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Minority
Fellowship Program
WELCOME FROM THE
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
I am pleased to
welcome you to Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) of the American
Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). The SAMHSA MFP
is one of the most successful training programs for ethnic and
racial minority researchers and service providers in the history of
federally funded training programs.
I invite you to learn
more about the AAMFT/MFP program by browsing through this website. If you
can’t find what you are looking for or have further questions,
please contact me or Adisa Ajamu, the program manager.
The goal of the
AAMFT Minority Fellowship Program is threefold: 1) to identify,
select, and support the training of doctoral level students whose
prior experiences and clearly stated career goals suggest they will
make significant contributions to the mental health needs of ethnic
and racial minorities; 2) to increase the numbers
of ethnic minority MFT doctorates who have a desire to increase the
quantity and improve the quality of services provided to ethnic
minority populations across the field; and (3) to modestly
contribute to the development of a stronger, more
robust profession that is the result of more highly skilled marriage
and family therapists who, regardless of ethnicity, are culturally
competent to provide quality services to all of our citizenry.
This principal aim is
directly related to efforts to reduce health disparities among
ethnic minorities in the U.S. by filling a crucial need for mental
health service providers. Thus, the AAMFT/MFP has two target populations at the
center of its efforts: ethnic and racial minorities in need of
mental health and substance abuse services; and ethnic and racial
minority doctoral students in marriage and family therapy. The MFP
selects individuals with promise and a commitment to careers that
address the mental health needs of ethnic minorities. The program is
designed to meet its goals and specific aims by providing stipend
support, ancillary training experiences, mentoring and career
guidance, and access to an outstanding network of professional
contacts. The oversight and program guidance as well as mentoring
and professional leadership will be provided by an advisory
committee comprised of experts from the field
Our MFP is in its
inaugural year and our growth and development as a program is
ongoing. What does that mean? Earning a doctoral degree and being
trained in areas relevant to these priorities is now a standard of
accountability and program and individual success. Tying it all
together, the training must be "culturally competent." That is,
successful service delivery must be within the parameters of
culturally appropriate and effective modalities of care. Further,
marriage and family therapy research should advance our knowledge of
ethnic, racial and cultural foundations of human relationships. So
we not only seek out talented and dedicated applicants to the MFP,
we must evaluate their training plan and professional goals against
these needs and criteria.
We hope that whether
you are a potential applicant, faculty, mentor, or administrator, as
you browse the MFP website, you will find it informative and
enlightening in answering any questions that you may have regarding
our MFP program. Our staff is always available to answer any
questions or comments about the program.
It is an exciting
time for us here at AAMFT as we contemplate the eventual impact of
the MFP program on the field and the continued evolution of our role
and mission in the field of marriage and family therapy.
Kenneth V. Hardy, PhD
AAMFT/MFP Program Director
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