Strength in Numbers:
Being a Member in Group Consultation

A hallmark of owning a Private Psychotherapy Practice is isolation. Regardless of how many years we've been doing this work as Therapists, or even how well we're doing professionally, it can be tough to navigate the legal, ethical or personal questions that arise in each of us. When we connect with our clients about their concerns and questions, sometimes we're left feeling drained and uncertain about things we hear. We might also be unclear how to proceed with difficult therapy challenges. This is when a group consultation meeting can provide guidance and clarity.

I've been involved with a monthly Therapist consultation group for about eight years and it has consistently been a great source of clarity, knowledge, connection and validation for my clinical work. I began the group by inviting a few colleagues and posting an online invitation. Each participant came with their own clinical experiences, concerns and expectations for the group. Some Therapists that responded were a natural fit, others weren't.

As one might imagine with the varying personalities of Therapists and our differing clinical orientations, assembling a new work group met with some small challenges.

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Membership Committee Chair Changes Hands

The Board of Directors for East Bay CAMFT would like to welcome our new Membership Chair, Donna Long, MFT. Donna approached the Board a few months back about her interest in volunteer opportunities. She was invited to attend the December Board meeting, where she was an active participant. At the January meeting she was voted to serve as our Current Membership Chair. We would also like to thank Claire-Elizabeth DeSophia for her time serving as past Membership Chair. Claire-Elizabeth has been instrumental in helping revitalize our Chapter. We appreciate all her hard work and tenacious work ethic. Thank you Claire-Elizabeth and Welcome Donna Long!

--Kelly M. Sharp, President-Elect

Hello! I begin my tenure as Membership Chair quite inspired. I believe that East Bay CAMFT can offer more and matter more to its members. As a group of people who specialize in relationships, I want to find ways to promote our being in greater relationship with one another. Many of us experience a sense of isolation as therapists. I'll be working with the Board to find opportunities for connection that fit members' varied needs and personalities. For example, many of us want to connect in a more genuine and safe way than many networking events seem to provide. We'll be looking at and asking you what some of those ways might be. We'll be looking at what has worked for other chapters. We'll be exploring ways to promote a sense of community, belonging, support, camaraderie and professional enrichment. As an organization I believe we have immense potential to support, inform, and enrich each other's lives as well as our work.

If you have any suggestions, questions, comments, etc., I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me at donna@donnalongmft.com or 415-820-1541. Wishing you all the best.

Dyadic Developmental Psychology Workshop

A Dan Hughes attachment and intersubjective model for working with foster, adoptive children and families

Whether an intern or therapist, you have all been presented at sometime or another with a child or teen that has been exposed to intrafamilial abuse, neglect, inadequate or unpredictable parenting, separation or loss of a primary caregiver. Many of these young people exhibit oppositional-defiant behaviors, have difficulty trusting adults, have problems controlling their emotions, and frequently try to control people and events in their lives. Most children that demonstrate this profile will not meet the criteria for Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). They demonstrate what Dan Hughes, PhD and founder of Dyadic Developmental Psychology (DDP) calls an "attachment disturbance". Whether RAD or not at the core of these children's sense of self is shame. Their belief is that they are "bad" and "unlovable".

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HOT TOPIC

Five local CAMFT chapters collaborated together to submit a proposal to the State CAMFT Board on January 21, 2012. This proposal strongly encouraged CAMFT to consider issuing a statement against the practice of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE). The CAMFT Board approved a motion that affirms its support of the American Psychological Association's Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts. The Board indicated their staff would continue to draft a proposal themselves which reflected the spirit of the proposal submitted by the 5 local chapters. For more information about the recent State CAMFT Board meeting go the CAMFT web page and click under "About CAMFT", then "Board of Directors" and click again on "Board Meetings." www.camft.org.

Letter from the Editor(s)

It is with great enthusiasm that I introduce East Bay Camft's newly appointed Newsletter Editor, Caiti Crum, Intern MFT. Caiti will be taking over the newsletter beginning in March. Be on the look out for a revitalized newsletter with fresh ideas, new topics and a new format. Caiti will be a great asset to our Chapter and I feel confident and excited about her leadership.

I want to say a quick "thank you" to the Chapter for allowing me to serve as your Newsletter Editor for the past year. It has been a privilege and honor to work on the newsletter. I appreciate all the colleagues I have met along the way and look forward to my continued service as I move forward to serve as your President-Elect. Please feel free contact me at kellymsharp@gmail.com.

Dear East Bay CAMFT Members,

I'm honored to edit the East Bay CAMFT newsletter and greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage our community in enriching, positive discussion. My initial hope is to develop new content in thematic areas, for example, a contextualization of theoretical topics and current research that are relevant to our field. I invite your suggestions for material including examples of leaders in the field you wish to hear from and ideas from outside the field that inspire your work. Finally, I'd like to continue the conversation of the myriad complex issues we each face in session.

I am an MFT Intern, IMF #65536, currently participating in a private practice internship at Oak Creek Counseling Center. I graduated from the Wright Institute and completed a practicum at the McAuley Institute at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco. Prior to my work in therapy I managed a national community outreach program for PBS' Independent Lens and taught Visual and Digital Arts in California Public Middle and High Schools.

Thank you for this great opportunity, I look forward to hearing from you. Contact me at crum@gmail.com.

--Caiti Crum