Organization History and Profile

KAMFT has a long rich history of advocating for and supporting Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) in Kansas.  Established in 1979, nine "conspirators," as they referred to themselves, met in a truckstop in Salina, Kansas and established KAMFT.  Pooling together their personal funds of $1,000 each, the founders recognized the need for a professional identity, the regulation of professional and ethical practice, and seeking the affiliation with and broader support of a national organization to advocate for legislative and policy issues and training standards.

KAMFT is the Kansas Division of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).  AAMFT and KAMFT continue to provide the following support of MFTs' professional development and therapy practice:

• Ethical standards reflected in the AAMFT Code of Ethics
• Commission of Accreditation (COAMFT) that sets standards and evaluates the training offered by AAMFT-Accredited training institutions
• Approved Supervisor status insuring the highest standards and quality of training for graduate interns and post-graduates seeking clinical level practice
• National examination developed and administered to maintain the consistency of training and preparedness for practice
• Legislative advocacy and support at the federal and state levels
• State division administrative and leadership support and training
• Peer-reviewed journal and continuing education opportunities for maintaining evidence-based practices utilizing the latest research and evaluation
• Annual conferences for networking, sharing research findings and resources with colleagues throughout the United States, Canada, and the U.S. Territories