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The Redwood Empire Therapist
RECAMFT's Online Newsletter
June 2025
Coming Fri., June 6th! "Introduction to PACT – The Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy Part 2 – Understanding the Convergences of Developmental Neuroscience, Arousal Regulation and Attachment Theory in Treating Couples"
Presented by Dr. Hans Stahlschmidt, PhD
What is PACT? PACT was developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin, PhD, fusing attachment theory, latest understanding of developmental neuroscience, and human arousal biology. PACT can effectively treat many challenging couples.
Dr. Hans Stahlschmidt is the Dean of Students at the PACT Institute, and a Licensed Psychologist. He has been collaborating with Dr. Tatkin, and using PACT in his Berkeley private practice for over a decade. He was a practicing psychologist in Germany, and upon moving to the US, obtained a doctorate from Pacifica Graduate Institute. | Mark your calendars! Friday, Sept. 5th, 9 am
Presented by Julie Frumin, LMFT
Register here. |
"Sustaining Mental Wellness in the Digital Age"
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Stay tuned for more exciting planned speakers and events this fall!
We are still ironing out details, but here is some of what we have planned. 
- First Friday evening in September 5th, 4-6 pm - Prelicensed Meet & Greet (in person networking event), "MFTea Time", location TBD
- October 3rd - Sleep and Maternal Postpartum Depression
- November 7th - MAST Activation Syndrome and Eating Disorders
- December 5th or 6th - hoping for a holiday in-person party for members!
When details become available, look for them on our Current Events page.
Featured member
Did you miss the BBS-MANDATED 3 CE Telehealth course?
Telehealth: Law & Ethics, Technology, and Best Practices for Connecting with Your Clients with Dr. Lisa Wenninger, PhD, LPCC, BC-TMH Catch it on video here, and get your mandated 3 Telehealth CEs. Return to top RECAMFT's Mission Statement The purpose of RECAMFT is to promote and maintain professional competence and integrity with knowledge, innovation, compassion, humor and respect for human dignity and diversity. We do this by providing opportunities for networking, education and community outreach for our members. (Note: "For our members" was added to the Mission Statement by the Bylaws Task Force on May 19, 2025). RECAMFT's Racial and Social Justice Pledge
We strive to advocate, educate, collaborate, and strategize for positive racial and social justice change within our membership and our community. | Dear RECAMFT Community: As we enter summer, our team continues to be at hard work to deliver notable speakers, engaging events, and opportunities for growth and networking! We have been listening to those of you who have shared your feedback with us about our efforts to support you, and we are hoping to provide even more chances for community and connection within our organization. We recently sent out a Prelicensed survey to gather more feedback from prelicensed folks both members and non-members. Our prelicensed clinicians are the next generation of this profession and we are dedicated to improving on ways to provide them with the education, mentorship, and community they need to thrive! This short survey even offers the chance to win a gift card for participating! Please forward our survey to your colleagues and supervisees. We have some exciting events coming up, and hope you will attend.
Despite our board taking a break for the months of July and August, none of these events or opportunities can happen without person-power. Our leadership team has been more transparent as of late regarding our struggles to make these wonderful offerings happen. We need more volunteers to participate, help brainstorm, set up, and reach out to others! RECAMFT is strictly a volunteer non-profit. Please join us in creating an even more supportive, expansive, and connected RECAMFT community! Reach out to us at info@recamft.org for how to get more involved. We really need you! Looking forward to a very exciting fall with lots more being planned, including more in-person events provided we have volunteers to help! Warmly, Emily Larkin, LMFT 2025 President, RECAMFT.org
Are you creative? Please join us for our Crafting Group! Bring any craft you like, get on Zoom with us and visit with your colleagues while we knit, sew, paint, draw, cook, create, etc. (Note: No Crafting Circle in April.) Join us at our next meeting:
Call for Submissions for the Sept 2025 Issue of The RECAMFT Therapist! September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15th. It is also Self Care, Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery, and Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. See more here. We especially welcome submissions where awareness themes intersect with mental health. Please send your submission (500 word max) to therapy@recamft.org by the 15th. Questions? therapy@recamft.org. Return to top |
RECAMFT is committed to equity including addressing structural racism and systemic injustice. We endeavor to be inclusive and value individuals from all ethnicities, ages, races, sexual orientations, genders, languages, abilities, religions, citizenship statuses, and socioeconomic backgrounds into our chapter and into treatment.
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FREE to Members - Visit our On-Demand CE Video Library!
Multiple new ONLINE offerings! Find all the latest here (including 6 CEs Law & Ethics)
Check it out! RECAMFT's On-Demand CE Library link: https://recamft.thinkific.com/
RECAMFT Members Raved About The Neurodiversity Paradigm with Katy Higgins Lee, LMFT - no charge to RECAMFT members!
Here's what participants said about this course.
- "Presenter was highly knowledgeable and laid out the information in a very clear and concise manner."
- "Katy is a fantastic instructor and I hope we have her back."
- "Enlightening. Bias-busting effect."
- "I thought it was the best training I've been to in years."
- "It was a very rich presentation."
- "The topic is so important and timely. I very much appreciated the quality of the training."
- "One of the top RECAMFT trainings."
To take this course, and find out why all your colleagues are so enthusiastic, click here.
Members - you can access recordings of our zoom events from 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 in our new on-demand library which has been migrated over to Thinkific (https://recamft.thinkific.com/).
NEW! RECAMFT On-Demand Programs: https://recamft.thinkific.com
NEW! RECAMFT discount codes are posted for members only here: https://www.recamft.org/member-discount-codes (requires sign-in using your RECAMFT member email/password)
NEW! The Neurodiversity Paradigm: Autistic & ADHDer Adults, 3 CEs with Katy Higgins Lee, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2025-04-neurodiverse-paradigm
Identifying and Treating Imposter Syndrome, 2 CEs with Stevon Lewis, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2025-02-imposter
Understanding Hoarding Disorder, 1.5 CEs with Dr. Robin Zasio, PsyD, LCSW https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2025-hoarding-ondemand
Three Underlying Beliefs That Cause Anxiety and How to Change Them, a CBT Approach, 2 CEs, with Jennifer Shannon, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2024-06-3-Beliefs-Cause-Anxiety
Transforming Trauma: The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), 3 CEs, with Brad Kammer, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2023-03-NARM
Addiction: Attachment Infused Addiction Treatment Theory, 2 CEs, with Dr. Mary Crocker Cook, PhD, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/attachment-addiction-2024-01
Law & Ethics: Telehealth: Law & Ethics, Technology, and Best Practices for Connecting with Your Clients, 3 CEs, with Dr. Lisa Wenninger, PhD, LPCC https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2023-05-Telehealth
Law & Ethics: How to Write a 10-Minute Treatment Plan, 3 CEs, with Barbara Griswold, LMFT. https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2022-law-and-ethics-treatment-plan
Law & Ethics: What Should be in Your Notes, But Probably Isn't, 3 CEs, with Barbara Griswold, LMFT. https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2022-06-15-law-ethics-progress-notes
LGBTQ+: Affirmative Family Therapy with Gender Diverse People and Their Loved Ones, 2 CEs, with Dr. Shawn Giammattei, PhD https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2024-transgender-families
LGBTQ+: Working with Dissociative Disorders & Plural Communities, 4 CEs, with Serenity Serseción, PhD, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2023-12-DID
LGBTQ+: How Sexuality Influences the Clinical Picture for Female Clients, 2 CEs with Dr. Jenn Kennedy, PhD, LMFT https://recamft.thinkific.com/courses/2024-09-06-sexuality-female-clients
Members can watch the video, pass the test, fill out the evaluation, and download your certificate. It's that easy! You can earn CEs for any recorded event if you didn't already earn CEs from the live event.
Welcome back, RECAMFT community! We are so excited to share some of the upcoming monthly CE events. RECAMFT Zoom presentations
Are you interested in seeing what we have coming up? Consider microvolunteering with the Programs & Conferences Committee! Microvolunteering opportunities: screening speaker applications; providing support at in person CE events; monitoring Q&A for speakers during monthly Zoom presentations. We are especially looking for Programs Committee helpers to evaluate applications for programs. Programs Chair Programs & Conferences Committee RECAMFT Director at Large
We need help with
Please send an email to info@recamft.org if you can help.
Justice Project Antiracism
Justice Project: LGBTQ+ Affirming Care
| Scholarships for Pre-Licensed andNewly Licensed MembersCongratulations to the first two Prelicensed Tzedakah Scholarship Winners!
Congrats to Angela and Isabella, and best of luck on your exams! |
Members! Your SHORT DESCRIPTION is the most important thing on your profile. Why? Because that shows in our 
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Hearty CONGRATS to our members who recently completed one (or more) of our Justice Projects! You will be receiving a certificate suitable for framing for your office. To learn more about how to earn Justice Project Certification 
Congratulations to Alice Petty-Hannum on finishing the LGBTQ+ Affirming Care Justice Project! To learn more about how to earn a certificate in one of our Justice Projects, visit https://recamft.org/justice.
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Not consultation, just a great way to get some ideas about how to handle your sticky case. Friendly and open group. Learn more here.
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Upcoming events
| Featured member
If you are not currently enrolled in the listserv, please email therapy@recamft.org and ask to be added. You have the option of setting up your account to be
After you have been added to the listserv, you can change the way you receive the emails to any of the above choices. In Gmail the emails will appear under your Forums tab. To send an email to the listserv, simply address your email to recamft@groups.io If you do not want to be on our listserv, you can delete your account or write to info2recamft.org and ask to not be a part of the listserv. But we urge you to give it a try. You are missing out on a ton of meaningful collaboration with your colleagues. We hope you will enjoy being part of our online community! |
Our listserv has around 400 members on it, and is active daily with great conversations, resources, offerings, in search of, books, movies, office rentals, jobs, internships, etc. You can view the home page of our listserv at
Contact info@recamft.org to advertise a job. Featured member | May 9, 2025 Board meeting. Photo by Laura Strom.
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Coming soon: May 31st Annual Pride Parade!
We need volunteers to help with Pride If you can help, please email info@recamft.org to let us know. Please step up! |
Find out more about advertising with RECAMFT here. |
Book Review: Portraits of Resilience by Daniel Jackson
by Cynthia Psaila, LMFT
RECAMFT Director at Large
As the Mental Health Awareness month of May is nearly over, I am inspired to discuss a book that I have coveted for years as a therapist, Portraits of Resilience (2017) by Daniel Jackson. This poignant book is a photographic essay of 22 people attending MIT—students, staff and faculty who have overcome a personal mental health crisis.
The people in the photographs are from all walks of life, visually illustrating the diversity and humanity of mental health challenges. Photographs are followed by personal narratives of the quest for resilience amidst depression, anxiety and trauma. Each moving story is a reminder that mental health challenges are universal and often nuanced by culture, personal attributes, and family of origin.
One student, Emily Tang, fell into a deep depression and stopped attending class. She hid it from her family in fear of the repercussions she would experience from her ‘Asian mother’. She had friends who held her hand through the toughest moments as she contemplated the worth of life. Only after forced expulsion from MIT and returning home did she begin to find her way. It took running away from home in the rain and then returning to ‘cut herself in the shower’ for her to realize she had to mobilize and make new commitments to herself. After re-admittance to MIT a few years later, Emily knew she had grown by her increasing independence and the ability to attend class during a depressive episode.
One professor of Physics, John Belcher, became so depressed and consequently cognitively impaired, that he could not recite the Pledge of Allegiance. He admits to spending his career before depression enjoying abstract ideas and a computer screen more than interpersonal relationships. As his depression grew, he notes that he had to grow as well, realizing the profound importance of human connection. He states, “my motivations have changed—what I think is important. My priorities are more oriented toward people, as opposed to doing scientific projects.” Although he continues to want recognition from his colleagues, he feels he has become “multifaceted” after learning what it takes to live, and now thrive, after depression.
Therese Henderson, Administrative assistant, realized she had been depressed since early childhood. Growing up with an angry alcoholic father, she learned to keep her feelings to herself. She states, “It was better to try and be invisible...because when you got noticed, you got in trouble.” As an adult, after her brother died of alcoholism and she divorced, her depression and sadness turned to anger. She started attending support groups and using self help tools like journaling and breaking plates from the thrift store. This helped her to acknowledge her anger, her depression, and to move forward toward a more present and fulfilling life. For the first time, five years after her groups have ended and many journals later, Therese reports “having a great life”.
Each participant depicts a path of struggle leading to a deep awakening. With this awakening, they begin to repair the emotional destruction. It is clear from each autobiographical account that resilience is born out of despair. With this, I find great hope and meaning in the therapeutic work we do as mental health professionals. The privilege to witness and nurture the seeds of resilience in our clients is an inspiration and a great source of hope alive in our profession.
Cynthia Psaila, LMFT is a Director at Large on RECAMFT's Board of Directors. She has a private practice in Petaluma.
Link to our Therapy Groups page and a PDF of current offerings - RECAMFT.ORG/Therapy-Groups CLICK HERE to learn more about local group offerings, and payment to advertise your group. 
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Thanks to 2015 President Kris Spangler for proposing we march in the 2024 Pride Parade with Redwood Psychological Association!
| Dr. Bob Casanova (2024 President) and Tara D'Orazio (2020 President) had fun during the parade.
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2017 President Reyna Seminara showed up to demonstrate her pride!
 We hope lots of RECAMFT members will attend this year's Pride on May 31st. The theme is "40 & Fierce" celebrating the Ruby 40th Anniversary of Pride in Sonoma County. Bring your friends, dogs, kids, and bikes. Find out more here. | 2025 President Emily Larkin (half way to becoming our Past President) with 2020 President Tara D'Orazio showing pride love!
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Thank you for reading this month's newsletter! RECAMFT is great because of involved members like you!! |
Are you looking for help? Find therapists offering free natural disaster and crisis sessions here. Please check out MySonomaStrong.com. Visit the NAMI Warmline. Take a trauma-informed yoga class. We will recover together! ¿Buscas ayuda? Encuentre terapeutas que ofrezcan sesiones gratuitas de crisis y desastres naturales aquí. Visite MySonomaStrong.com. Visite la NAMI Warmline. Toma una clase de yoga informada sobre el trauma. ¡Nos recuperaremos juntos!
Redwood Empire Chapter of California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists |
