Description
Since 1991, AAMFT has honored up to three members each year for outstanding contributions to
the field of marriage and family therapy.
Criteria
Nominees must be AAMFT members and have made outstanding contributions to the field by
having:
A. Made exceptional, outstanding, ongoing, and cumulative contributions of an empirical or theoretical nature to the field; or,
B. Made significant contributions to the field of marriage and family therapy as reflected in their meeting at least three of the following five criteria. Nominators must submit a curriculum vitae of the person being nominated and a written statement of ways that the nominee meets the criteria:
1. Major plenary on the clinical practice of marriage and family therapy and related issues such as supervision at national/international conferences sponsored by a major professional mental health association;
2. A distinguished record of publications/scholarly contributions in professional journals, both paper or web-based, on topics related to marriage and family therapy;
3. Editorship of a major professional marriage and family therapy journal, newspaper, or magazine;
4. Experience as a director of a nationally or internationally recognized marriage and family therapy training program that has had an impact on the field; and
5. A recognized leader in promoting the field of marriage and family therapy within the United States and Canada or internationally.
Required Materials
All nominations must be made by a third party; self-nominations will not be accepted. Nominators do not need to be AAMFT members. Nominators must submit a curriculum vitae of the person being nominated and a letter of recommendation, which should be no more than 500 words. The letter should detail how the nominee meets the award criteria and highlight the nominee’s efforts and achievements in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their work.
Award
The award consists of:
• An engraved plaque presented at the Systemic Family Therapy Conference.
• Reimbursement of up to $1,000 per recipient for travel to the Systemic Family Therapy Conference* during years the conference is held in-person. If the award is given during virtual years, the awardee may use the travel award toward the
upcoming Advanced Institutes or Leadership Symposium.
• The event registration fee will also be waived for the award recipient(s).
*AAMFT will reimburse up to a total of $1,000 for economy class airfare, transportation to/from airport/hotel, meals per AAMFT allowances for the one day of the ceremony, and one night's hotel stay at one of the AAMFT conference hotels (at the special discounted rate) for the night of the ceremony. AAMFT will provide the awardee with the per diem amount prior to attending the ceremony and send the awardee the funds after the event.
Announcements
Announcements of award winners will be distributed via the eNews and other platforms as they apply.