Tis the season for love, connection, and happiness! So come break bread with your fellow MAMFT members as we watch Soul Food and eat some Soul Food! We will be dining on food from Soul Bowl, while watching a classic film highlighting the experiences of a matriarch-led African American family who navigate family, love, grief, betrayal, and hope. This event is FREE, and open to any member of MAMFT! We will cap this event at 30 people, so RSVPs are required!
When:
Friday February 17th
5pm-6pm: Break bread, mingle, and eat- Food from Soul Bowl, courtesy of MAMFT
6pm-8pm: Soul Food movie- 1:54:42 run time
Where:
Change Inc.: Event held in Training Room
1209 Tyler Ave NE Suite 1
Minneapolis, MN 55413
RSVP:
Email externalaffairs@mamft.net with name of attendee
MAMFT membership required for attendance
Deadline to RSVP: Friday February 3rd
MAMFT is HIRING!!
MAMFT is looking to add two new people to our staff. In Q1 of 2023 we plan to hire both an Administrative Coordinator and an Interim Executive Director.
Both positions are part-time, contractor roles. These positions are a great opportunity to become connected with the MFT community in Minnesota, while helping forward the mission of MAMFT.
The Interim Executive Director will:
Manage the planning and implementation of MAMFT’s 2023 virtual training series and annual conference
Support implementation of Board’s vision and priorities
Manage administrative staff
Manage social media and marketing programs
Support the Board with the search for a permanent Executive Director
This position will start out as a temporary role, lasting apx. 6 months, with the possibility of developing into a permanent role. Responsibilities require a commitment of apx. 15-20 hours a week, at $35 per hour.
To see the complete job description and qualification requirements please click HERE
To apply, please complete THIS FORM
The Administrative Coordinator will be responsible for
Member communications development: including weekly e-blasts, email responses, and social media posts
Other admin duties assigned by the Executive Director: including but not limited to managing registrations for events; source and purchase supplies; assisting with membership events, etc.
Monitor member applications and payments
Updating MAMFT website
Promoting MAMFT events
This position is a permanent role. Responsibilities range from 10-20 hours per week, at $20 per hour.
Advocacy Update: Investing Funds to Protect our Profession
In 2021, the MAMFT board reviewed ways to invest in the future of our organization. At the time, it was decided to utilize MAMFT reserve funds in an investment portfolio. Before going forward with investing, we looked at current financial markets, and considered the priorities set forth by our members. Given these variables, the board reconsidered the best way to invest. It was decided that funds would be better spent working to address issues facing MFTs in their practice.
Many of you have experienced how the decisions of an insurance panel can impact our work, and our profession. Currently, insurance panels often pay LESS for a family/relational therapy session, than they do for an individual therapy session. We believe in the specialized training, skills, and effort it takes to do relational therapy. And thus we believe our work as MFTs should be paid, at minimum, at the same rate as individual therapy.
In addition, we learned that some insurance panels have started to require, for a session to be considered family therapy, that the designated client be a minor attending therapy with their caregiver(s). There are instances of insurance panels denying claims for family/relational therapy, if there isn’t a minor at the center of the therapy. MFTs know that families come in many forms, and the need for family/relational therapy is vital to clients of every age. We don’t believe insurance panels should be defining what a family is or isn’t, or who is entitled to family therapy.
To address these issues, we need support. After months of vetting options, the MAMFT board has decided to contract with a legal advocacy firm, Hylden Advocacy & Law, to help address these important issues of reimbursement equity, and protect our scope of practice from being defined by insurance companies. We believe these efforts will benefit both our MFT community and the communities we serve.
This is likely going to be a multi-year effort, which will take the support of our members, in addition to our new legal partners, and likely our elected officials. We hope that our members will choose to actively participate in this process, and help us in continuing to fund the work it will take to be successful. If you are interested in supporting our efforts, please fill out this FORM, so we can connect you with other volunteers accordingly.
If you have any other questions about these advocacy efforts, please contact Alex Iantaffi at president@mamft.net
We look forward to advocating on behalf of MFTs across Minnesota!
Since the SCOTUS decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade, clinicians and therapists are forced to evaluate how this decision impacts their practice. MAMFT wanted to provide Minnesota based MFTs with resources to help understand our responsibilities to our clients, and ways to help work effectively with others in this changing world.
We developed the following presentation to help clarify our legal and ethical responsibilities to clients based on MN state statues.
In addition we are grateful to Eric Fawcett, MA and Tess Gittleman, MA, LMFT, who were willing to share their guidance on how to clinicians can ethically work with clients who may not share their beliefs in this increasingly complicated world. In the below video*, you will learn how to communicate through polarized topics, why it’s important to work with populations you may find to be antithetical, and learn skills for navigating appropriate and ethical referrals.
You can find the video here.
Please check out our conference sponsorship page to learn more about the many sponsorship opportunities that are available! This is a great opportunity to promote your business, your training, your service or product. Read HERE for more information.
English Language Learner (ELL) testing accommodations for practitioners on the MFT licensure track was created in good faith that it would help to reduce barriers and increase resources for ELL MFTs. However, this resource became an added barrier to licensure for ELL MFTs. In order to use this resource, ELL MFTs had to pay $80 for 1 hour of extra testing time or $125 for 2 hours of extra testing time; these costs are in addition to the exam fee. The cost of this resource deterred ELL MFTs from using this resource, although it was made for them.
In a MN Mental Health Providers of Color meeting in 2020, concerns were raised about the discriminatory practice of ELL MFTs testing accommodation fees. From this meeting, Lisa Xiong, MA, LMFT, RPT organized, increased others' awareness, and continued discussions around the discriminatory practice with other BIPOC clinicians across counseling disciplines, BIPOC MFTs, ELL MFTs, and White allies. A letter was written and signed by BIPOC clinicians from other counseling disciplines, BIPOC MFTs, ELL MFTs, and White allies. The letter was signed by over 100 people. This drew the attention of representative Hodan Hassan, who has a passion for helping to remove barriers for marginalized communities and received her support. This letter was sent to the MN Board of Marriage and Family Therapy and petitioned the board to remove ELL testing accommodation fees. On November 19, 2021, Lisa, BIPOC MFTs, ELL MFTs, and White allies were present for a MN Board of MFT public board meeting. Lisa and Michael Kinzer, MA, LMFT testified to the licensing board requesting the removal of ELL testing accommodations. At this meeting, John Seymour and other board members were interested in figuring out a solution to remove testing accommodations.
Do You Love the MN State Fair? Are You an EXTROVERT?
Join us for Mental Health Day at the Fair on Monday August 29th!
We are looking for volunteers to work the MAMFT booth. You will get free tickets to the fair for the day. We are looking for people willing to talk to fair-goers about the importance of relational therapy, and share the benefits of seeing or becoming an MFT. Volunteers must attend a brief training before the day of the fair (virtual or in-person) and commit to working the booth for at least 2 hours on August 29th.
If you are interested please contact Megan Oudekerk at executivedirector@mamft.net to sign up for a spot.
Prepping for the MFT National Exam? TAMFT is offering many resources to help you prepare. This is helpful for people from all states, including Minnesota. Because we are a member of COAST, TAMFT is willing to offer a discount. Please click on the flyer to take advantage of member pricing!
COAST EXAM PREP FLYER.pdf
On Tuesday the Governor held a ceremonial signing of the mental health bill at Children's Hospital in St. Paul. The Governor spoke to the importance of addressing the mental health needs, particularly of our youth. The event was kicked off by CEO of Children's Hospital, Dr. Gorelick, who shared the increased number of children and youth who are seeking help and treatment. Senator Draheim and Representative Fischer spoke about the importance of the bill and that it was a bipartisan effort.
Sue Abderholden, NAMI Minnesota's executive director also spoke: "The mental health bill does two things. It builds on what we know works, and it addresses gaps in our mental health system using previous research and recommendations.
We know that mobile crisis services work. We know that providing culturally informed and responsive services work. We know that school linked and shelter linked programs work. We know that providing intensive services in foster homes work. We know that programs to intensively treat and support people experiencing their first psychotic episode work. All of these effective programs received additional funds in this bill expanding the number of people they can serve.
The bill then addresses the gaps in our system using previous stakeholder recommendations. One of the biggest issues is that we don’t have enough people to do the work. We have many people who graduated but don’t become licensed – a major barrier being that they couldn’t find or afford to pay for supervision. This bill creates a grant program to address this barrier. We also know that children who don’t need hospitalization but need something. That something is funded in this bill – crisis residential services, again based on a previous report on the need for crisis services for children.
These provisions are excellent steps to begin to address this crisis. We are grateful to the legislature and the governor for their leadership and support. And we want to remind people that this is an important first step – but not the last step – in ensuring that children, youth, and adults are able to access the right care at the right time in the right place."
There was great press coverage, KARE11, Star Tribune, Minnesota Reformer, Mankato Free Press, and WCCO. Sue was also interviewed on Friday night on Almanac, a public affairs show on TPT. The Star Tribune also did a story on how parents will be able to stay with their children in the units.
In an MPR piece that was emailed out: Minnesota’s newest mental health law is being described as an important move to expand services and clear pathways for more providers. A bipartisan contingent of state lawmakers who ushered the plan through late in the legislative session gathered Tuesday to mark its passage as Gov. Walz held a ceremonial signing. The plan puts extra money toward services proven to work and tries new approaches, said Sue Abderholden of Minnesota’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “We want to remind people that this is an important first step, not the last step in ensuring that children, youth and adults are able to access the right care at the right time and in the right place,” Abderholden said. Tens of millions of dollars will be put into mobile crisis services, culturally informed services, school-based programs, residential and inpatient treatment and intervention for people sliding into crisis. The law also reduces financial barriers for people entering mental health professions.
NAM Minnesota is very proud of the work that went into this bill and thanks the Governor, legislators, DHS, providers and members of the Mental Health Legislative Network - along with everyone who called and emailed their legislators - for getting this bill passed.
MN FRONTLINE WORKER PROGRAM-
In order to see if you might qualify for this program and receive reimbursement for your service during the COVID-19 peacetime emergency, please click HERE to read more about it.
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