Archive for February, 2013

Hal Runkel, LMFT, 2000 graduate of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at ACU, was on campus on Monday, February 4, as the featured speaker for the campus-wide Healthy Relationships Week. Hal was recently honored as one of ACU’s Distinguished Alumni. Soon after his graduation from the MFT program, Hal authored the New York Times Bestselling Book, ScreamFree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool. Hal next created the ScreamFree Institute, a nonprofit organization working to strengthen families and organizations around the world by providing them with the tools they need to build peace-filled homes and societies. Hal recently released a follow-up book, The Self-Centered Marriage: The Revolutionary ScreamFree Approach to Rebuilding Your “We” by Reclaiming Your “I.”

During his time on campus, Hal was able to share his experiences of being entrepreneurial and “creating a space to do the work you love” with current MFT students. Hal encouraged the students to broaden their minds about “getting a job,” focusing instead on their own personal mission to use the skills they’re gaining in the MFT program. He shared a realistic perspective about the hard work necessary to become successful in a world that’s filled with noise. Hal spoke about the sacrifices he made early on, such as providing free seminars on which he lost money and initially self-publishing ScreamFree Parenting. Hal ended his time with the students by saying, “Ninety-nine out of 100 ideas aren’t good. Find an idea you’re willing to die for. That’s living.”

The American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) is an association that represents professionals in the field of marriage and family therapy, and supports more than 24,000 marriage and family therapists worldwide. The AAMFT firmly believes in the unity of communication, especially among working professionals who are involved in clinical, educational, and research settings. Connecting the field under a common thread also has many purposes, two of which are to give a unified voice to those of us in the field, and to provide consumers with access to mental health care.

Dr. Dale Bertram is a new faculty member here at ACU and an active member of AAMFT. On the national level Dr. Bertram has served on the COAMFTE Standards Review Committee, The AAMFT Approved Supervision Handbook Revision Task Force, the AAMFT Code of Ethics Revision Task Force, the AAMFT Ethics Committee, and the AAMFT Distance Education Committee. He has also served on a number of state level committees, and currently serves on the TAMFT Legislative Committee.

Dr. Bertram is a proud supporter of the purpose and benefits of membership with AAMFT. According to Bertram, the best advice for students is to check out the AAMFT website (www.aamft.org) and become familiar with member benefits, resources, and student opportunities. “As an associate member, get involved and get on committees, volunteer for tasks”, said Bertram “because you can meet other students and people who are well established, which can lead to important networking and even pave the way for future opportunities”.

Aside from networking and active involvement, AAMFT membership has its benefits far beyond graduation and licensing exams. From a legal and ethical standpoint, “If you are facing a subpoena or court order, or someone files a complaint against you, or you have general questions about ethics, you can call AAMFT as a member and obtain a free consultation with an attorney” said Bertram. Members also benefit from excellent resources, quality research, and up-to-date practice information.

These and many more are just a few of the perks to connecting with professionals across the country, and Dr. Bertram’s final word provides a simple bit of advice with springboard-like potential, “Roll up your sleeves and get involved with committees”.