As a family therapist who is very aware of the origins of family systems theory in the US, I am committed to the idea that marriage and family therapists should understand that the very idea of a system -- whether it is a family system or another human system -- should apply to everyone in this country.  

We diagnose specific symptoms accurately from the multiple disorders in which they originate, rather than simply diagnosing and treating entire disorders indiscriminately. This allows patients to understand, psychiatrically, how their symptoms are being caused, what is changing cognitively as a part of the treatment process, and for them to understand, specifically, what symptoms are or are not being effected by psychoactive medications.

Despite the overwhelmingly consistent reaction of people who may have had previous mental health treatment or experience with mental health, marriage and family therapy is not a 'new approach' to therapy at all but a more complete application of how it is actually supposed to work. It began to emerge academically a century ago (about 30 years after Freud developed psychoanalysis). It was created by psychiatrists, theoreticians, and therapists who began to understand the limitations of psychoanalysis and how psychiatry, supportive relationships, and therapy work together to heal symptoms as well as the comprehensive applicability (meaning, now, applicability to ALL families and to ALL people) of psychiatry as a medical discipline.

As a Resident, I worked with nurses, physicians, adult and child and adolescent psychiatrists, and psychiatric staff to heal presenting symptoms with the most effective information and professional resources available to do so, including extensive corrections based physical and verbal de-escalation training that was applied in multiple (corrections, community, medical, etc.) settings. 

In the end, my professional development process as a Resident was especially comprehensive because it was pre-approved by the Virginia Department of Health Professions at the first agency where I worked in 2000; because of the many medical contexts (VCU Medical Center, Chippenham Hospital, Southside Regional Medical Center, Residential Treatment Centers statewide, etc.) where Residency occurred; because it was based exhaustively on the most comprehensive ("common factors'") information available to educate and train marriage and family therapists; and because an error at the Department of Health Professions required advocacy with the AAMFT and the Virginia legislature (HB 1702 and HB 2177, 2013 Session; HB 1902 was left in "Health, Welfare and Institutions") extending Residency hours substantially but also formally acknowledging marriage and family therapy as a distinct health profession in Virginia.

Philip M. Campbell, AB'94, University of Chicago, MA, 2005, Eastern Mennonite University, Conflict Transformation Program, MFT (2007), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT, 2014-Present)    October 21, 2025