The History and Future of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors

Robert Smith is the Executive Director of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC), a division

of the American Counseling Association. He has been involved with the IAMFC from its beginning and is in a position to

provide both a historical perspective and a vision of the division's future. This interview, conducted in 1996, with Smith

provides such a perspective and vision.

HISTORY AND CONTEXT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IAMFC

Pieftzak: Would you begin by telling us something about the history of the IAMFC? What was the historical context that

prompted the start of the IAMFC?

Smith: In about 1986, a number of counselors who were working as family practitioners or consulting with families, employed

by schools, agencies, or hospitals, expressed the need to formalize within the ACA. We found that there was an exponential

increase in professional counselors working with family issues and difficult problems. There also was an increasing awareness

concerning the scope of family problems requiring counselors to become more aware of family-based treatment methods. This

seeming rise in family problems created the need for more individuals who were trained as counselors to work systemically

with family problems. Many counselors believed that the ACA was not providing a structure for family counseling-oriented

members to meet, to obtain advanced training, and to share interests in working with couples and families. Once initiated,

the IAMFC evolved and really grew rapidly.

Pietrzak: How many members does the IAMFC have at this point?

Smith: The IAMFC has approximately 8,000 members and continues to grow. The IAMFC is currently the largest division of the

ACA.

Pietrzak: What do you think has been contributing to the rapid and continued growth of the IAMFC?

Smith: Many counselors work with families, whether they are employed as private practitioners or in agencies, hospitals,

schools, or business settings. IAMFC provides a base for these professionals for training, research, collaboration, support,

and so on.

Pietrzak: What is the IAMFC's current relationship with other divisions in the ACA?

Smith: I think that internally there was an evolutionary period when other ACA divisions gained respect for the IAMFC and its

accomplishments. Generally, it is hard not to recognize the IAMFC for its growth alone. I believe that within the ACA, there

are genuinely positive feelings about the IAMFC. Outside of the ACA, the IAMFC has also gained a certain amount of

recognition. The IAMFC became active in advocating for quality training standards for couple and family therapists and also

became active in initiating a national credential in family therapy through the National Academy for Certified Family

Tberapists (called the "certified family therapist").

Pietrzak: As you think back over the history of the IAMFC, over all the people who were involved in the initiation of the

organization, who do you think were some of the important people in terms of moving the organization forward?

Smith: In the beginning, several professionals worked hard to determine whether there was even an interest in an organization

such as the IAMFC within the ACA structure. Martin Ritchie and Tom Sweeny posted a request in Guidepost (Sweeny, 1986) to see

if counselors were interested in forming an affiliate organization. These individuals kept in contact with professionals who

responded, and they directed and served as treasurer of this initial group. Later, I was asked to serve as president, during

which time the group evolved into an organizational affiliate status of the ACA and later a full division. Several

individuals, notably Lynn Miller, Martin Ritchie, and Scott Hinkle, worked to increase membership, which eventually allowed

us to become a division of the ACA. Patricia Love, a well-known marriage and family presenter and author, succeeded me as

president, and I became the IAMFC's executive director. Jon Carlson succeeded Love as president and provided the leadership

in developing The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, establishing the distinguished presenter

series at national conventions, and gaining recognition for the IAMFC. The IKMFC held its first conference in Colorado when

Carlson was president. Don Locke served as the next president and has carried on with the mission of the IAMFC and its

relationship with the ACA. He has also served on the CACREP board and emphasized quality family therapy training standards.

I am sure I am missing the names of a number of other people who also contributed in different ways and at different times,

helping the IAMFC move forward. As previously mentioned, Miller has been with the organization from the very beginning and

has worked at both the state and national conventions, providing information, editing the newsletter, and helping increase

membership. David Kaplan directed the establishment of the IAMFC Code of Ethics and served as chair of that committee during

some crucial years. Most all of these professionals are still involved in the IAMFC, and now several others such as Judy

Lewis and Mary Arnold are providing leadership.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND ISSUES FACING THE IAMFC

L'Amoreaux: What would you identify as the primary goals of the IAMFC within the counseling profession today?

Smith: The IAMFC's goals today in large part coincide with major goals set by the IAMFC in years past. Whereas some of these

goals have been accomplished, others are still in the forefront. Mainly, the IAMFC serves as the organization for counselors

who are working with couple and family issues despite places of employment. The organization has provided, and continues to

provide, leadership in couple and family therapy training, skill building through workshops, and information and research

through publications. We believe that the established IAMFC/CACREP training standards help professional counselors work

effectively with couples and families, and the journal provides information to members. National meetings with distinguished

presenters provide skill-building opportunities for IAMFC members. A more general goal has been to create the opportunity for

greater involvement and increased diversity for professionals with family issues. The organizational goal is to continue to

embrace diversity in terms of its members and leaders by recognizing diverse family systems. As part of this, we need to help

counselors learn to work effectively with changing families. This goal coincides with efforts of our current president, Lewis.

Another goal has been to place an emphasis on "what works" with couple and family problems. We want to assist professionals

working with couples and families to be change agents. We have made efforts in this direction by supporting the establishment

of a national academy certifying family therapists.

L'Amoreaux: In addition to those professional issues, what are some other issues that the IAMFC is working with today? You

mentioned diversity and competence as major goals.

Smith: I think the idea of accreditation through CACREP is important. Tne accreditation effort needs to continue to ensure a

minimum competency. We need to continually assess "What do we know about preparing professionals to work specifically with

couples and families?" Frankly, there is a lot that is unknown. We have an article in The Family Journal: Counseling and

Therapy for Couples and Families that raises issues about the validity of current methods of accreditation, licensure, and

certification in family therapy (Stevens-Smith, Smith, Carlson, & Wiggins-Frame, 1996). For example, how do we know that

advocated accreditation standards prepare well-trained couple and family therapists? The answer is, we don't. There is no

research in this area to guide us. Efforts at national certification and the ability to show efficacy of certification

programs are of concern. Also, the literature, as a whole, has been silent in the examining of specific methods and means for

working with diverse family systems. It has also been silent concerning methods of assessment. Our goals relate to major

couple and family therapy issues. For example, there are issues around current licensure laws. Leaders have reviewed a number

of licensure bills in couple and family therapy. These bills suggest that individuals graduating from 45- or 48-semester-hour

master's degree-level accredited programs are prepared to work within the scope of a large number of mental health issues

including individual psychotherapy, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. This needs further examination by thoughtful and

non-political professionals.

L'Amoreaux: We have talked a bit about the goals and professional issues of the organization. Would you speak about what you

see as the most important role of the IAMFC within the scope of professional organizations today?

Smith: I would go back to stressing issues of training, competence of performance, and being a leader in terms of inclusion

and diversity. In looking at these issues, I think the IAMFC has had the opportunity to take a leadership role and

contribute to other professional groups in a collaborative manner. Couple and family therapy within the IAMFC is grounded in

basic counseling principles (Carkuff, 1969; Patterson, 1984; Rogers, 1957; Truax &, Mitchell, 1971). These conditions are

essential for counselors despite their differing theoretical orientations. Perhaps the IAMFC can best serve as the voice for

recognizing the importance of these constructs with other professional organizations.

L'Amoreaux: What do you think are likely to be the issues of greatest importance to the IAMFC and its membership over the

next several years?

Smith: I think that within the ACA, the IAMFC will continue to play a major role as a large division, providing support and

leadership for those counselors working with couples and families. In terms of the future, I see that supportive and

leadership role continuing. I think that we need to continue our interactions with other associations. This includes the

American Psychological Association (Division 43), the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American

Family Therapy Association, and so on. The IAMFC needs to be included with other groups addressing familY issues, and it

needs recognition for its contributions while recognizing the contributions of other long-standing organizations.

L'Amoreaux: You have mentioned thus far several things about efficacy and the need for research within couple and family

therapy. We have wondered about what role you see research playing within the IAMFC.

Smith: The IAMFC continues its support of research projects involving family issues on a national level. Our research award

committee is active in soliciting projects that the IAMFC will support. Hopefully, we can expand this aspect of our work,

involving more practitioners demonstrating effectiveness of couple and family therapy interventions. The IAMFC would like to

take the lead in identifying effective practices with difficult presenting problems. This will continue to be a concern of

practicing counselors, legislators, managed care providers, insurance companies, and others. There will be benefits in being

able to show minimal levels of effectiveness by professionals well trained in their work with couples and families.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Pictrzak: One last question. What trends or changes do you see emerging for the LAMFC regarding the supervision of family

therapy?

Smith: I would hope that we see the trend continuing in our training and supervision that ensures that training programs have

existing clinics serving couples and families. Within these settings, supervision that is direct, using one-way mirrors and

calling systems, needs to continue. This supervision should be several times a week initially and less frequent as students

progress. The supervision should be extensive during one or two semesters. In these clinics, I would like to see more

supervisors demonstrating their work with couples and families. Perhaps it is time to collapse the best practices or

requirements of supervision from existing standards advocated by various professional organizations.

Pietrzak: Well, we certainly thank you for spending this time with us.

Smith: You're welcome.

REFERENCES

Carkuff, R. R. (1969). Human and helping relations (Vols. 1-2). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Patterson, C. H. (1984). Empathy, warmth, and genuineness in psychother- apy: A review of reviews. Psychotherapy, 21, 431-43 8.

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting

Psychology, 21, 95-103.

Stevens-Srnith, P., Smith, R. L., Carlson, J., & Wiggins-Frarne, M. (1996). Marriage and family therapy: Critique of

accreditation, certification, and licensure. 7he Family Journal: Counseling and Therapyfor Couples and Families, 4(4), 327-336.

Sweeny, T. (1986, March 6). Call for family interest group. Guidepost, p. 2.

Truax, L. B., & Mitchell, K. M. (I 97 1). Research on certain therapist interpersonal skills in relation process and outcome.

In A. E. Bergin & S. L.