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A Word from the President |
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Welcome to the Kansas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. KAMFT is a organization of Marriage and Family Therapists in Kansas from students of MFT to advanced clinicians, educators and leaders. KAMFT is also the state division of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. We are continually seeking ways to be relevant and responsive to the needs of MFT’s in Kansas. Our primary objective this year is to address the legislative inequities that prevent MFTs from being able to offer effective therapeutic services to all Kansas citizens.
We hope you will spend some time visiting this site. If there is something we might add to this location that will better serve the MFT’s of Kansas, please feel free to contact us. We have several committees focused on the further development of our reach and impact of our profession. If you have an interest in serving KAMFT, we are always eager for more volunteers.
On behalf of KAMFT, I am delighted to welcome you to the KAMFT website.
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KAMFT President
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The annual KAMFT Spring Conference was well attended at the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park, KS. this year. Pre-conference events began with a Supervisor Refresher Workshop lead by Dr. Candyce Russell of Kansas State University and Dr. Teresa Nelsen of Fort Riley. Attendees earned the CEUs necessary to recertify for five more years as AAMFT Approved Supervisors.
The theme of the conference was focused based on the topic presented by our plenary speaker Dr. Stefanie Carnes titled, Turning Off the Turn
On: Sex Addiction & the Family. Dr. Michelle Robertson of Friends University presented the Ethics Pre-Conference workshop on Disclosure Dilemmas in the Treatment of Sexual Addiction.
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MENTAL HEALTH PARITY LEGISLATION PASSED! |
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AAMFT LEGISLATION UPDATE (October 3, 2008)
History was made today when the United States House of Representatives voted to pass the Senate pre-approved, "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008." This enormous legislative package contains language similar to an earlier stand-alone mental health parity bill called the "Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act." Although the larger bill is sometimes called the financial "bailout" bill, it differs substantially from the early bailout bill defeated by the House on Monday, September 30. The more recently-passed House and Senate version added mental-health parity as well as other, unrelated tax and mortgage-assistance provisions. (On October 3rd the House voted 263-171 in favor of passage, while the Senate had passed the legislation 74-25 on Wednesday.)
After years of parity proponents battling one of the core causes of the stigma and discrimination associated with behavioral health care, this landmark bill promises to make mental health and substance-related disorders treated the same under law as any other physiological disorder! Essentially, passage of this parity language requires virtually all private health insurance plans (including HMOs, PPOs, and "self-insured" ERISA plans, collectively enrolling ~120 million persons) to offer mental health/substance abuse coverage as part of health insurance packages, thereby making its coverage equal to the coverage in the plans for physical ailments.
Please visit the Federal Legislation tab above for more information on how you can contact your legislators.
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2008 State Legislative Session Review |
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Last year's bill (Sub HB 2601) went further than our previous efforts to gain access to insurance reimbursement from all insurance companies in Kansas. The KAMFT Board would like to express our sincere appreciation for this progress to our attorney Ron Hein who continues to work tirelessly on our behalf. The Board would also like to thank our KAMFT members who have created greater awareness of MFT interests with the Legislature in Topeka.
Though the legislative term has now drawn to a close and the legislators have gone home, we would encourage everyone to continue contacting your legislators and express your interests for the 2009 legislative session.
See additional information about MFT federal and state legislative efforts under the "Legislation" tab above.
Please visit the State Legislation tab above for more information on how you can contact your legislators. Note the several ongoing opportunities for you to be involved at the grassroots level!
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