Los Angeles Chapter — California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Voices — January 2026
Jenni Wilson, LMFT, President
We Continue
As folx who work in the mental health space, we know how easy it can be to experience various physical and emotional echoes of dangers and days long past, alerting us to pay attention. As we head into January 2026, we may not initially be thinking of the devastating emergency and chaos that overwhelmed our beloved communities starting in January 2025, yet somewhere beneath the surface - in our bodies and our minds – many of us cannot help but brace ourselves for another unexpected unwanted impact, steadying and readying ourselves to make a quick decision, a quick shift, or a quick get-away. Things can change in an instant, and when we can meet the unexpected with willingness and openness we can survive.
A year ago, I did not imagine I would be writing to you all as your titular 2026 President. But as I just said, things can change in an instant, and don’t always unfold as we originally expect.
I had expected some distressing socio-political changes that would disrupt my view of the world, but I did not anticipate starting off with downloading the Watch Duty app and frantically packing up my most precious belongings just a week into 2025. The rebuilding in the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires, that collective trauma our communities experienced last January, has been ongoing, but it’s been going - because that’s what we do. We keep going. We face the rubble of our past, preserving and rebuilding where possible and necessary for us as a community. We continue. Or we don’t.
I’m here writing to you because our community needed someone to assume this role so our chapter could continue, and because so many of you seem to trust me to help our chapter continue to rebuild. I’m honored and humbled by your faith in me. I’m here to help, and gratefully I’m not alone. I’m able to be the President again because I’m bolstered by the commitment of current CFO Di Wilson (who reluctantly agreed to stay on while we find a suitable successor) and Past-Presidents Jennifer Stonefield, Leanne Nettles, Tina Cacho Sakai, Randi Gottlieb, and Jonathan Flier who all agreed to share in the guidance of our incoming President-Elect Jessica Idoine and the rest of the new board members (I can’t wait for you to meet them all!). The only constant is change. And things can change quickly. We continue. Or we don’t.
We are grateful for the service of our 2025 LA-CAMFT President Akiah “Kiah” Robinson-Selwa and understand that sometimes people need to step away from volunteer leadership to heal, grow, and tend their personal gardens. It is another example of leadership to know when we need to scale back, when it’s time for others to step up, and when we need to call on others to step in. A remarkable colleague whose leadership has made an indelible impression on our community, Akiah served LA-CAMFT for many years as a member of the Diversity Committee, the Therapist of Color Mentorship Program (TOCMP), as Diversity Chair on the Board of Directors, all before becoming our 2024 President-Elect and then 2025 President. We were sorry that in late November she informed us she would not be able to complete the final five weeks of her term or return as Past President in 2026 – and she will be missed. For almost all of 2025, she served as President without a President-Elect to carry the load and prepare for the future. This is something unusual and difficult in normal times, and I imagine it was especially challenging at a point in time when our geographical communities were literally on fire, democratic ideals are being dissolved on a daily basis, and marginalized communities continue to be inhumanely targeted and oppressed. Akiah is a beloved member of our community, and we look forward to welcoming her back when she is ready.
We are also undeniably indebted to Past-President Jennifer “Jenn” Stonefield for her exceptional leadership. Over the course of the last year, she has repeatedly stepped in wherever needed, learning the responsibilities and details of new roles on the spot, planning more than half of the chapter’s flagpole events in 2025, responding to whatever was asked of her, and actively being a part of any solution-seeking that was needed during this topsy-turvy trip around the sun. Her impressive can-do attitude was noted by all who were lucky enough to witness it. Although she was due to step down as Past-President in 2026, she had already agreed to stay on as part of the Presidential Team working with Jessica next year and has since agreed to stay on as Past-President with Akiah’s departure. Personally, I am moved by her continued example of perseverance and adaptation in leadership, rising to meet the moment in 2026, following a period of heavy personal losses during her own President-Elect and Presidential years.
Even though I was not part of the 2025 Board of Directors, it came as no surprise when I learned that Akiah and Jenn had tied for the annual Chapter Leadership Award – an honor voted upon by the sitting Board, which is awarded at the annual CAMFT Leadership Conference at the start of the year. During my first presidency in 2021, we were still in lockdown, and the CAMFT Leadership Conference was all held online. This year the annual CLC is on the last weekend of January in San Diego, and I’m excited to attend as LA-CAMFT President, in-person this time. I especially can’t wait to cheer on Kiah and Jenn as they are deservedly feted by their peers.
In fact, I’m looking forward to serving you all IN-PERSON in 2026. We are hoping to host more small and large in-person gatherings this year, so if you want to join the Meet-Up Committee, propose an in-person training/panel/workshop/group, sponsor or host an event, please don’t hesitate to write to me at President@LACAMFT.org. The lines are open, and we continue.
Paz y Amor.
Jenni June Villegas Wilson
Jenni J.V. Wilson, LMFT (she/her): As a collaborative conversationalist passionate about empowering and advocating for marginalized groups and underrepresented voices, Jenni uses an integrative approach based on post-modern principles to provide culturally-mindful and trauma-informed therapeutic services and clinical supervision. She works with creative, anxious, mixed race/culture, and co-dependent clients on improving and eliminating toxic relationships, while increasing authentic expression. She has a BA in theatre from Occidental College, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University LA, and is trained in EMDR, Brainspotting, and certified in Narrative Therapy. She is an accomplished writer, has produced/co-hosted multiple podcasts, worked in addiction treatment for nearly a decade, and sees the “worried well” in her private practice in Sherman Oaks. Website: www.JenniJVWilson.com
Friday, January 16, 2026 9:00am-11:00am
Online Via Zoom
2 CE Credits
Beyond the Rainbow – Supporting Clinicians with LGBTQI+ Cultural Competence and Creating Resilience in LGBTQI+ Communities
with Davina Kotulski, Ph.D.
This workshop familiarizes clinicians with the LGBTQI+ lexicon and explores the role resilience plays in supporting LGBTQI+ clients facing political scapegoating and social backlash. It will define resilience while exploring the mutable and non-mutable factors that strengthen it. Clinicians will examine the unique vulnerabilities LGBTQI+ individuals face, address the impact of shame and fear on coping, and identify ways to foster client strength and community connection. Participants will learn how to support clients navigating internalized oppression and social stigma.
Educational Goals/Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate cultural competence when working with LGBTQI+ clients and understand what factors and strategies contribute to resiliency in both the LGBTQI+-identified individual and LGBTQI+ communities.
By the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:
Davina Kotulski, Ph.D. (she/her; they/them) is a licensed clinical psychologist and an award-winning self-help author. Dr. Kotulski is a widely sought-out speaker on LGBTQI+ topics and an internationally recognized LGBTQI+ rights leader. She received the Saints Alive award from the Metropolitan Community Church for her national leadership in the LGBTQ marriage equality movement and for her seminal book Why You Should Give a Damn About Gay Marriage (2004). She has a private therapy practice and is licensed in CA, OR, and WA. Her website is drdavinakotulski.com.
For more information, contact Course Organizer/CE Networking Chair Alexandra Levins-Trail.
Event Details:
For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, Students, & Related Professionals
When: Friday, January 16, 2026 from 9:00am-11:00am
8:30-9:00: Check-In 9:00: Meeting/Presentation Begins 11:00: Meeting/Presentation & Related Announcements End 11:00-11:30: Participant Announcements (optional)
If you are interested in expanding your professional networking, sign up for Participant Announcements when you register. This segment is from 11:00am-11:30am, and is an optional 1/2 hour after the presentation.
After the presentation we will provide you with a link to a simple online test and evaluation questionnaire. When the test questions and the evaluation are completed, you will be provided with an online CE Certificate that can be personalized with your name and license information and either printed or saved on your computer.
Where: Online Via Zoom (Your registration confirmation email will include the Zoom link and instructions for accessing the event. A reminder email will be sent prior to the event.)
Cost: $25 for LA-CAMFT MembersOther CAMFT Chapter Members CSCSW Members $15 for Prelicensed Members Other CAMFT Chapter Prelicensed Members $35 for Non-Members $20 for Prelicensed Non-Members
*Registration closes Thursday, January 15 at 10:00pm.*
(To be sure you receive any information we send prior to the event, please add networkingchair@lacamft.org to your known contacts or safe list and check your bulk, junk or promotions mailboxes for any emails from us about this event.)
Register online today! We look forward to seeing you on Zoom.
CAMFT Approved Continuing Education Provider 59450. LA-CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for MFTs, LPCCs, and/or LCSWs. LA-CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
This course meets the qualifications for 2 continuing education credits for MFTs, LPCCs, and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
To receive CE certificate: Participants must sign in/sign out, and must complete an evaluation form upon course completion. For a Course Schedule, please contact Course Organizer at NetworkingChair@LACAMFT.org.
Refund policy: 48-hour notice required for refund of fee minus $5.00 administrative cost. Exceptions can be made for 48-hour notice in cases of emergency. Contact Course Organizer at NetworkingChair@LACAMFT.org.
Accommodations for Special Needs: Contact Course Organizer at NetworkingChair@LACAMFT.org.
Grievances: Program Administrator/CFO manages all grievances—and will acknowledge, investigate and remedy grievances. Response to grievances will be made in writing within 30 days. Contact them at cfo@lacamft.org.
https://lacamft.org/event-6451260
Getting Paid: Pull Marketing Strategies for Psychotherapists—Attracting Clients Who Are A Perfect Fit For Your Practice
Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT, Voices Editor
In today’s psychotherapy world, attracting clients who are a perfect fit for your private practice can be challenging. Traditional marketing techniques, often referred to as "push" marketing, involve actively promoting services through advertisements, direct mail, and other outbound methods. These push marketing methods can be costly and most therapists dislike these methods because they seem too salesy.
However, an alternative approach, known as "pull" marketing, can be more effective for psychotherapists seeking to build a loyal client base for the services they provide. Therapists find these pull marketing methods more amenable to their values, budget, and preferred ways of gaining visibility in the marketplace as well as in the professional community.
Pull marketing focuses on creating valuable content and experiences that naturally draw clients in. It works by showing potential clients who you are and what you can offer them. This especially appeals to those who are in need of the service you provide and is much more cost-effective than push marketing.
Pull marketing practices can include: word-of-mouth referrals, presentations and talks for clients as well as referral people and professional organizations, having an open house at your office, attending networking events, participation in a professional organization’s listserv; email newsletters that have content that is useful info for the public, an inviting website that has webpages with useful material: articles, books, resources, etc. As you can see these are relationship-based activities that do not cost much money because they are an investment of time.
Here are some examples of pull marketing strategies psychotherapists can use to fill their practice with desired clients.
1. Establish a Strong Online Presence
In today's digital age, having a professional, informative, easy to use website is crucial. Your website needs to clearly communicate your expertise, services, and therapeutic approach. Think about including a blog where you can regularly post articles on topics that are of interest to your target audience. By providing valuable insights and advice, you position yourself as an authority in your field, which helps build trust and credibility.
2. Leverage Content Marketing
Content marketing is at the heart of pull marketing. Create high-quality content that addresses the specific needs and concerns of your ideal clients. This could include blog posts, e-books, webinars, and videos. For example, if you specialize in anxiety disorders, you could write a series of articles on coping strategies or create a video series discussing various treatment options. This type of content not only attracts potential clients but also demonstrates your expertise and commitment to helping them.
3. Optimize for Search Engines (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) ensures that your content is easily discoverable by people searching for information related to psychotherapy. Use relevant keywords throughout your website and blog posts to improve your search engine rankings. For instance, if you specialize in cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression, include phrases like "CBT for depression" and "cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression" in your content. Higher visibility in search engine results increases the likelihood that potential clients will find and choose your practice.
4. Utilize Social Media
Social media platforms are powerful tools for pull marketing. Establish a presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and others, where you can share your content and engage with your audience. Use these platforms to share articles, tips, inspirational quotes, and success stories. Social media allows you to interact directly with potential clients, answer their questions, and provide support. It also helps you build a community around your practice, fostering a sense of connection and trust.
5. Offer No Cost/Free Resources
Offering free resources is an effective way to attract potential clients. Create downloadable materials such as guides, checklists, or worksheets that address common issues your ideal clients face. In exchange for these resources, you can ask for their email addresses. This allows you to build a mailing list that you can use for further engagement through newsletters and email marketing.
6. Engage in Online Communities
Participating in online forums and communities related to mental health can help you reach a broader audience. Platforms like Reddit, Quora, and specialized Facebook groups provide opportunities to share your knowledge and offer advice. By consistently providing helpful information, you can establish yourself as a trusted expert, which can lead to more clients seeking your services.
7. Host Talks, Workshops, and Webinars
Hosting talks, workshops and webinars on topics of interest can attract individuals who are looking for professional guidance. These events allow potential clients to experience your expertise firsthand and get a sense of your therapeutic approach. Offering a mix of free and paid events can help you reach a wider audience while also generating revenue.
Conclusion
Pull marketing is a subtle yet powerful approach for psychotherapists to attract their ideal clients. By creating valuable content, optimizing for search engines, leveraging social media, offering free resources, engaging in online communities, and presenting talks and workshops, you can naturally draw the type of clients you desire to your practice. This strategy not only helps fill your practice but also builds long-term relationships with clients who are a perfect fit for your services.
Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, is in private practice virtually, and in Santa Monica where she works with Couples and Gifted, Talented & Creative Adults across the lifespan. Lynne’s been doing business and clinical coaching with mental health professionals for more than 15 years, helping therapists create even more successful careers and practices. She offers in-person & online services, workshops, presentations, & monthly no-cost Online Networking & Practice Development Lunches. Website: www.Gifted-Adults.com or www.LAPracticeDevelopment.com
TOC Grant Award Registration Opens January 2, 2026
Marvin Whistler, Mediator, TOC Grant Award Committee Chair
The next cycle for the LA-CAMFT TOC Grant Award begins January 2, 2026 when registration opens. It is limited to current pre-licensed or student members of LA-CAMFT, and the award is limited to once per calendar year.
At the end of this article, there is an update on the impact that the award has had on awardees and their thoughts on its value.
Description of Grant Stipend
Every 4 months (3x per year), a grant award will be offered to two applicants who meet the following criteria: (1) must be a current LA-CAMFT member, (2) identify as a Therapist of Color, and (3) must be either an Associate, Trainee, or Student still in graduate school.
Grant winners will receive
The $530 award can be used at the recipient’s discretion based on their own individual needs (whether it be for BBS fees, testing materials, memberships, rent, groceries, etc.). Confirmation for the purpose that the money is used will not be required.
Application and Selection Process
Interested members can complete the application on the LA-CAMFT website. The selection process entails using a Randomized Generator of the applicants who met the full criteria and complete the application online to take out human bias and decrease activation of one's trauma history. The drawing will be recorded via Zoom and posted onto social media along with an announcement naming the grant winners, whom will also be contacted via email directly.\
Registration for the next award cycle will open on January 2, 2026 and will close on February 22, 2026.
The drawing will take place on February 23, 2026.
Awardees' thoughts on the LA-CAMFT TOC Grant Award
IMPACT OF THE GRANT
"It was very helpful. I was poor when I was an AMFT."
"The grant was very impactful as it eased the burden of some of the costs associated with the MFT process (training and supplies, L&E study materials, etc.)! The grant provided relief and helped finances feel less constrained as a trainee and now Associate."
"I found the grant very helpful to me particularly during a time when I was in dire need of additional funding & support to help keep me on track for the future."
"The grant was very impactful for me, as it helped me to pay my final fees, associated with my graduate program, so that I could finish strong. Every little bit counts, so I am very grateful to have been able to use this money to help toward that end."
VALUE OF THE GRANT
"I just want to express my sincere gratitude to the TOC Grant committee for this program as it truly helps alleviate some of the systemic socioeconomic gaps in this field that passionate therapists of color such as myself have to navigate in our journeys to becoming competent licensed mental health clinicians."
"I appreciate that this grant exists and can be applied to very easily. The gesture is meaningful and I hope other TOC are taking advantage of it."
"It really touched me. SFV chapter started giving scholarships too. I think TOC Grant was a positive influence to the therapists community."
"One additional comment I’d like to make is that it is very helpful that we are able to use the grant money at our own discretion. Removing limitations is advantageous because life happens to us all, and in order for us to be able to do our work well, sometimes we need to be able to address other situations, financially, that may directly or indirectly impact our work."
Best regards,
Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Therapists Community Group
First Monday of Every Month
Next Meeting: Monday, January 5, 2026 9:00am-10:00am
The MENA Therapists Community Group is a safe place across the Middle Eastern and North African therapist diaspora to build community and a sense of belonging. We hold an inclusive space to process the impact of cultural biases experienced by people of MENA descent and the effect it may have on our work as mental health professionals. Within the process, we will strive to create healing, support, and empowerment. We will collaboratively exchange ideas, experiences and resources while acknowledging cultural differences and shared similarities. As the poet Khalil Gibran states — “The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but what he cannot reveal to you.” — our community will create a place to be seen, heard, and understood.
Special Note: MENA Therapists Community Group meetings are intended as a place for MENA-identifying therapists to have a safe place amongst others in the same ethnic and cultural community to share and process their personal and professional experiences. Therapists from similar cultural backgrounds (e.g., South Asian, mixed identities that include MENA, etc.) are also welcome. If you are not MENA-identifying or from a similar cultural background and instead wish to join these meetings for the purpose of learning about the MENA population, we offer consultations separately. You are more than welcome to schedule a one-on-one consultation by emailing us.
Open to LA-CAMFT Members and Non-Members.
For more information, contact the facilitators at mena@lacamft.org.
For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students
When: Monday, January 5, 2026 from 9:00am-10:00am
Where: Online Via Zoom (Upon registration for the presentation, you will receive a confirmation email that includes a link to our Zoom meeting.)
Cost: No charge
Facilitator(s): Perla and Susan
*Registration is open and available until the group begins.*
https://lacamft.org/event-6470301
Guest Article
Happiness Is An Inside Job
Chellie Campbell, Financial Stress Reduction Expert
“Gold, like the sun, which melts wax and hardens clay, expands great souls and contracts bad hearts.” -Antoine de Rivaroli
Studies have shown that, once above subsistence level, having more money and material success won’t make you any happier. You already have to be happy. If you haven’t learned how to be a happy person, how to take pleasure in the daily gifts the world offers to all of us, material goods will not satisfy you. Everyone can point to rich people who are lonely, bored, angry, or depressed. Having money just made them comfortable in their misery. The single-minded pursuit of money can distract them from their despair for awhile, but in the end, if they are curled up in their castle alone with no friends, all their millions will be cold comfort.
Some people are afraid to have a lot of money, because they think the money will make them selfish, uncaring, lonely, and miserable. But money doesn’t do that. It’s what is done with the money that is either good or evil. If you would do evil if you had money, then you are evil now—just without power.
Money does provide power. The more money you have, the more you can manifest your material desires. The downside is that one can get distracted by all the material manifestations and neglect the spiritual ones. But of course, being poor can keep you focused on the lack of material success, and that can keep you from manifesting your spiritual desires.
So what is the answer? Learn to live rich, inside and out. There is joy in both internal wealth and external wealth. Focus on joy, happiness, your relationship with God, your relationships with other people, the meaning of life, and the mission of your life. Rich or poor, you can meditate and pray and make these your priorities.
When you are joyful and grateful for what you have, you create the space for more. When you sense that there is a purpose to life and a mission within it for you to fulfill, then you act in harmony with God and the Universe. Open yourself to manifesting abundance in all areas of life, including financial success, knowing that you will use them honorably and with wisdom for the good of all around you.
Today’s Affirmation: I live richly and happily—inside and out!
An article in the LA Times by Amina Khan stated that “Happiness May Make You More Money”. (Hah. I’ve been saying that all along!)
“Scientists may have discovered the secret to avoiding the fiscal cliff: Happiness. Regardless of whether money can buy happiness, being happy may actually make you more money down the road, new research finds,” she writes.
“People who express more positive emotions as teenagers and greater life satisfaction as young adults tend to have higher incomes by the time they’re 29, according to a study published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“The difference was so great that when measuring life satisfaction on a 5-point scale, a 1-point jump at age 22 made a $2,000 difference in income down the line. Between the gloomiest and the happiest brackets, that amounts to an $8,000 earnings swing.”
Studies found that, across the board, no matter what their other circumstances were, happier people earned bigger paychecks. People who were very unhappy generated incomes that were 30% lower than average.
“The findings suggest that interventions to encourage more positive thinking in kids and teens could greatly improve their future success,” said Michael Norton, a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School who was not involved in the study.
Isn’t that great? I love it that the psychology profession is now studying happiness, whereas for most of its existence it has only studied dysfunction.
Khan noted that economics professor Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England has suggested that low unemployment makes people happier than low inflation. Perhaps if governments focused on stimulating job growth, even if those measures boosted inflation, they would lead to greater happiness — and thus more prosperity overall, De Neve mused.
A little individual happiness, spread over entire populations, could have a massive combined effect, perhaps pulling depressed economies out of their slumps.
“Even the fiscal cliff could be averted that way,” De Neve said. Then he laughed. “I’m just kidding. Who knows? Maybe.”
Chellie Campbell, Financial Stress Reduction Expert, is the author of bestselling books The Wealthy Spirit, Zero to Zillionaire, and From Worry to Wealthy: A Woman’s Guide to Financial Success Without the Stress. She has been treating Money Disorders like Spending Bulimia and Income Anorexia in her Financial Stress Reduction® Workshops for over 25 years and is still speaking, writing, and teaching workshops—now as Zoom classes and The Wealthy Spirit Group on Facebook—with participants from all over the world. Website: www.chellie.com
Black Therapist Support Group
Second Monday of Every Month
Next Meeting: Monday, January 12, 2026 6:00pm-7:30pm
A safe place for healing, connection, support and building community. In this group, licensed clinicians, associates and students can come together and process experiences of racism (systemic, social, and internalized), discrimination, implicit bias, and micro-aggressions, along with additional experiences that therapists of African descent encounter in the field of mental health. As the late great Maya Angelou once said, “As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal someone else.” May this space, be the support needed to facilitate that journey.
For more information, contact the Diversity Committee.
When: Monday, January 12, 2026 from 6:00pm-7:30pm (Check-In: 5:50pm)
https://lacamft.org/event-6475298
Getting More Referrals by Connecting with Your Ideal Client, Part 3
Frances Barry, LMFT
I propose embracing the concept of an ideal client by thinking of them as the people you are meant to help and by understanding you can have multiple ideal clients that may change.
Your ideal clients today are those whom you feel drawn to support at this time.
I identified my ideal clients with a thorough review of my client files so I could describe the specific subpopulations with whom I most enjoyed working:
Arriving at the ideal client descriptors that feel right for you will take time but it is worth the effort, not only for job satisfaction but because it will also increase the effectiveness of your marketing.
When you know who your ideal client is, you can improve your marketing efforts by:
The characteristics of your ideal clients, such as their age, marital status, sexual identity, life experiences or symptoms can help you identify where they congregate, with whom they interact and how to get in front of their eyeballs online.
When your ideal client is looking for a therapist, are they more likely to ask a medical professional for a referral, ask a friend or do a Google search? If they are on social media, what is their preferred platform?
If you only see clients in-person, as I do, then your marketing efforts also need to focus on where your ideal clients live or work. On my Psychology Today profile, I selected my target zip codes to be within a reasonable driving distance of my office and have a high concentration of families with above average income with children ages five to twelve (per census data).
If you want to be seen by your ideal clients, you need to be where they are.
Once you have located your ideal clients, you need to address their pain points (reasons for seeking therapy), explain how you can help them and offer hope for a better future.
To connect in a meaningful way, it’s important to speak directly to only one ideal client at a time.
For example, with my Psychology Today profile, I have two versions of my personal statement, one that speaks to parents whose child is angry and another that speaks to parents with an anxious child. In both cases, I am addressing the parents of an elementary school child, but the copy is very specific to the behavior of the child and the parent’s feelings:
Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal clients as they are searching for a therapist.
What are the exact words and phrases your ideal clients use to describe their experiences, symptoms and expectations? You may diagnose “depression”, “anxiety” or “low self-esteem” but these are clinical terms. To attract more of your ideal clients, you must use their language. You want them to feel seen and understood by you, before they even meet you.
For example, does a therapist trained in EMDR, emphasize this acronym in their marketing materials? It depends on your ideal clients!
Your ideal clients are looking for you, a specialist who understands them and knows how to help.
When you know who your ideal client is, your marketing efforts can be more targeted and relevant. Developing a marketing strategy for each ideal client may feel overwhelming but when you have a caseload of clients with whom you are passionate about supporting, the effort will have been worth it.
Remember, you have so much to offer to many clients, but only one client is looking for you right now. Speak directly to that client.
Frances Barry, LMFT is in private practice in West Los Angeles where she works with Elementary School Children struggling with Anger and Anxiety. She also supports minors who have lost a parent to cancer. As a statistician-turned-therapist, Frances’s data-driven insights and recommendations, empower therapists to optimize their Psychology Today profile one step (or one statistic) at a time. Website: www.francesbarry.net
Therapists of Color Support Group
Meets Every Quarter
Next Meeting: Sunday, January 2026 11:00 am-1:00 pm (PT)
A safe place to receive peer support and process experiences of racism (systemic, social, and internalized), discrimination, implicit bias, racist injury, aggression, and micro-aggressions, along with additional experiences that therapists of color encounter in the field of mental health.
Event Details: Sunday, January 2026 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm (PT) Time of Check-In: 10:50 am
In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
Maya Angelou
Stay tuned!
https://lacamft.org/Diversity-Committee
Member Article
Inner Stability in an Unstable World
Joanna Poppink, LMFT
External instability creates a constant strain on the nervous system. What once felt like ordinary stress now lands on a system already pushed to its limits.
Women live in an environment in which fear is never fully released. Inner stability can be fragile. News cycles warn of danger from civil unrest and ICE arrests. We see unrelenting coverage and experience the impact of changes in the law and voting rights, inflation, less reliable health care, tension and violence between countries, and the destruction of familiar national landmarks. The rights of women are at risk. Healthcare is less available and more costly. An unexpected bill or price hike can impact personal finances. Climate change disrupts the ordinary seasonal patterns we have come to expect. The future is unclear.
This constant instability pushes many women into a permanent state of readiness for the next blow. Her nervous system never resets. She adapts by staying alert, managing risk, and scanning for threats. When a woman has used an eating disorder to regulate emotional overload, this chronic external stress becomes the foundation on which every stressor lands.
When Instability Outside Overwhelms Inner StabilityWhen a baseline is already overloaded, the smallest increase in pressure can activate a survival responses.
Why “small problems” feel threatening
Stressors accumulate. What appears minor is experienced as the final impact that collapses her remaining capacity.
Ordinary or mild shifts in routine can push a woman on the containing side of her eating disorder over into acting it out.
Examples can be mild or significant:
• A sudden increase in insurance premiums
• A dentist appointment that must be rescheduled
• A child’s illness requiring missed responsibilities
• A new skill required at work with little warning
• Clothes cleaning delay
• A flat tire in the driveway
In a stable world, these situations can be manageable irritations.
In an unstable world, they can be a tipping point.
Her system is not reacting to the car repair or the scheduling conflict. It is reacting to years of tension that have been piled beneath it.
When she reaches her tipping point, she shuts down her appetite or binges for relief or exercises until she is numb. This response is not irrational. It is a learned survival reflex that activates when life feels unsafe.
How Midlife Women Experience Emotional Pressure and Eating Disorder Recovery Challenges
External expectations remain high while emotional reserves are depleted.
Daily life requires a new level of inner stability and strength.
Minor disruptions can cause a collapse in functioning when capacity is already at its limit.
The One Who Must Stay Composed
She manages her household, aging parents, and financial demands. News of rising healthcare costs arrives. It is one more challenge on top of many. She hits an emotional wall and restricts food because disappearing feels easier than confronting more responsibility.
The High Performer
Work expectations grow while job security shrinks. She overeats in secret because eating offers a momentary stop to the pressure. Shame returns, and the cycle deepens.
These behaviors are not signs of personal failure. They arise from a world that requires more effort and inner stability than ever before.
The Body Signals Stress Before the Mind Understands It
The body shows vulnerability first; the mind tries to keep up.
The nervous system reacts to a threat faster than conscious thought.
This is biology, not weakness.
Before the mind forms a sentence, the body reacts:
• Heart rate increases
• Stomach tightens
• Breathing shortens
• Muscles prepare for impact
The eating disorder offers immediate action to reduce discomfort. It takes over because that is what it was built to do.
Recovery begins when a woman learns to recognize the context of her distress.
This is not about the spilled cereal.
This is about the world I live in.
Inner Stability Skills That Reduce Eating Disorder Reactions
Stability grows as a woman develops skills that allow her to respond before symptoms activate.
Pausing interrupts the automatic, out-of-date survival system.
This makes space for choice and self-support.
Inner work includes:
• Recognizing when the reaction exceeds the event
• Naming the real source of overload
• Pausing before acting
• Staying connected to physical sensation
• Understanding what the eating disorder is trying to manage
• Choosing action based on values instead of fear
• Allowing support without collapsing identity
This inner work builds capacity. She becomes able to handle more of life without collapsing or self-punishment.
Depth Psychotherapy Strengthens Inner Authority
When external reality is unstable, inner authority must take the lead.
Depth therapy supports the woman in becoming more reliable and steadfast.
This represents a reorganization of the relationship with oneself.
Therapy supports:
• Understanding what her body is signaling
• Separating current stress from old trauma
• Regulating the nervous system before action
• Identifying beliefs shaped by fear
• Choosing a response rather than collapsing into reaction
• Building a connection to self as a secure base
Inner authority grows. She becomes someone she can depend on.
Grounded Recovery for Midlife Women in a Relentless World
Recovery focuses on building a self that remains intact under pressure.
The body can remember calm and inner stability even when the world does not offer it.
Real safety signals create real relief.
A calm shoreline is not an escape into fantasy. It is a real interaction between the body and a stable environment. Light, air, and motion give the nervous system new information.
The danger is not here.
I can continue.
This grounding offers the possibility of stability without self-harm. Recovery is not self-improvement. It is reclaiming the capacity to respond to the world rather than be ruled by it.
Women in midlife and beyond are particularly suited for this developmental work. They have lived enough life to recognize when the old ways no longer serve them. They are ready for an inner stability that does not depend on constant self-policing.
With reflection and support, they can develop their inner strength to cope effectively in this changing and unstable world with sturdiness and courage.
Further Reading and Research Support
• Reclaiming Inner Authority — Joanna Poppink, MFT • Depth Psychotherapy for Midlife Women — Joanna Poppink, MFT • Depth Oriented Recovery for Eating Disorders: Beyond Symptoms — Joanna Poppink, MFT
• Economic uncertainty and mental health: Global evidence• Eating disorders in midlife— Harvard Health Publishing • The social determinants of mental health and disorder • Women, disasters and resilience — American Psychiatric Association
Joanna Poppink, LMFT, psychotherapist, speaker, and author of Healing Your Hungry Heart: Recovering from Your Eating Disorder, is in private practice and specializes in Eating Disorder Recovery for adult women and with an emphasis on building a fulfilling life beyond recovery. She is licensed in California, Florida, Oregon, and Utah. All appointments are virtual. Website: EatingDisorderRecovery.net
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