Results of January 2021 Member Survey and Outcomes of Our Planning Retreat!

We wanted to share with you what Marin CAMFT members are thinking as the COVID-19 situation is hopefully starting to change with arrival of vaccines, along with some input we received on how Marin CAMFT should proceed as we head further into 2021!

In the last week of January, we sent out a survey to our membership, and as of 2/4/21, 80 people replied, which is a great response rate. Thank you to those who took the time to offer your thoughts! Here are some of the significant responses we received.

What are your plans to resume work with clients?

In case you're using a screen-reader, the question was "After Shelter-In-Place is lifted, how do you plan to resume work with clients?" This was a "check all that apply" question. The vast majority of respondents plan to continue working with clients remotely: 61 out of 80 people (76%) indicated they would work virtually. About 36% (29 people) said they would work in-person in the office, and 17% (14) said they would work in-person outdoors. These answers do not sum to 100% because people could choose multiple options, which many clearly did. We also had an "other" option for that question, and the majority of those write-in answers were statements  like "Both in person and virtual" or "hybrid" or "a mix." One person said that they have done teletherapy for many years already and will continue that way, and others said they weren't sure if clients wanted to return to in-person, or that they weren't sure where they would practice because of closing their physical office location. 

Also interesting is that 17% of you will be working with clients outdoors! Perhaps we can make that a topic of discussion on Zoom in the coming weeks, where everyone can share what you've tried and what you are planning with clients for outdoors sessions or practices (see below for some plans that are in the works for shared discussions like this!).

We also wanted to know how you would prefer to receive Marin CAMFT's programming and events.

What format do you want for Marin CAMFT events?

If you're using a screen-reader, the survey question was: "After Shelter-In-Place is lifted, would you like to see Marin CAMFT..." with three options asking about format. The results show that 70% of the respondents (56 people) prefer that we host a combination of in-person and virtual CE trainings and workshops. 28% (22 people) prefer that we continue offering primarily virtual trainings, as we have been doing since the pandemic started. And about 3% (2 people) want primarily in-person events.

We anticipated that many of you would like to see us return to in-person meetings, so we also asked about what your expectations would be for that to happen.

What would make you comfortable to attend an in-person event?

We wanted to hear your thoughts on protocols and requirements for having meetings in person again. The survey question was: "What would have to be true for you to feel comfortable with/want to return to in-person events with Marin CAMFT?" 

This was an open-text response, so no fancy bar-charts available on this one, but here is a sampling of the 71 write-in answers that were given:

For all attendees to have a vaccine. 

Virus transmission at less than *1 

All therapists present at event vaccinated and more research on efficacy of vaccine 

Everyone one with masks. Distancing 6 feet. Outdoors. 

Covid under control 

Be aligned with health department protocols.

I’m not sure at this point. 

We're not quite sure yet either -- but we're working on it!

From the overall survey responses, we can see that many of our members are eager for in-person events to start up again, and at the same time, there are concerns and uncertainties about when and how we will be able to do this. Marin CAMFT is committed to doing it safely, when the time is right, and with clear protocols in effect, exactly as many of you have requested.

Here is the link to the survey results, in case you want to explore the answers more directly. (Note that since the survey is still open, the data is likely to change in the future from the summaries that have been published here.)

All of this was the subject of interested discussion at our 2021 planning retreat!

Our 2021 Chapter Retreat and Planning Session

On January 30th, Marin CAMFT President Adam Cohen hosted the 2021 Chapter Retreat - virtually of course! We had nine members participate -- thank you to those who carved out time on a Saturday morning to join us! Adam presented these survey results and led a discussion of planning for the near term.

Here is a quick recap of key ideas and conversations:

1. Community Chats! In 2020, in response to the pandemic, the Marin CAMFT Board hosted Sunday Community Chats by Zoom to offer support through the changing times. In the survey, members were asked if they were interested in continuing these going forward. There was enough interest that we want to offer them again, however the Board is also stretched a bit thin. So, the current plan is that the Board will offer another Sunday Community Chat soon, and in that forum, invite members to take over the leadership, with support of the Board in providing the Zoom and communicating it to membership.
   
   
2. Additional opportunities for networking and support! Another idea was to provide further opportunities for casual connections, networking, and support to members by extending the end-time of the Friday CE Sessions. This will be another chance for people to interact, seek referrals, build relationships, and generally support one another, just like we would normally do after an in-person event. (Update March 2021: Because of logistical challenges with keeping the MCAMFT Zoom room open and hosted even longer following a two-hour training, we won't be able to implement this suggestion, however we are looking for other ways to provide networking opportunities for the chapter!)
   
   
3. Tentative plans for an in-person event this year! Based on the feedback from members, it seems that it will still be awhile before we will be comfortable hosting in-person meetings -- however, we also recognize that many of us are feeling isolated, and would benefit from more social contact. Please know that the Board wants to accommodate as many of these needs as possible, and we're committed to doing it safely, of course. One possibility that we may be able to look forward to: A summertime outdoor social gathering for the chapter, such as a picnic, or maybe a hike. More conversation is needed at the Board level before we will be able to commit to this, but it's something that many would like to do. Please stay tuned!
   
   
4. Increasing community involvement! Another big takeaway seemed to be energy around adding to our chapter the mission to both serve our members, and also serve our greater community. We are a group of over 300 people, and perhaps we could be working together more formally on projects as volunteers? The discussion stemmed out of the Trauma and Response Team's efforts, and what more our chapter might do to help those in need in Marin. Suggestions were activities such as outreach in the Canal area, or a food drive, and other such initiatives. If you want to get more involved in this idea of organizing community events for member engagement, we invite you to contact Marin CAMFT President Adam Cohen at acohenmft@gmail.com. 
   

Overall it was a very productive meeting, and we're grateful for the input provided by our members! Marin CAMFT will continue to make the most of our current situation within the realities of COVID-10 while the vaccine is being rolled out to our community.