New years often inspire us to look to our futures but they also often cause us to re-examine our past, so as CFHA turns 29 this January we thought we would give you a snapshot of the very first CFHA newsletter from the Fall of 1994.

While much has inevitable changed in the healthcare landscape and within our organization there is also great continuity in terms of philosophy and mission. Page 2 of the newsletter provides a good summary of the early efforts in what was then termed, “Collaborative health care.” You will likely also note a marked emphasis on family therapy and medical family therapy, emphases that continue to be a part of our rich community, but are no longer the singular emphasis of the association. The movement towards integrated care is indebted to the fore-runners of collaboration between healthcare disciplines, especially those involved in family-oriented efforts to transform healthcare delivery.

Names like Susan McDaniel, Tom Campbell, William Doherty, David Seabird, Alan Lorenz, Jepi Hepworth, John Rolland and many others dot the landscape of this early transformative period. It would be less than a year later when CFHA would host its first conference in Washington, DC title, “Transforming the Practice of Health Care: the Collaborative Solution.” For historical reference it is important to note that from the time of CFHA’s inception it would still be nearly 8 years until Katon and colleagues publish their IMPACT trial results and several years before PCBH implementation trials began in Seattle, WA. So these fore-runners were indeed ahead of their time in many ways.

Enjoy this time machine flashback. We will post more of these in the coming year as we work towards 30 years of promoting the integration of physical and behavioral healthcare in the US health system.

Photo by Mohamed Osama on Unsplash