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The Redwood Empire Therapist
RECAMFT's Online Newsletter
December 2025
Please note: our new email address is info@recamft.org.
"The Role of Family in the Recovery Process: Understanding How Family Involvement Can Impact Recovery" Presented by Jason A Wilson, PsyD, LPC 2 CEs, on Zoom 9 AM to 11:15 AM When discussing the treatment process for substance use addiction including dual-diagnosis, the focus is often on the individual who is suffering from addiction. However, it is important to understand how the family can play a part in the recovery process. More... This presentation is designed for clinicians who may have limited experience working with addiction and the dynamics that are involved when taking the family into consideration. Dr. Jason Wilson, PsyD, LPC is a 21 year Navy Veteran who has been focused on helping people in recovery for 10 years. He completed his Bachelor's at UCLA, Master’s at Capella University, became a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and continued on to finish his Doctorate in Psychology. He worked at VA hospitals as an addictions therapist before becoming a Clinical Supervisor for a private treatment facility. He left that position to become the Clinical Director with his current facility overseeing the clinical team of therapists and overall program functioning.
Enjoy this FREE members only event!
Look for your Election Ballot which has Important Survey Questions!
On top of that, we have important survey questions, and need your input to determine what directions RECAMFT will go in 2026. Here is an example of a few of the questions.
We are excited about the following candidates who are running for Board of Directors positions. Please read up on each candidate on our Elections page found here: https://www.recamft.org/elections
Please read each candidate's statement prior to voting. And please VOTE ASAP!!! Thank you! | SAVE the DATE! Fri., Jan. 9th, in-person event in Petaluma!!
RECAMFT's 51st Annual Membership Meeting including lunch, networking, and 2-CE training:
"From Shame to Intimacy: Helping Clients Build Connections in a Burnt Out World" Presented by Author David Khalili, LMFT, Board-Certified Sexologist
This event will not be live-streamed nor recorded. If you'd like to participate, please join us in Petaluma on January 9th! Open to RECAMFT members and non-member therapists. Networking Activity - We will be engaging in a fun activity based on interests to make connections and build relationships. When you register, you'll choose from these topics:
"From Shame to Intimacy: Helping Clients Build Connections in a Burnt Out World" with author David Khalili, LMFT, Board-Certified Sexologist 
This 2-hour workshop will equip therapists with essential tools to guide their clients toward deeper connection. The training will explore strategies for identifying needs and pleasure, fostering comfort in discussing sex, and collaboratively creating new sexual expectations. This training integrates a biopsychosocial approach to assessing sexual concerns with relational interventions, empowering mental health professionals to effectively support clients navigating intimacy in today's demanding world. Participants will enhance their clinical skills and help clients move from shame to authentic intimacy. David F Khalili, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist, board-certified sexologist, and founder of Rouse Relational Wellness, a boutique couples and sex therapy center in San Francisco. He’s authored Mental Health Workbook for Men and Sex Worriers: A Mindfully Queer Guide for Men’s Anxiety to Sex and Dating to enhance men's relationships with themselves and others. |
Fri., Dec. 5th, 9 AM
A Slice of Connection: Seasonal Member Social! Join us for pizza and fun Dec. 5th, 4-6 pm, Rohnert Park! 
You should have received your Annual Election Ballot in your email by now. Please VOTE before Dec. 22nd for the candidates who are running for RECAMFT's Board of Directors. We need to have a legal election, so it is important everyone votes. 
2026 Board Candidates
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).
Not consultation, just a great way to get some ideas about how to handle your sticky case. Friendly and open group. Learn more here.
| As we shift into the holiday season and toward the year’s end, like many, I find myself deep in reflection. For me, that includes reminiscing about the moments of camaraderie and growth that have occurred within RECAMFT over the past year as your president. This year we have successfully held multiple in-person events, hosted numerous dynamic and knowledgeable presenters, engaged in increased outreach and support for prelicensed and newly licensed clinicians, and spearheaded more opportunities for our members to gather and connect. Despite the bustle of the season, our leadership team is not slowing down with our offerings! We will be hosting our last CE training of the year this Friday, December 5th, at 9 AM with “The Role of Family in the Recovery Process” with Dr. Jason Wilson, LPC. We look forward to seeing more of you that same evening at our networking mixer, “A Slice of Connection: Seasonal Member Social” in Rohnert Park from 4 PM to 6 PM. Then, meet with your fellow members for our Crafting Group on Friday December 12th at 2:30 PM, and the RECAMFT CARE Circle (previously Compassion Fatigue Group) on Friday December 19th at 10:30 AM. Join us in-person for our 51st Annual Members Meeting on Friday, January 9th from 9 AM to 2 PM in Petaluma! This will be one of our largest events of the year as we host David Khalili, LMFT as he presents, “From Shame to Intimacy: Helping Clients Build Connections in a Burnt-Out World.” Following the two CE presentations, we will gather for networking breakout groups and a catered lunch by Lombardi’s Gourmet Deli. We look forward to seeing you there!
I am immensely proud to be a part of RECAMFT and I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure as President. The ability to meaningfully contribute to this organization through volunteerism and help guide our chapter’s actions has given me a sense of fulfillment that my therapeutic work cannot provide. Thank you to our past president, Dr. Bob Casanova, for your leadership and support, and to our incoming president, Pat Hromalik, for being a strong, collaborative force who is ready to steer our beloved organization towards new heights. I look forward to the ongoing growth and expansion that new leadership and active membership will bring to help our organization and community. Warm regards, Emily Larkin, LMFT Above photo L-R: Pat Hromalik, LMFT (2025 President Elect), Emily Larkin, LMFT (2025 President), Dr. Bob Casanova, LMFT (2024 President, 2025 Past President) courtesy of CAMFT Chapter Leadership Conference 2025.
Please note: our new email address is info@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 Jan. 2026 Issue of The RECAMFT Therapist! January is Mental Wellness Month and Veganuary. It is also Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 19th. See more here. We especially welcome submissions where awareness themes intersect with mental health. Please send your submission (500 word max) to info@recamft.org by the 15th. Questions? info@recamft.org. Return to top  December CARE Group (formerly Compassion Fatigue) Support Group Meeting
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Emily Larkin, LMFT is the President of RECAMFT's 
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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/
Catch "Treating Binge Eating with Self-Compassion with Erica Thomas, LMFT" (on-demand) - FREE to members!
This is a 2.0 hour, 2.0-CE training with Erica Thomas, LMFT. "Treating Binge Eating with Self-Compassion: A Trauma-Informed Approach" offers therapists a practical and research-informed framework for addressing binge eating through the lens of self-compassion. Rooted in the work of Kristin Neff, Paul Gilbert, and trauma-informed care principles, this training explores how binge eating often functions as a coping strategy for underlying emotional pain and shame. Participants will learn how to use self-compassion-based interventions to help clients shift from cycles of self-criticism and secrecy to greater emotional regulation, inner safety, and healing.
To see a preview of this dynamic program... 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)
Topic List
Addiction
- Attachment Infused Addiction Treatment Theory 2 CEs with Dr. Mary Crocker Cook, PhD, LMFT
Anxiety & Depression
- Identifying and Treating Imposter Syndrome 2 CEs with Stevon Lewis, LMFT
- Mental Wellness in the Digital Age 1.5 CEs with Julie Frumin, LMFT
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Evidence-Based Treatment Strategies That Work! 3 CEs with Dr. Robin Zasio, PsyD, LCSW
- Three Underlying Beliefs That Cause Anxiety and How to Change Them, A CBT Approach 2 CEs with Jennifer Shannon, LMFT
- Understanding Hoarding Disorder 1.5 CEs with Dr. Robin Zasio, PsyD, LCSW
Couples
- Part 1: Intro to PACT – Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy 2 CEs with Dr. Hans Stahlschmidt, PhD
Eating Disorders
- Treating Binge Eating Disorder with Self-Compassion: A Trauma-informed Approach 2 CEs with Erica Thomas, LMFT
- Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy: Update on a Transformative Treatment Option 2 CEs with Evolve Mind Wellness Staff
- Telehealth: Law & Ethics, Technology, and Best Practices for Connecting with Your Clients 3 CEs, with Dr. Lisa Wenninger, PhD, LPCC
- How to Write a 10-Minute Treatment Plan 3 CEs, with Barbara Griswold, LMFT.
- What Should be in Your Notes, But Probably Isn't 3 CEs, with Barbara Griswold, LMFT.
LGBTQ+
- Affirmative Family Therapy with Gender Diverse People and Their Loved Ones 2 CEs, with Dr. Shawn Giammattei, PhD
- Working with Dissociative Disorders & Plural Communities 4 CEs, with Serenity Serseción, PhD, LMFT
- How Sexuality Influences the Clinical Picture for Female Clients, 2 CEs with Dr. Jenn Kennedy, PhD, LMFT
Neuro-Biological
- The Neurodiversity Paradigm: Autistic & ADHDer Adults 3 CEs with Katy Higgins Lee, LMFT
- Transforming Trauma: The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) 3 CEs with Brad Kammer, LMFT
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. And our RECAMFT Thinkific platform keeps track of all your CEs and Certificates! Return to top
Exciting events planned for 2026! Greetings Prelicensed RECAMFT members! Our second prelicensed networking event was held in Petaluma on Friday, Nov. 7th, 2025, 5-7 pm at Life on Art Workspace. It was a very fun space, and we really enjoyed the time together. Thank you to Cassandra Amantite for taking photographs! I also want to thank the members of our prelicensed committee. We are looking forward to hosting additional events in 2026 and are planning a panel discussion about different career paths prelicensed members can pursue in mid February. Other events will include additional networking opportunities, as well as specialized events with topics including preparing for licensure, and other community building activities like a book club and outdoor events. If you have any questions or concerns about the road to licensure, and how RECAMFT can help, or want to connect with Brian, please email info@recamft.org.
Chair, Prelicensed Committee RECAMFT Director at Large Scholarships for Pre-Licensed andNewly Licensed Members | Hello 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: providing support at in person CE events; driving outreach to potential speakers for CE events; writing up a short article about each presentation for the newsletter ("What You Missed"), and more! Reach out to info@recamft.org if you have ideas of how you'd like to help out. Gwendolyn Watson, LMFT, she/her Programs Chair Programs & Conferences Committee RECAMFT Director at Large 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. Check out RECAMFT's Library page for books authored by our members! Have you written a book? Be sure to let us know so we can include it on our Library page. Email info@recamft.org.
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Members! Your SHORT DESCRIPTION is the most important thing on your profile. 
We had a great time at the Prelicensed Meet & Greet on Nov. 7th at the wonderful Life on Art in Petaluma!
2025-11-07 Prelicensed Meet & Greet
We raffled some prizes at this event. Congratulations to our three raffle winners!
- Aimee McConneloug, AMFT
- Dre Meller, AMFT
- Angela Sanville, AMFT
And many thanks to Cassandra Amantite, Laura Strom and Emily Larkin for all the photos!
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Upcoming events
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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! Please note: our new email address is info@recamft.org. |
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 |
 Photo of the Nov. 2025 Zoom Board meeting:
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We are grateful to our Sponsors who are our community partners in putting on our in-person Petaluma Annual Members Meeting and 2 CE event with Board Certified Sexologist, David Khalili, LMFT on Jan. 9th. Don't miss it! REGISTER HERE BEFORE 12/25/25! Space will be limited! | Thank you CPH Insurance for being a $1000 Sweet Bay Sponsor for our Jan. 9th event!
| Thank you to Pura Vida Recovery for being a $500 Pacific Dogwood Sponsor for our Jan. 9th event!
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Please note: our new email address is info@recamft.org. | Featured memberFind out more about advertising with RECAMFT here. |
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We Need You! Jobs for Awesome Volunteers
We need help with
Please send an email to info@recamft.org if you can help. | This month we'd like to thank the following awesome volunteers who, in addition to our Board of Directors, are helping us plan future events! Prelicensed Committee Membership / Networking Committee - in-person event planned for Dec. 5th! Thank you to our volunteers who help make RECAMFT great! |
Believing in the Unseen Gifts
by Pat Hromalik, LMFT
2026 RECAMFT President
As we all know the holidays can be a time of many feelings - for some this is a difficult time of year and for others a joyful time and for many a stressful time. Please take good care of yourselves as you also are caring for your clients.
Below is a very personal meaningful message of believing in the unseen gifts like hope, faith and love. The letter was written by my grandmother in 1897 when she was 8 years old and worried that her friends had told her there was no Santa Claus. Her father suggested she write to the editor of the New York Sun Newspaper (which no longer exists). She did and the newspaper published a response to the letter as an unsigned editorial on 9/21/1897. It received such response that it has become renowned and republished across the world to the present. The newspaper eventually released the author’s name: Francis Pharcellus Church. Its message of hope and that those things that are unseen, like faith, hope and love, are of the highest value is a timeless message and so appropriate in these challenging times.
My grandmother, Viriginia O’Hanlon Douglas, is my inspiration. She overcame hardship after marrying and having her husband leave her during her pregnancy with my mother. He did not support her after that nor was he present in my mother’s life. She had a forward-thinking father who insisted that she get an education and have a profession something that was not common for women in the early 1900s. She obtained bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees, again very uncommon for women at that time. Virginia dedicated her life to helping children. She was a teacher and principal in the New York City School System working in some of the poorest areas of Manhattan and at the end of her career delivering education to children in hospitals. Her PhD dissertation was on the value of play in child development since so many of her students lacked toys and places to play.
It is very fitting that home she lived in on West 95th street was converted into The Studio School for grades K-8 where her legacy is honored every year. She retired from the NYC school system when I was 3 and came to live with us. She taught me to read before I went to kindergarten, she always made time for me – going on walks, making up wonderful stories, letting me play dress up with her clothes and jewelry. She made me feel seen, heard and loved. And her link to the beautiful “Yes Virginia” editorial has always been a very special part of the holidays for our family. My wish in sharing her letter and the beautiful editorial response is that it brings you hope.
DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? VIRGINIA O’HANLON. 115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.
VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
More information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus
Pat Hromalik, LMFT, (she/her) is RECAMFT's 2026 President, and the current President Elect of our Board of Directors. Pat works with adults and couples, specializing in trauma and life transitions. 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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He then joined the RECAMFT Board as a Director at Large, and became our President Elect in 2023, was the 2024 President during our 50th Anniversary year. He has now served in 2025 as our very wise Past President. We are extremely luck to have had Bob's service in both organizations, and grateful for his guidance over the past decade. Thank you, Dr. Bob Casanova, for all your service on behalf of the MFT and mental health profession! We will miss you!! Photo by RECAMFT. L-R Emily Larkin (2025 President), Reyna Seminara (2017 President), and Dr. Bob Casanova (2024 President, 2017-18 CAMFT President). Dr. Bob is presenting Reyna with the Laura C. Strom Distinguished Board Member Award. |
We are deeply grateful to Dr. Bob Casanova, PsyD, LMFT for his long service to both CAMFT and RECAMFT. Dr. Casanova served on the CAMFT Board as a Director at Large, Secretary, President Elect, 2017-18 CAMFT President, and two years as its Past President.
Thank you for reading this month's newsletter! RECAMFT is great because of involved members like you!! Please note: our new email address is info@recamft.org. |
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 |
