In other words, beginning next year, members no longer are required to be members of TAMFT.

With exception to some financial changes, the Independent Affiliate option is the one that requires the least amount of identity and structural changes. As a board, our chief concern has been to maintain the practical benefits of TAMFT membership. We’ve wished to retain our members’ opportunities to network at our conference and promote their work through our relationships. We’ve also been concerned with license advocacy. These have been the two most important considerations in the decision we’ve had to make in response to AAMFT’s pending changes. In consideration of these changes, the board has decided to choose an Independent Affiliate option. We believe this options is the best option for Texas LMFTs because we retain a legal and independent status within Texas, which is absolutely crucial to influence state legislators. Although we will remain active on AAMFT’s Family Team, we do not believe that we would have the same potential impact on matters related to LMFTs unless we have an independently regulated state charter.

Although we feel comfortable with this decision, the choice brings its challenges. We can no longer depend on the state dues that were previous delegated to us by AAMFT unless individual members decide to join TAMFT. We need your help. Now more than ever, we need members to support the organization by sharing why you believe it’s important to retain your TAMFT membership.  As a reminder, this was the most successful legislative session TAMFT has ever had. We achieved five legislative victories, not to mention the victory over TMA in the supreme court. We cannot take on initiatives like this without your continued support through membership.

Please consider serving on one of our committees, come to conference 2018 and consider running for a board position to influence the growth and future of our organization. This coming election cycle, we have several opportunities for LMFT leaders in the field to get involved on the board during an exciting transitional period. Please be on the lookout for information from the elections committee on what board positions are forthcoming.

Please review materials provided by AAMFT to answer questions about restructuring.  Also please attend the Conference in February. This conference will be unlike any we’ve had before it. It will be historic in the sense that we’ll be dealing with issues that change who we are as an organization, but mostly it will fun and exciting.

Sincerely,

Mathis V. Kennington, Ph.D., LMFT-S
President-Elect
Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

The 2017 TAMFT Board 

On October 21, 2016 TAMFT Secretary and Legislature Chair Jeanene Smith, LPC, LMFT provided an update of the current state of affairs for MFTs in Texas.  A copy of her presentation is here: TAMFT Slide Show Presentation.pptx

TAMFT is asking MFTs to talk to physicians and ask them if they know about the TMA lawsuit. Many physicians are unaware of the lawsuit, and we can educate them about the lawsuit and advocate for our license at the same time. TAMFT is seeking 5,000 (of the possible 70,000) Texas physician signatures. What can you do? Talk to the doctors you know and ask them to sign the following letter in support of marriage and family therapists: Letter for Physician-2.pdf

TAMFT is also asking members to reach out to your Senator and House Representative. Here are three guides for members designed to support us in our advocacy efforts, which detail how the legislature works, what to say when requesting an appointment with your representative, senator, and an explanation of Sunset: 

• Citizen Handbook For Texas Leg TA MFt colors .pdf, 
  
• Make An Appointment-2-2.pdf
  
• Sunset What You Always Wanted to Know-2 (1).pdf
  

HAMFT values and supports professional growth!  Recipients of the scholarship are asked to share what they gained from their chosen experience.  Here's what our Wyn Fox has to say about attending the AAMFT conference in September, 2015:

I want to sincerely thank the HAMFT board for awarding me the Warm Hearth Scholarship. This generous scholarship allowed me to attend the AAFMT annual conference held in Austin, Texas in September. I attended the conference from September 3-6, the full length of the conference. I enjoyed a wonderful stay at JW Marriott where the conference was held and had an opportunity to indulge in local food and fun. 

My first day of attendance I had the privilege to hear a keynote speech my Mr. Morris Dees activist and civil rights speaker. Mr. Dees co-founded Southern Poverty Law Center. This law center is a non-profit specializing in lawsuits involving civil rights violations, domestic terrorism, and hate-motivated crimes. This speech had a great impact on me as he discussed how we should love and respect on another. I was truly enlightened by his heart-felt cry for justice for all.

On the second day I had the opportunity to attend a workshop titled, “Resiliency and Spirituality”. This workshop definitely informs my professional work as many of my clients offer their spirituality as the reason for them to fight against all odds. This workshop allowed me to clearly see how the two intersect. I will continue to respectfully explore this area with my clients, armed with new and refreshing insight. Another memorable workshop was titled, “Couples in the Military”. This workshop offered a deeper look into military deployment and reintegration of soldiers that return from combat. This workshop was personal, as I was once that soldier. This workshop gave insight into ways to prevent and intervene with soldiers for some of their most prominent concerns.

My final day at the conference I debated about leaving a little early so as to get home to be with my family sooner rather than later. I decided to stay and I am so glad that I did. The last workshop that I attended that day was one that resonated with me professionally and personally. This workshop was titled, “Black Men and Women in Therapy”. I feel that this workshop challenged therapists to deal with the difficult dialogues that black men and women deal with, such as black inferiority, white privilege, the impact of slavery on relationships and shame based racial trauma, among others. We discussed how racism may adversely affect black couples but there is not enough research in this area. This sparked a great deal of interest for me.

Overall, this was a wonderful enriching experience. I plan to attend the conference next year. I appreciate HAMFT for giving me this opportunity. I will continue to apply what I learned from this conference as I continue on my journey as marriage and family therapist.

Many Thanks,

Wyn Fox

Julie Payne, MA, LMFT-S

M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist

Adjunct Faculty at College of the Mainland - Psychology Department

Certified Military Family Life Consultant

Certified in TF-CBT (Trauma Focused - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Certified MAP Supervisor and Trainer (Managing and Adapting Practices)

CA & TX Board Approved Supervisor

​

I am a licensed Marriage and Family therapist in California and Texas.  I graduated from California State University Long Beach in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and then received my Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles in 2007.  I have been working with couples, families, and individuals at community based mental health agencies and in private practice.  I ran the Crisis Response Team in South Central Los Angeles for over 3 years. I am certified in TF-CBT (Trauma Focused - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and a MAP (Managing and Adapting Practices) certified therapist and Agency Supervisor.  My areas of interest include trauma, military families, and working with families and individuals suffering from a chronic illness or living with chronic pain.  I have been an arthritis advocate since 2005.  I have spoken at the Juvenile Arthritis National Conference in 2007 on the impact of a chronic illness on friends and families, at Cedars-Sinai for RA Talk to discuss a patient’s perspective, for Arthritis in PrimeTime in 2010 on dating and relationships with a chronic illness, in 2011 on communicating with your doctors, and 2012 on pregnancy and parenting.  I am also a Certified Military Family Life Counselor and provide on site brief therapy to unit debriefing for pre and post deployment military members and family.  In addition to working with the military I am also an active duty military spouse.  In addition to my private practice in California and Texas, I regularly provide training and workshops in California and am an adjunct faculty in the Psychology Department at College of the Mainland. 

http://www.hamft.memberlodge.org/event-2023895