Happy Spring! It’s such a joy to see flowers blooming everywhere and a fresh new carpet of green on emerging on our San Gabriel Mountains! Feels like time to get out and start engaging in the world in a fresh new way!   

Our board has been busy thinking of fun and interesting ways for us to gather as a community this spring! We have social mixers planned just for fun, as well as exciting new ways to enhance our professional skills and knowledge with intriguing programs and meetings of Special Interest Groups (SIGs)!  

Here’s a shoutout to our fabulous Membership Committee! Deanna Hudgins and Michael Bauer planned a super fun social mixer at Mimi’s Café this past Saturday April 30^th! In attendance were SGV CAMFT members, board members, students, and folks just interested in coming to meet us and hang out. It was such a hit, Deanna and Michael are planning to make it a regular event! See below for upcoming Membership Socials. And keep your eyes peeled for details posted on Instagram and FaceBook! RSVPs requested but not required. There’s no agenda! Just come, eat, and relax with SGV CAMFT! Let’s all make some new friends! Thanks to all who were able to join us this past Saturday! We hope to see you next time!

Welcome to new 3000 Club Co-Chair Joe Girillo, LMFT! Joe joins Adam Snir on the 3000 Club Team. We are very excited to have someone with Joe’s wisdom and expertise to help navigate our pre-licensed members on their journey towards licensure! See below for a personal message from Joe and Adam as they re-launch SGV CAMFT’s newly revived 3000 Club!

  

Joe Girillo, LMFT has worked in County mental health since 1999, in acute psychiatric care since 2004, first at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena and since 2014 at Adventist Health Glendale. This work has included treating patients with mood disorders, psychosis, active suicidality, and chemical dependency to name a few. Joe spent the 5 years previous to his hospital work in community mental health, serving homeless teens in Hollywood, incarcerated adolescents at Central Juvenile Hall & underserved communities thru middle school & in-home therapy in Central & East L.A., where he counseled teens in trouble, young adults, and blended family couples.

UPCOMING EVENTS and PROGRAMS

Friday, MAY 13^th Noon-2pm: Online 3000 CLUB Program “NAVIGATING THE ROAD TO LICENSURE” – 2.0 CE Credits available

Program Description: This CAMFT presentation, featuring CAMFT Staff Attorney Luke Matthew Martin, Esq. is intended to provide an overview of the licensing process for pre-licensees as they work toward licensure in marriage and family therapy. Topics to be discussed include the marriage and family therapy licensing process; supervised experience requirements for applicants; supervisor qualifications and supervision requirements; licensing examinations; and common employment issues pre-licensees encounter with their supervisors. 

This program is highly recommended for our pre-licensed members, as well as supervisors, and those interested in becoming supervisors. See our website for Learning Objectives and other important information. Register on our website at: https://www.sgvcamft.org/event-4753629

This program offers 2.0 CE Credit hours.

 

Friday, MAY 20^th, 11:30-1:30 pm:  Online Program “Medical Mimics: Recognizing Psychological Disguises for Medical Conditions When Clients Come to Therapy” – 1.5 CE Credits available

Join presenter Jaelline Jaffe, PhD, LMFT for this intriguing program to help us recognize when a medical condition is actually a psychiatric disorder in disguise.

Program Description: Clients are often misdiagnosed with a psychiatric disorder when they actually have a medical condition. And patients are often diagnosed with a medical condition without consideration of the psychological/emotional impact on their lives and relationships. Our minds, brains, and bodies are connected. To approach treatment of one aspect without the others taken into account is limited thinking and may actually do more harm than good. This presentation will highlight a number of medical issues that may bring clients to a therapist’s office, as well as several emotional aspects that need to be considered when addressing medical conditions.

This program, hosted by SGVCAMFT includes a short opportunity for member networking and SGVCAMFT updates. See our website for Learning Objectives and other important information. Register on our website at: https://www.sgvcamft.org/event-4815586

This program offers 1.5 CE Credit hours.

If you have any questions, or are interested in speaking at a future event, please send an email to Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT at lynnemazpeitia@yahoo.com.

BOOK CLUB

June 5^th 7:00 - 8:30 pm   Free Online Event – Special Intro to our Local Author Series!

Please join the Book Club Meeting in June to meet and speak with local author Michael Bauer, LMFT who will be discussing his newly released digital workbook: “10 Meditational Drawing Exercises.” Michael’s workbook is geared for creatives, art therapists, artists, and those interested in the intersections between artmaking, psychology, cognitive behavior therapy, and mindfulness.Join our Book Club for an informal, facilitated discussion, in which Michael will offer insight into his writing process, the book, and how it might be used with clients. Visit Michael’s website to learn more about how you can purchase his book:  https://www.counselingforcreativepeople.com/store/10-meditational-drawing-exercises

Register for the Free June Book Club meeting on our website at: https://www.sgvcamft.org/event-4637353  

MEMBERSHIP SOCIAL EVENTS 

SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, MAY 28^th Membership Social - Casual Coffee Date
Location and Time TBD Keep your eyes peeled! This event will be announced and advertised on SGV CAMFT’s Instagram and FaceBook accounts. Hope you can join us!

STAYED TUNED FOR JUNE! Membership Social - Brunch at the Huntington Botanical Gardens
Details forthcoming! 

Questions? Email Deanna Hudgins at hudginsdeanna@gmail.com or Michael Bauer at michaelgeraldbauer@gmail.com

3000 CLUB – Message from our 3000 Club Team!

"Hello everyone! The 3000 Club is here!

After a brief hiatus the 3000 Club valiantly returns to serve the needs of San Gabriel Valley's pre-licensed members. This includes students, practicum interns, and associates alike. We aim to support these members through community and connection. If there is demand, we will provide informative workshops or presentations, but the bulk of club meetings will be informal social gatherings. This includes getting together in a park, lunches, renting out a movie theatre, board games, and any other activity members might request.

Connecting with other people at varying levels of licensure is the overall goal of this 3000 Club but meetings will also be a place to ask questions and share solutions with the frustrating process of licensure.

If you'd like to join our meetings or have any questions or comments please email Adam Snir at mr.adamsnir@gmail.com or text him at (314)479-7294.

We are excited to see you!

Adam Snir, AMFT
Joe Girillo, LMFT

THE SGV CAMFT BOARD INVITES YOU TO COME AND PARTICIPATE!

The SGV CAMFT Board currently is looking for some new participants! You don’t have to make a huge commitment or even sign up as a Committee Chair. We would be happy for some additional peoplepower to pull off some projects that we have big ideas for! Of course, we also welcome folks who are interested in joining the Board in a more official capacity. You don’t have to be a licensed member to help us out. Students and pre-licensed are some of our most valuable assets! Jobs/tasks can be as large or small as the amount of time you have to offer!

Here are some areas in which we could use your help!

• Social Media posting (IG, FB, etc.) 

• Membership outreach (could be a couple of hours of phone calling!)

• SIG (Special Interest Group) program coordination

• Mentors for our Mentor-Mentee program (it’s such a hit, we need more mentors!)

• Treasurer position will be opening in 2023 (Interested but not sure? Don’t worry, Shana will stick around to tutor you into the job!)

• Secretary position may be opening up 

• SIG group leaders (Have an idea for a SIG? Let us know! See below for details)

• Interested in a pipeline for leadership? Join the board and see how you can build your leadership skills and step into your role as a leader in your professional community! 

• Just because you don’t see a position listed, doesn’t mean it isn’t be available. Let us know what your interest is in serving on the board and we’ll see how we can help make that happen!

If you have questions about volunteering on our Chapter’s board in any capacity large or small, please contact Kathryn Bikle at president@sgvcamft.org. We look forward to welcoming you to help us better serve the SGV CAMFT community!

Putting out a call for Mentors!

Have you been secretly longing to share your professional wisdom with a less experienced colleague? Here’s your opportunity! SGVCAMFT Mentor-Mentee Chair Jessica Ruiz is currently seeking additional Mentors for our popular Mentor-Mentee program. Being a Mentor does not take a huge amount of time, just a willingness to share your expertise and offer support to a Mentee for an hour a month, or whatever feels right to you! Requested areas of expertise include: Supporting a Shift to Private Practice, Developing your Treatment Modality, Exam Prep Support, TeleHealth Technology Support, and Your Expertise Here! Contact Jessica if you would like to become a SGVCAMFT Mentor or are interested in the Mentor-Mentee program: Jessicaruizmft@gmail.com or secretary@sgvcamft.org. Information about our Mentor-Mentee program can be found on our website at https://www.sgvcamft.org/Mentor-Mentee-Program  

SGV CAMFT’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Program Planning is actively looking for Participants and Facilitators to help launch this program! 

SGV-CAMFT is forming a Special Interest Group Program for professionals to come together around topics and interests related to our field. A Special Interest Group (SIG) is an opportunity to make connections, dig deeper into specialty areas, and form relationships around common interests. We are currently looking for participants and facilitators to help us launch this program! 

Do you have a passion for working with couples, trauma, or a specific diagnosis, and would like to share that with your colleagues? 

Do you work with a specific population and could use some support? 

Would you enjoy co-hosting educational or social programs for Marriage and Family Therapists? 

We are open to your ideas for SIGs. What group would you like to see form? What group could you imagine being a part of? Check our website for details on how to apply to become a facilitator: https://www.sgvcamft.org/Special-Interest-Group-(SIG)-Program  Contact Natasha Morisawa for more information at Pastpresident@sgvcamft.org or Natasha@mindfulmft.com 

-From Kathryn Bikle, President