For this issue, EB-CAMFT shines the spot light on Lucie Tetrault, our current Etree Manager. Lucie has been part of the etree team for over three years, sharing the job of monitoring the etree with the other members of the team. She has been instrumental in developing guidelines for use of the etree and serves as a liaison between the chapter and the computer programmers who developed our listserv, troubleshooting and working out the kinks in the system. In the past, Lucie also served as part-time copyeditor for the EBCAMFT newsletter.

When Lucie is not working hard in the interest of EB-CAMFT, you can find her in her office on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, cultivating a diverse private practice that includes depth work with individuals and couples counseling. Lucie also works with children, using sandtray and play therapy modalities—a carryover from an earlier internship working with abused children.

Like many therapists, Lucie found this profession through her work in other fields. She began with a background in film and gourmet retail, and then developed an interest in holistic health. She practiced as a Rosen Method bodyworker for five years and, as her work grew, was inspired to learn more about the emotional and psychological components of trauma and disease. She received her master’s degree in counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 1996 and continued her training in contemporary psychoanalytic therapy at the Women’s Therapy Center in El Cerrito.

Lucie’s dedication to her professional community expresses itself in her teaching and writing as well. She has written articles about the state’s Victim of Crime program and has taught classes on sexuality at John F. Kennedy University. She is passionate about educating psychotherapists about the importance of having a professional will—a document that provides for the thoughtful and effective handling of business affairs, most importantly client care, in the event of the unexpected (an accident, sudden illness or untimely death). Lucie offers workshops and consultation to individuals and peer consultation groups who want to establish an Emergency Response Team. She has also served the profession by mentoring and supervising several MFT interns through the Pacific Center in Berkeley. Currently, she supervises Nicki Koethner, an MFT Intern who specializes in expressive arts therapy with children and adults.

Lucie was generous when I asked her advice for interns starting out. Lucie believes that above all, interns need to remember that just being emotionally present with people and listening with care to what they have to say is therapeutic. Additionally, she highlighted the importance of feeding one’s personal growth by networking with colleagues and taking advantage of the wealth of training opportunities here in the Bay Area.

We thank Lucie Tetrault for her dedication to the chapter and the counseling profession. For more information on Lucie’s private practice and/or professional wills planning for therapists, please contact her at (510) 595-5595 or at LucieT@usa.net