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KIDS CORNER
SYSTEMIC QUESTIONING AND
CHILD PSYCHOLOGY:
HELPING PARENTS HELP THEIR CHILDREN
Every time I
meet with a family where the primary concern is about a child’s
behavior or emotional state, I remain thankful to my professors,
supervisors and colleagues from both my family systems
background and unique child psychology training. When I have a
family that is open to family therapy from the onset, pulling
from both skill sets comes easier and flows at a more natural
pace. However, it can be quite different when I have parents
present their child as “the problem” and I am told, or expected,
to “fix” their child. These parents usually have the
expectation that they will not be too involved and that we will
primarily focus on various forms of behavior modification to
“fix” the child’s issues. Although behavior modification has its
place, I want families to experience our time with a multitude
of rich growth experiences, for both child and parent.
I will never
forget when I first started at a thriving private practice with
a well- known child psychologist. I entered this job with such
pride of my marriage and family therapy background and systemic
training. My supervisor obviously welcomed my skill-set,
however, she was prepared and anxious to teach what she found so
valuable to the entire therapy system: child psychology and
emotional development. I was trained to obtain full
developmental histories of the children during first parent
meetings; I was trained to have 3 full sessions alone with the
child following the parent meeting to acquaint myself with the
child, assess his/her interactions and behaviors (usually
involving play therapy); I was trained to have a follow-up
meeting with the parents following those 3 child meetings; I was
trained to periodically meet with parents in addition to meeting
with the child, and of course implement family therapy when
necessary; I was trained to teach parents about the emotional
development of their children and help parents communicate with
their children appropriately. I was trained to help the
parents, help their children.
After meeting
with many families, growing as a therapist, becoming a parent
myself, and again, meeting with many families (and continuing to
grow!), I feel confident to say that parents in therapy strongly
benefit from both systemic questioning and
psychoeducation about their children. They come to us (and pay
us) to give them rich and everlasting knowledge of what their
child might be experiencing/suffering and why; how they can best
connect with their child under those circumstances; ultimately,
how to be most helpful to their child. Our society seems to be
begging for this strong guidance, and the parents coming to my
office have forced me to realize that they need and want
hard-core answers and concrete suggestions. Whether we are soft
or more directive in our approach; whether we believe in
long-term psychotherapy or brief “tell like it is” Dr. Phil
advice; or whether we are trained as marriage and family
therapists or psychologists….we must ask ourselves how we can
best help the parents help their children.
I would
like to share my latest book discovery on a topic with which we
all encounter, one which is becoming more prevalent for children
in today’s society, and an issue with which parents are strongly
concerned: anxiety.
Freeing
Your Child from Anxiety
by Tamar Chansky, Ph.D.
It is packed
with wonderful information for both therapists and parents
alike. It is a book that can help us to help parents help
their children.
- Eleni Paris, MS, LMFT
eplmft@att.net
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azamft spring conference report
On March 16th
and 17th, AzAMFT hosted Dr. Sue Johnson and 138
attendees at our Spring Conference. Dr. Johnson presented on
Emotion Focused Couples Therapy. Our crowd of one
hundred thirty-eight participants was one of the largest in
recent conference history. We were honored this year to have
nearly 100 of these attendees be members of AAMFT; it’s always
wonderful to see our members at conferences. Our participants
came from all parts of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and as far
away as New York. The spring conference has always been a great
place to see old friends and meet new ones. We also had another
successful meet and greet where folks were able to connect and
network.
The spring
conference changed locations this year to the west valley at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel. The majority of the conference attendees
were happy with this new location and thus the conference
committee has decided to return to this location again next
year. Many commented on feeling very nurtured with all the
wonderful food and opportunity for interaction.
Sue Johnson
educated the group on her theory of Emotion Focused Couples
Therapy. In EMT, Dr. Johnson stresses the importance of
relatedness between partners and how they engage each other.
Those who attended evaluated the program as excellent or good.
Over 90% of all participants indicated that they had high levels
of new knowledge or techniques learned. Those of us who joined
Dr. Johnson for dinner that night also learned that along with
her extensive knowledge, she has a great sense of humor and is a
wonderful dancer!
Our brunch
presentation this year was given by Dr. John Nixon, who
discussed ethics updates. The crowd was lead through ethical
discussions on current BBHE laws which produced many questions
for our presenter. For our next conference, the committee is
looking to expand and include diversity topics at our brunch to
help all meet their licensure requirements. Please be on the
lookout for announcements about our program.
As is our
tradition, the conference committee meets post-conference to
discuss our struggles and successes. Due to all of you who
attended, we have been once again able to report earnings of
approximately $5,000.00 which will be used to further the
strategic plans of AzAMFT.
On a personal
note, I am very thankful to all who help make our conferences a
success. A wonderful committee of people work the entire year to
produce our wonderful conference. Thank you to Gerry Blakeman,
Bill Bradley, Marcia Cortese, Patrick Gilliland, Ellen LaBelle,
Rick Poulin, Erica Roush, and Sandra Thomson. And a special
thanks also to our student volunteers. For those who attended
the conference, I thank you for your patience with our
audiovisual issues and hope you enjoyed my “magical abilities”
to unfreeze a computer. This is on the top of our list for next
year of things to improve. I’ll need to find another way to get
my exercise during the conference.
We are very
excited to announce that Dr. Janis Abrahms Spring is already
booked for next year’s Spring Conference. It will take place on
February 29th and March 1st, 2008, focusing on
Forgiveness. See you there!
The
conference committee is always looking for those who wish to
join our group. Meetings are generally held every other month
and increase as the conference nears. Please contact Katie
Keuth at
kat6449@hotmail.com if
you are interested in joining the committee or have some time to
just help out.
-Katherine Keuth, spring Conference Chair
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BULLETIN BOARD
Workshops for Youth & Families
(WYF)
Building Character. Inspiring Confidence.
WYF, now in its 28th year, is a non-profit
organization whose mission is to foster leadership skills in
youth and build resiliency so that they may become tomorrow’s
leaders. Make your summer matter! Sign up for a
weeklong
workshop that will focus on
skill-building, strengthening communication, and more!
Cost is $395 per session. All workshops are held at the
Homestead Community Center at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ.
Summer Workshop
Dates:
Great Transitions,
ages 10-12, June 17-22
Essentials,
ages 13-15, June 24-29
Building Blocks,
ages 13-16, July 8-13
Finishing Touches,
ages 15-19, July 22-27
For more information, please go to
www.ORHO.org or call (480)
882-6011.
CULTURAL COMPETENCE
TRAINING
Need credits
in a hurry for license renewal? The Homestead School offers
many different on-line, fax interactive, and home study courses
for social workers, counselors, and marriage and family
therapists which meet re-licensing requirements for cultural
competence. For example, 7 contact hours are available for
Cultural Competence (No. 7701) and Multicultural Aspects of
Counseling (No. 7702). For more information, call (800)
253-0088.
GIVE AN HOUR
Give an Hour is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to
develop a national network of volunteers capable of responding
to both acute and chronic conditions that arise in our society.
We are currently establishing a national network of mental
health professionals in order to reach out to the U.S. troops
and families affected by the current military conflicts in
Afghanistan and Iraq. If you are a licensed mental health
professional, please visit our Web site
www.giveanhour.org to sign up for our
national network and to learn more about our organization.
GESTALT DROP IN GROUP
St. Stephen's
Episcopal Church
2310 N. 56th
Street
Phoenix, AZ
The Institute
has a Drop-In Group each Thursday from 7:30-9:30 pm. This group
is open to everyone who would like to do some individual work in
Gestalt therapy or who is interested in some exposure to Gestalt
therapy. Individuals may attend once, sporadically, or as
frequently as they choose. The group is always under the direct
supervision of one of the Institute's training faculty members.
Fee: $10 per person. For
more information, call 602-955-9298.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Children & Adult Psychological
Services, LLC (CAPS) is a growing multidisciplinary group
private practice with a consistent patient referral basis.
At CAPS, we provide a beautiful office environment, professional
billing/reception services, and a collegial atmosphere so you
can concentrate on providing exemplary patient care.
If you are interested in becoming a
member of our team, then please contact Dr. Tony Rusch or Dr.
Andrew Weissman.
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STRATEGIC PLANNING
AzAMFT
PHILOSOPHY
The AzAMFT
provides the community with a relational, contextual and
systemic understanding of human behavior. This approach
transcends historical models which view individuals as
separate from their context, like islands unto themselves.
This philosophy and body of knowledge respects and
recognizes multiple perspectives of human identity and
family structure. The work of Marriage and Family
Therapists fills a gap that is not addressed by other
disciplines.
MFT’s are
committed to the highest standards of ethics, education,
integrity and professional development.
The AzAMFT
values and promotes lifelong learning, innovative
professional practices and research.
MISSION
STATEMENT
Current Strategic Plan Goals
The
Mission Statement is the Strategic Plan of AzAMFT. It is
dynamic and adjusts to the Association’s needs. The
Strategic Planning Committee maintains a current working
version of the Mission Statement at all times. A current
version of the strategic planning goals will be published in
every newsletter.
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PHASE I – Completed. Initial Strategic Plan has
been developed and implementation has begun. |
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PHASE II –
Goals/Mission Statement for the Current AzAMFT
Strategic Plan |
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Goal 1 |
GROWTH OF THE PROFESSION.
Coordinator – Alan Asher |
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·
To ensure the continued growth of the profession of
Marriage and Family Therapy is Arizona |
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Objective 1 |
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To e-establish and/or support a dedicated MFT
clinical training program in Arizona |
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Objective 2 |
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To provide excellent clinical supervision resources
to students seeking licensure in Arizona and
maintain a robust AzAMFT Supervision Education
Community |
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Goal 2 |
PUBLIC AWARENESS.
Coordinator – Linda Travis |
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·
To increase the public’s awareness of the specialty
of Marriage and Family Therapy |
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Objective 1 |
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To increase professional recognition of LMFTs
through legislative advocacy |
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Objective 2 |
(a) |
To increase professional recognition of LMFTs
through education of the general public through a PR
Committee by providing Relational Health Checks at
community organized health firs and other endeavors |
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|
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(b) |
To re-establish a speaker’s bureau which can respond
to requests from the media, schools, professional
groups, community organizations, etc. as well as
carry the committee’s plans for offering these
services on an ongoing basis |
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Objective 3 |
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To increase professional recognition of LMFTs
through education of the other mental health
professions |
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Objective 4 |
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To keep a minimum of 5 committee members on the BBHE
MFT committee, one representative on the BBHE board |
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Goal 3 |
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.
Coordinator – Frances Bernfeld |
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|
·
To be efficient administratively to more effectively
carry out the goals and mission of the organization |
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Objective 1 |
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Fundraising to establish an ongoing source of income
sufficient to enable the organization to hire and
maintain a half time Executive Director |
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Objective 2 |
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To involve the 60 new volunteers in the many tasks
needed to staff the committees and other projects of
the strategic plan and that support a vibrant
organization |
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Goal 4 |
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.
Coordinator – Steve LeGendre, Asst. Coordinator –
Patrick Gilliland |
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·
Recruitment and Retention of AAMFT Membership |
|
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Objective 1 |
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To support other professional communities in Arizona
to establish and maintain similar gathering of AAMFT
and other professionals in their areas |
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Objective 2 |
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Maintain the AzAMFT website to provide support and
reference materials |
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Objective 3 |
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Strive to achieve 70% penetration rate of LMFTs as
AzAMFT members |
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Objective 4 |
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Provide support in obtaining licensure for
prospective LMFTs who are students, new Arizona
residents from other states and therapists with
licenses from other disciplines |
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Objective 5 |
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Maintain a strong involvement in the activities of
the BBHE to monitor rules, procedures and processes
and advocate for change if necessary |
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Objective 6 |
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To facilitate reciprocity for licensure for licensed
professionals moving to Arizona |
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Objective 7 |
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Maintain an “Ombudsman” to monitor the board’s
activities and report to AzAMFT in order to address
the problems that prospective members may have in
obtaining licensure. |
-
FRANCES BERNFELD for
The AzAMFT Strategic Planning Committee
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CURRENT STATUS OF STRATEGIC PLAN
May, 2007
GROWTH OF
THE PROFESSION – Alan Asher, Coordinator
An MFT
program at ASU that will meet the requirements of licensure is
in the works and there is hope that it may begin in the fall of
2007.
The
supervision community has been established and is ready to
provide supervision to LMFT candidates. There is a list of
qualified supervisors on the website with contact information.
PUBLIC
AWARENESS – Linda Travis, Coordinator
The PR
committee has been re-established and there is progress towards
re-establishing a speaker’s bureau. The committee will be
looking at the possibility of a media campaign with free
publicity for AzAMFT on radio and television stations in
Phoenix. A brochure targeting prospective members is being
considered.
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT – Frances Bernfeld, Coordinator
The volunteer
coordinator has been able to find people interested in helping
when the need arises. An exploration is underway to find out
how other professional organizations have been able to raise
funds to pay for ongoing organizational support services.
MEMBERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT - Steve Legendre, Coordinator & Patrick
Gilliland, Assistant Coordinator
Two letters
have been drafted which will be sent to the BBHE with
suggestions that could facilitate the process for people seeking
licensure and reciprocity in Arizona. Ideas are being explored
to move towards re-establishing area meetings in Phoenix which
will meet the needs of members.
-
FRANCES BERNFELD for
The AzAMFT Strategic Planning Committee
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