Dear Members,

2020 continues to be a rocky and challenging year. I hope this message finds everyone healthy and safe.  

I want to share some preliminary results from CAMFT’s recent COVID-19 survey. The purpose of this survey was to find out how COVID-19 has been impacting CAMFT members, beyond the anecdotal reports we receive from emails, conversations with members, and phone calls to the Legal Team.  

A total of 1,405 members completed the survey in June. Thank you to everyone who participated so far! And thank you in advance to those who still plan to complete the survey. 

Even as we continue to tabulate the data, here are preliminary responses to 3 questions which we found to be very interesting:  

•  What percentage of your practice was Telehealth before March 16, 2020, when stay at home orders were issued? 

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•   As of June 16, 2020, what percentage of your practice is currently seen via Telehealth?  

These two questions document the radical shift that has occurred in the MFT profession in just three months. The percentage of people doing Telehealth has completely flip-flopped between March 16 and June 16.  

• What percentage of clients will you continue to see via Telehealth after the health crisis is over and/or a vaccine is identified? 

This question suggests a definite shift in MFT attitudes towards Telehealth. A substantial majority (87%) were not doing any Telehealth before March 16, 2020, and a smaller but still strong majority (72%) are expecting to do at least 25% of their practice via Telehealth post-COVID. Almost 20% of respondents are willing to make their post-COVID practices primarily Telehealth, in contrast to the 3% of respondents who were primarily Telehealth providers pre-COVID.  

These three data points demonstrate how drastically COVID-19 has changed the landscape for Marriage and Family Therapists in a short period of time. The potential implications for this are endless.  

• How will this transition to Telehealth affect MFT training?  

• How will delivery of services to children be impacted?  

• How will delivery of services to couples be impacted?  

• How will Telehealth affect the need for office space, or considerations for shared office space?  

• How will the transition to Telehealth impact insurance reimbursements long-term? 

These are just a few thoughts I’ve had since reviewing this data. We will continue to analyze the survey results over the next few months, and we’ll share our findings soon.  

If you haven’t completed the survey yet, you can still do so. Look in your email for a link to the survey, and help CAMFT assess the future landscape of how therapy will be practiced in CA.  We value your input! 

Wishing you wellness through these many transitions,

Nabil El-Ghoroury, Ph.D., CAE
Executive Director
nel-ghoroury@camft.org | Twitter: @drnabil

SCHOLARSHIP/GRANTS—CAMFT GIVING AWAY FREE MONEY!*

Now that we have your attention, let’s talk about your future. The CAMFT Educational Foundation gives away nearly $15,000 every year by offering three scholarships and one grant to deserving candidates. Each scholarship award is in the amount of $4,000, and the grant award is up to $2,500. The selected recipient of each scholarship and grant will also be recognized at the CAMFT 57^th Annual Conference on Saturday, April 25, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport.  

The Online Application for each Scholarship and Grant makes it SUPER EASY to apply! To apply for one of these opportunities—or to nominate someone else—click here.

(*Must apply for a Scholarship or Grant)