The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) has been named to the 2010 Associations Advance America Honor Roll, a national awards competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) & The Center for Association Leadership, Washington, D.C.
CAMFT received the recognition for its Military Workshops for Therapists. Created and spearheaded by CAMFT member, embedded military therapist and military wife Kim Evans, MFT, the workshops were designed to address the need for increased mental health care for military service members for issues related to deployment, reintegration, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), combat stress and sexual trauma, among others.
The workshops introduced Marriage and Family Therapists to the culture, structure and unique aspects of working with the military community, enabling them to better serve the military's mental health needs.
"Military service members and their families are facing serious mental health issues as a result of longer deployments and ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Kim Evans, workshop leader and CAMFT member. "It was our hope that these workshops would help to provide the increased mental health resources that our military needs."
Nearly 700 therapists participated in the three workshops, and many will likely go on to work with the military community in their private practices, in non-profit agencies, within the Department of Veterans Affairs and on military installations throughout the world.
"CAMFT's program truly embodies the spirit of the Associations Advance America campaign. It is an honor and an inspiration to showcase this activity as an example of the many contributions associations are making to advance American society," remarked Associations Advance America Committee Chair Ping Wei, director of educational opportunities for the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Now in its 20th year, the prestigious Associations Advance America (AAA) Awards program recognizes associations that propel America forward — with innovative projects in education, skills training, standards setting, business and social innovation, knowledge creation, citizenship and community service.
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