Advocacy Officer (2 year term)
Treasurer (2 year term)
Officer of Operations (2 year term)
Nomination Form
We are excited to announce that the portability bills presented in Maryland and Viginia these legislative sessions passed favorably. Governor Younghin signed the Bill April 4th and Governor Moore signed both House Bill and Senate bills April 9th. The bills are going to be effective July 1, 2024 in Virginia and October 1, 2024 in Maryland.
We are grateful for AAMFT spearheading this effort. Follow the AAMFT portability efforts below https://networks.aamft.org/portability/news
The Metro MFT Board of Directors is excited to announce that the Bylaws proposal passed after the membership voted in favor of the proposal. The new bylaws are now in effect and can be found in the attached document.
Final Metro MFT By-Laws (as of 12_13_2023).docx.pdf
Dear Members,
We want to share with you that we have partnered with AAMFT Access MFTs to advocate for increased MFT portability in Maryland in 2024. To support the efforts, AAMFT has contracted with Public Policy Partners, a firm with a proven track record of working with health care groups and licensure portability issues.
AAMFT has also partnered with the Virginia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy to promote MFT portability as well. We will be sharing more information in November at our Fall Conference. There are many ways to be involved.
See https://networks.aamft.org/portability/home for more information
Looking forward to seeing you in November,
Metro MFT Board
Many of you have been following our emails regarding advocacy in the past year. We have held two forums to discuss options regarding a MFT Compact and Licensing Reciprocity. We have discussed the pros and cons in our Forum Meeting in June 2021, and we held another meeting in December 2021 to discuss a Study Bill to be submitted in the 2022 legislative session.
At the time, AAMFT was only promoting Licensure Portability, and we chose to pursue it and find ways to come to an agreement between Virginia, Maryland and DC. A few of us attempted to reach out to Virginia and DC Board members to see if there was interest in submitting legislation in the 2022 session that would have allowed for the 3 jurisdictions to agree to have similar language regarding license portability. We learned that Virginia was pursuing license portability with North Carolina and were not interested in submitting any bills in the 2022 legislative session, as they had new leadership in place.
Our lobbyist advised us to submit a study bill that would ask Maryland to look into working together with the other jurisdictions to come up with a plan to have license portability in the DMV area. Unbeknownst to us, the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (BOPCAT) was already working on this and there was no need for the study bill. BOPCAT tried reaching out to the DC and Virginia Boards, but since our last update, they did not get any response.
Metro MFT Board met with the MFT representatives of BOPCAT and the former Executive Director of the Board, Kim Link who was instrumental in organizing the Compact Bill for counselors. We discussed BOPCAT's efforts and lack of response from the DC and Virginia Boards and the need for the national organization to spearhead the MFT Compact. We (along with the MFTs from BOPCAT) agreed that we would work together to make sure all of our efforts are aligned and to continue to pursue licensing portability while we wait to see if AAMFT comes up with a plan for an MFT Compact or a stronger effort to support license portability across States. If you are licensed in DC or Virginia, we need your help in reaching out to your licensure boards. If there is a need for funds for lobbying or finding a lobbyist to represent us there, please reach out to us. It is important for us to know whose voices we can support and represent when planning fundraising and budgeting future organizational expenses.
As a result of not having other states on board to work on licensure portability, no other current lobbying needs, and having limited funds, we decided to pause Willie Harris' annual contract in the coming year and to instead contract him on an as needed basis to support MFTs in Annapolis in 2023.
With telehealth becoming standard practice, it is urgent that the movement to practice across states becomes a national effort as all other MH professions are moving forward with Compacts.If any of you know of any national efforts or initiatives towards allowing MFTs to practice across States that you think we should pursue, please contact the Metro MFT Board. If you think we should be meeting more frequently to discuss our options, please email me at Viviana.azar.cft@gmail.com
Remember we are all volunteers trying to manage our work and life outside work. As MFTs, we are also a small group of mental health professionals who need each other to represent our profession as distinctive from other mental health disciplines. Your ideas and suggestions are truly welcome. Looking forward to hearing from all of you.
Sincerely,
Viviana Azar, LCMFT Advocacy Officer
AAMFT, in conjunction with its allies in the Medicare Mental Health Workforce Coalition, will host a virtual action day on April 21 to help prioritize passage of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act (S. 828/ H.R 432). We have the momentum on our side now and it is time to act!
President Biden recently released his budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which includes a recommendation for Congress to add MFTs and MHCs as Medicare-eligible providers. With growing support for the initiative, this could be the year that the Mental Health Access Improvement Act is enacted into law.
Please join us in tweeting, posting on Facebook, emailing, and calling your Members of Congress on April 21 in support of making marriage and family therapists Medicare-eligible providers! You can also take immediate action by emailing Congress to include MFTs as Medicare providers.
Please contact us at FamilyTEAM@aamft.org if you have any questions.
Liza Harbison grew up right here in Maryland. She remained local for graduate school when she attended University of Maryland’s Couple and Family Therapy program. She graduated UMD in 2018. Currently, Liza is a therapist at J. Fang Brehm and Associates, and at Living and Growing, where she works with individuals and couples. Liza recognizes the impact of so many layers of systems in our lives, and thinks these need to be considered as potential resources, sources of strength, and challenges in therapy. She also appreciates how thinking with a systems lens can incorporate the impact of systemic oppression on her clients’ lives and mental health. As Secretary, Liza’s main priority is to keep members informed. She documents key topics during monthly board meetings and drafts summaries for MetroMFT members. Liza’s goal is to help the organization stay organized and be transparent with members.
Fun facts about Liza:
She is a freelance photographer.
She’s a lefty!
If you need to reach Liza directly, you can find her here:
liza@jfangbrehm.com
https://www.jfbtherapy.com/therapist-bios
As we work to build the connection between the Metro MFT Board and our wonderful clinical and student members, we thought it might be helpful for you to know a bit about the individuals you have elected.
This month’s spotlight features our MetroMFT’s Operations Officer Rachel Chazen.
Rachel was born in Washington, DC. She grew up in Maryland but has also lived in Florida, Charleston and Nashville. Rachel returned to Maryland at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to be closer to family. While away, she remained close with colleagues, cohort members, and fellow therapists, which opened up the opportunity for her to join the MetroMFT Board as Member-at-Large for the 2021 term. Rachel shifted her role to Operations Officer after the most recent election.
Like our president Kirsten, and Vice President Jennifer, Rachel graduated from the University of Maryland Couple and Family Therapy program in 2010.
Currently, Rachel is the owner and lead therapist at Rachel Chazen Therapy where she works primarily with teens, young adults, and families. She incorporates CBT and solution-focused models, as well as a strengths-based approach, into her practice.
When asked, “Why are you an MFT/what do you like about being an MFT?”, Rachel responded: “I appreciate and value the systemic approach when helping people. Who we are, and why we are, is often connected to how we were raised and who we have been surrounded by. With better understanding of how those around us have shaped us, and utilizing the support we already have, change becomes increasingly possible. I like to help people assess their strengths, improve their communication, and dedicate time for self-care. I believe well-rounded people are happier people and I love helping others discover ways to better themselves. ”
Rachel’s position as Operations Officer is to lead and promote events and to also ensure that the website and Facebook sites remain up to date.
Rachel’s personal goal in her term as Operations Officer is to connect MetroMFT members to relevant news, increase ease of involvement for members, and to lead a social event within her term.
Fun Facts About Rachel:
- Rachel went skydiving and her mother jumped out of the plane too!
- She loves the beach and tries to get to the coast as often as possible.
- Rachel enjoys creating charcuterie and cheese boards for events celebrated with friends and family.
If you need to reach Rachel, you can find her here:
Email: rachel@rachelchazentherapy.com Website: www.rachelchazentherapy.com Socials: @rachelchazentherapy
Email: rachel@rachelchazentherapy.com
Website: www.rachelchazentherapy.com
Socials: @rachelchazentherapy
Did you know that Laura is a local? She was born in DC and raised in Arlington, VA.
Laura graduated from the University of Maryland Couple and Family Therapy program in 2015.
She currently sees clients in private practice in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. She also supervises therapists in training, teaches undergraduates, and is completing a dissertation (She has a few jobs!)
When asked, “Why are you an MFT/what do you like about being an MFT?”, Laura responded: “I am an MFT because I’ve always been curious about what makes people the way they are. I’m thankful that I found a profession that seeks to understand people within their contexts!”
Laura’s position as Member-At-Large is to address member concerns and serve as a liaison between the board and the membership.
Laura’s personal goal in her term as Member-At-Large is to drive more involvement and enthusiasm about the organization and connect more MFTs to each other and to important concerns facing our profession. She hopes to also encourage students to get involved with the MFT community.
Fun Facts About Laura:
1) She completed a Yoga Teacher Training and hope to incorporate this into my clinical work someday.
2) She is a proud middle child (and believes this probably also influences the work that she does!)
If you need to reach Laura, you can find her here:
E-mail: laura@counselingonthehill.com.
Beginning January 1, the No Surprises Act will go into effect.
Tipped off by our partners in COAST, we are sharing with you about a new Federal mandate going into effect at the start of 2022.
Please click on the resources below to find out more about the impact on your MFT practice.
Summary from CAMFT:
https://www.camft.org/Resources/Legal-Articles/Chronological-Article-List/the-no-surprises-act-what-mfts-need-to-know
Summary from KFF.org:
https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/no-surprises-act-implementation-what-to-expect-in-2022/
Summary from AAMFT blog:
https://blog.aamft.org/2021/12/no-surprises-act-new-billing-disclosures-going-into-effect-in-2022.html
MetroMFT Board of Directors
#metroMFT
admin@metromft.com
Silver Spring, MD 20910
