VAMFT Newsletter (v. 5, no. 2)

• A Letter from the President
• Report on the Use of Online Technology for Board Meetings and Other Get-togethers
• Elections for Officers and Board Members
• Other Positions Need to be Filled!
• VAMFT Conference

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A Letter from the President
by Alison Galway, Ph.D., LMFT, LPC

This year has been quite a challenge for this organization. We currently have no president. Your president-elect is inexperienced and somewhat overwhelmed with a new job. We have no newsletter editor, treasurer, or election committee. On the plus side, a lot of past effort is coming to fruition. Marriage and Family Therapists are licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This recognition is a just reward for all of us who have worked with families over the years, not only as MFTs, but also as Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Licensed Clinical Psychologists. Since licensure regulations were placed in effect, 913 family therapists and counselors have obtained the LMFT licensure. Many of these were grandparented in during the first year, as they were already working with families and couples as LPCs, LCSWs, and LCPs. Others, such as myself, are newly minted graduates of Commonwealth Marriage and Family Therapy programs.

Despite the challenges, we have had success in proposing that mental health mandated benefits be extended to Marriage and Family Therapists. The Virginia Code currently specifically mentions professional counselors, clinical social workers, clinical nurse specialists, and clinical psychologists as categories of mental health professionals whom insurance companies must reimburse for diagnostic and treatment services. Marriage and family therapists were included as "and Other" licensed professionals, but many (not all) insurance carriers continued to decline to "credential" MFTs as they were not specifically named in the Virginia Code. MFTs had to get additional licensure according to their experience and training as professional counselors, clinical social workers, clinical nurse specialists or psychologists, and be reimbursed under those credentials.

Under Karen Rosen's and Anne Prouty's guidance as Board members of VAMFT, VAMFT successfully recruited the Delegate James M. Schuler (D - District 12) to sponsor House Bill 1284, which would add MFTs to the list of specified professional mental healthcare providers to be reimbursed. During the 1999-2000 Virginia Legislative Session HB 1284 successfully passed the House with a 99-1 vote, and then crossed over to the Senate. The Senate referred HB 1284 to the Commission on Mandated Benefits for further investigation. The Commission then requested information from interested parties. Anne, Karen, and others on the Legislative Committee provided information about the history of marriage and family therapy over the past 50 years, and the usefulness of marriage and family therapy in the provision of mental health services. The Commission, headed by Senator Steven H. Martin (R - District 11) met on August 3, 2000, to discuss the possibility of mandating benefits for MFTs. They collected public comments in writing prior to the meeting, and additional comments at the meeting. They met again on August 30th and voted to recommend that the language of the statute be changed to include Marriage and Family Therapists.Therefore, HB 1284 will be re-introduced to the General Assembly in January 2001 by Delegate Schuler (under a new number). Historically, the Assembly accepts the recommendations of the Commission. We are very hopeful that, with the passage of this amendment, more citizens of Virginia will be able to choose an LMFT for their mental health care needs. Understand, this amendment does NOT ask for any insurance company to pay for any new benefits; we are only asking that LMFTs be included on their list of providers for whose services they will pay.

Enclosed is a pamphlet provided by our lobbyist, David Bailey Associates, that outlines the current Assembly office holders, contested seats in the November 2000 election, and information about how to contact your delegate and senator. Please read the valuable points made in the rest of this newsletter, and let your legislators know how you feel.

Points to Ponder

• This legislation does NOT request a new benefit, but simply requests that the Virginia Code consistently regard MFTs as licensed, reimbursable mental health professionals eligible for reimbursement.
• MFTs are already included among those professions who may become licensed and who may render mental health services.
• Current mandated benefits legislation (38.2-3408) allows for 14 professions (other than physicians) to be eligible for reimbursement. This legislation will add MFTs to that list.

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Report on the Use of Online Technology for Board Meetings and Other Get-togethers
by Alison Galway, Ph.D., LMFT, LPC

Online technology may be about to save all active participants in VAMFT some time and Money! I was able to access the chat room technology here at Virginia Tech, that allows me to set up a chat room which others can sign in to through their Netscape or Explorer. No special software or capability is needed. If you can use Netscape or Explorer, you can use this! We tested it out for our September 8, 2000, Board meeting. Ordinarily we would meet near Charlottesville or Richmond, usually taking an entire day away from our regular responsibilities. Instead, we were able to meet online for two hours with no travel or cost involved. Very nice! I hope this inspires members to get more active on the Board and in seeking elective office in VAMFT. We very much need your ideas and energy to make VAMFT the source of professional excellence in the Commonwealth on matters pertaining to the mental health of families.

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Elections for Officers and Board Members

We must hold elections in January 2001 for the following offices:

• President Elect
• Treasurer
• Eastern VP
• Southwestern VP
• the Elections Committee (Chair and three members)

All interested parties should please contact a Board Member.
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Other Positions Need to be Filled!

In addition to the January elections, we're also looking for volunteers to hold the following non-elected positions:

• Newsletter Editor
• VAMFT Allied Professions Representative

Please contact Wally Scott, Interim Elections Chair, if you are interested. Remember, VAMFT employs no staff; we need volunteers!
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VAMFT Conference
by Anne Prouty, Conference Chairperson

On Friday, April 14th of 2000, we held a very successful one day conference: "Families Thriving in the 21st Century". Thanks to our Central VP, Yvonne Barry, we held it at John Tyler Community College in Chester, a wonderful facility just south of Richmond.

We were privileged to hear presentations from some of our most talented VAMFT members! Bud Protinsky gave an emotionally moving and very cutting-edge presentation, "Thriving in the 21st Century: Awakening to the Heart of the Matter," on the importance of working with emotion in various forms of therapy, including Susan Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy and EMDR with clients to heal trauma. He was followed by a choice of two morning and two afternoon sessions. In the morning, Dennis Carpenter presented on integrating family therapy with adolescent sexual offender treatment, and Sandi Stith, Karen Rosen, and Eric McCollum presented their work on couple group therapy with couples in which one or both partners had been violent. In the afternoon, Jeanne Burger provided an experiential presentation on the use of psychodrama with women recovering from trauma and abuse, and Rufus Alkebu-Lan, an LPC from Richmond, presented on urban families and substance abuse. We had a lot of fun learning, meeting fellow VAMFT members and members from the other local mental health professions.

I'd like to thank all of the other conference committee members, Yvonne Barry, Alison Galway, and Marianne Brand, along with all of the students from JTCC whose teamwork made the conference such a success! Thank you committee, speakers, and attendees!

We are hoping to have another conference in the spring of 2002. Several members have indicated as interest in knowing more about "systemic consulting" as an MFT to businesses and athletic organizations. The new conference committee (currently just me and some of the new VT doctoral students) is looking into this as a potential topic. If you are interested in joining the conference committee, or in presenting at the conference, please call me at 540-231-6807. A formal VAMFT Call for Presentations will go out during the summer/fall of 2001.

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