Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy We are a vibrant professional community and a leader in promoting healthy relationships and wellbein

This year, WAMFT celebrates 50 years of supporting marriage and family therapists, fostering connection, and strengtheni...
08/25/2026

This year, WAMFT celebrates 50 years of supporting marriage and family therapists, fostering connection, and strengthening systemic practice across Washington State.

As part of our anniversary celebration, we're launching the WAMFT 50th Anniversary Memory Project and inviting members, leaders, students, supervisors, educators, and colleagues, past and present, to share their stories.

We would love to hear about:
• Meaningful WAMFT memories
• Conference experiences
• Mentors and colleagues who made an impact
• Photos from past events
• Milestones in your professional journey

Your contributions will help us honor our shared history and celebrate the community we've built together.

Please share your memories using the form in our latest blog post, and feel free to share this post with fellow WAMFT members!
https://bit.ly/4x7Eo7M

08/19/2026

Former WAMFT president Mike Fitzpatrick on third order change: what happens when the context itself shifts, not just the problem or the pattern.

His argument is that systemic models are built for this. When the world around a family changes faster than the family can name, a therapist trained to see relationships in context has something to offer that symptom-focused work does not.

Fifty years in, that's still the case for what we do. The contexts keep changing. The clients keep arriving in the middle of them.

Come celebrate with us: the WAMFT 50th Anniversary Party is the evening of September 25th at the Annual Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. 🎉

08/18/2026

We should look into doing a Cowboy Western Themed Spring Ethics series, don't you think?

08/17/2026

In the second episode of our fifty-year retrospective, Trevor White sits down with former WAMFT president Julie Woods to talk about widening the door: who the association was built for, and who it needed to make room for next.

Julie describes the creation of the WAMFT scholarship fund and the broader effort to make the association accessible to students, from lowering the practical barriers to participation to building pathways that brought emerging clinicians into the organization early rather than after licensure. She also speaks to the experience of MFTs working in multidisciplinary environments like hospitals, community mental health, and integrated care, and what it takes to hold a systemic, relational lens in settings organized around other models.

More episodes are coming in the weeks ahead, featuring former leaders who guided WAMFT through the transition to independent affiliate status, the challenges of 2020, and much more.

Join us in person to celebrate: WAMFT's 50th Anniversary Party takes place the evening of September 25th at the Annual Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. Come mark five decades of the association alongside the people who built it.

08/13/2026

Mike Fitzpatrick was the first openly gay president of WAMFT. In this clip he also takes us to his years on the AAMFT national board, and the moment marriage equality passed in the United State.

AAMFT came out in support. Inside the organization, there was real worry about what it would cost — how many members would walk over a position on same-sex marriage.

Only Fourteen did.

Leadership means taking positions before they're comfortable, and often before you know what they'll cost. Fifty years in, that hasn't changed — and the questions in front of us now will ask the same thing of whoever steps up next.

Come celebrate with us: the WAMFT 50th Anniversary Party is the evening of September 25th at the Annual Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. 🎉

08/12/2026

Former WAMFT president Cristi Lien describes how MFTs worked alongside other mental health professionals to get it done in Washington — a coalition effort that gave clinicians a protected scope of practice and gave the public a clear standard for who is qualified to provide care.

Fifty years on, it's a good reminder of what advocacy work can accomplish when it aims high, and of the ground our current legislative efforts are building on.

Come celebrate five decades with us: the WAMFT 50th Anniversary Party is the evening of September 25th at the Annual Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. 🎉

08/11/2026

In the first episode of our fifty-year retrospective, Trevor White sits down with former WAMFT president Scott Edwards to talk about the association's early work and the pieces of it that are still standing.

Scott walks through the campaign to establish LMFT licensure in Washington State — what the profession looked like before it, what the effort required, and what changed for clinicians once it was in place. He also recounts the origins of two WAMFT traditions he helped launch: Mentor Day, which connects students and emerging clinicians with established practitioners, and the annual Awards Dinner, which has recognized contributions to the field in Washington for decades.

More episodes are coming in the weeks ahead, featuring former leaders who guided WAMFT through the transition to independent affiliate status, the challenges of 2020, and the years in between.

Join us in person to celebrate: WAMFT's 50th Anniversary Party takes place the evening of September 25th at the Annual Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. Come mark five decades of the association alongside the people who built it.

08/11/2026

New Series Starting today on It's All Relational!

In the first episode of our fifty-year retrospective, Trevor White sits down with former WAMFT president Scott Edwards to talk about the association's early work and the pieces of it that are still standing.

Scott walks through the campaign to establish LMFT licensure in Washington State — what the profession looked like before it, what the effort required, and what changed for clinicians once it was in place. He also recounts the origins of two WAMFT traditions he helped launch: Mentor Day, which connects students and emerging clinicians with established practitioners, and the annual Awards Dinner, which has recognized contributions to the field in Washington for decades.

More episodes are coming in the weeks ahead, featuring former leaders who guided WAMFT through the transition to independent affiliate status, the challenges of 2020, and the years in between.

Join us in person to celebrate: WAMFT's 50th Anniversary Party takes place the evening of September 25th at the Annual Conference at Great Wolf Lodge. Come mark five decades of the association alongside the people who built it.

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1300 W. Nickerson Street #128
Seattle, WA
98119

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+12064508931

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