Guest Article

The + In LGBTQPIA+

Van Ethan Levy, LMFT, LPCC

The + is a symbol of inclusion and an attempt at non erasure. More often than not, when people are talking about the LGBTQPIA+ community, the person/people are really only talking about cis/binary folx with certain sexualities.

However, LGBTQPIA+ is more than binary, heteronormative identities and how these identity(ies) co-exist. For instance, LGBTQPIA+ is also a queer, gender fluid, sexually fluid, romantically fluid individual who is queer, trans, non binary, intersex and more.

When we are communicating about identity(ies) we need to be intentional as to which ones we are including, and if we truly are being affirming to the entirety of the community. As we are unable to label every identity, adding a + at the end is indicating that there are more identity(ies) than what are listed.

There are 2 things I hope people take from this article:

1. If you are talking about the entirety of the community, no matter what letters you chose to use, always add the plus symbol “+”.

2. Be intentional with which acronyms you are using and don’t just add letters because you want to signal allyship when you have not done your own work to unpack your internalized messages and learn ways to create safer & affirming spaces by truly learning and engaging in an anti-oppressive positionality.

Van Ethan Levy, MA, LMFT, LPCC, (they) (elle), a trans and non binary therapist, is a queer, non binary, trans, socialized as female, nBPOC (not Black Person of Color), who is autistic, and has dynamic disabilities amongst many more historically excluded identities. Van provides consultations and trainings on trans and non binary identities, is the organizer of the 2022 Virtual International Do Something: Identity(ies) Conference, authored the interactive book, Exploring My Identity(ies), and produced the Documentary, Do Something: Trans & Non Binary Identities, Website: VanEthanLevy.com.

White Therapists Fighting Racism
LA-CAMFT Diversity Committee Affinity Group

Third Sunday of Every Month

Next Meeting:
Sunday, July 21, 2024
3:00 pm-5:00 pm (PT)

Online Via Zoom

White Therapists Fighting Racism

The goal of White Therapists Fighting Racism (WTFR) is for white-identified therapists to become effective allies in support of decolonization and racial justice in our clinical practice, therapy association, and community. Recognizing that racism is maintained when whiteness is invisible to white people, White Therapists Fighting Racism provides a forum for white-identified therapists to explore what it means to be white. While this process includes learning about structural racism and deconstructing the false narrative about race, a primary focus in the group is on doing inner work. To learn more, click on the Diversity Committee page.

Open to LA-CAMFT Members and Non-Members

For:
Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students

Event Details: 
Sunday, July 21, 2024, 3:00 pm-5:00 pm (PT)

To join this group, go to  https://lacamft.formstack.com/forms/wtfr_member_questionnaire. 

For more information contact Randi Gottlieb at rgottliebmft@gmail.com.

Guest Article

The Wealthy Spirit: Go for the Underlying Value

Chellie Campbell, Financial Stress
Reduction Expert

What are your true goals?

The ones that lie underneath the surface?

Love, not praise. Value, not money.

For many years I had studied acting, gotten my B.A. Degree in Dramatic Art, and made the trek to Hollywood as countless thousands before me.

I got my Equity card performing in Hello, Dolly! with Martha Rae, my SAG card in The Time of Your Life with James Whitmore, and did odds and ends of dinner theaters, commercials, and Disneyland.

Though even minor stardom eluded me, I enjoyed my creative pursuit of the dream.

In between acting jobs, I took secretarial jobs to pay the bills—luckily, during one summer-school session, my mother had said “Learn to type, honey!”

Each time a show closed, I’d call the employment agency and they’d send me on my next temporary assignment.

One fateful day in September, a play I was in closed when the backers ran out of money. The temporary secretarial assignment was supposed to last for two weeks.

I was there for four years.

The catch was they kept promoting me. With every promotion, I got more involved with the company and my coworkers, my skills improved, and I discovered a love for the creative side of business.

I found myself turning auditions—and then parts—down. I had clearly come to a crisis about what work I was meant to do.

Agonizing over my choices, I called my friend, Gaye Kruger. She asked me what I loved about acting. I said I loved being creative, the fun I had with the other actors, the applause and acknowledgment, the money, and feeling important.

She asked me what I loved about my office job. I said I loved being creative, the fun I had with my co-workers, the praise and acknowledgment, the money, and feeling important.

She said, “It’s the same list. Go for the underlying value. You have everything you want where you are now.”

She was right. The ruby slippers were on my feet and everything I wanted was in my own backyard. I never acted again.

And never missed it, either.

What are the underlying values in your life and work?

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.

LA-CAMFT Diversity Committee
Presents:

Black Therapist Support Group

Second Monday of Every Month

Next Meeting:
Monday, July 8, 2024
6:00 pm-7:30 pm (PT)

Online Via Zoom

Black Therapist Support Group

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.

Open to LA-CAMFT Members and Non-Members

First Saturday of this Month
Location: Zoom Meeting

For more information contact the Diversity Committee, diversitycommittee@lacamft.org.

For:
Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students

Event Details: 
Monday, July 8, 2024, 6:00 pm-7:30 pm (PT)
Time of Check-In: 5:50 am

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

Online Registration CLOSES on the date of the event.
(Registration is open and available until the group ends.)

Questions about Registration? Contact Stara Shakti, LMFT   at DiversityCommittee@lacamft.org.

LA-CAMFT’s Declaration
of Inclusion, Diversity, and Anti-Racism

Psychotherapy can be transformative in a democratic society, and can open intellectual inquiry that, at its best, influences and results in lasting positive change. In recognition of our shared humanity and concern for our community and world, LA-CAMFT loudly and overtly disavows all racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, classism, ableism, ageism, and hate speech or actions that attempt to silence, threaten, and degrade others. We in LA-CAMFT leadership hereby affirm our solidarity with those individuals and groups most at risk and further declare that embracing diversity and fostering inclusivity are central to the mission of our organization.

As mental health professionals, we value critical reasoning, evidence-based arguments, self-reflection, and the imagination. We hope to inspire empathy, advocate for social and environmental justice, and provide an ethical framework for our clients, our community, and ourselves.

We in LA-CAMFT leadership are committed to:

(1) the recognition, respect, and affirmation of differences among peoples

(2) challenging oppression and structural and procedural inequities that exist in society, generally, and in local therapeutic, agency, and academic settings

(3) offering diverse programming content and presenters throughout our networking event calendar, as well as in our workshops, trainings, and special events

While we traverse the turbulent seas of the important and necessary changes taking place in our country, in order to form a “more perfect union.” we wish to convey our belief that within our community exists an immense capacity for hope. We believe in and have seen how psychotherapy, therapeutic relationships, and mental health professions can be agents of positive change, without ignoring or denying that the practice and business of psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy have historically been the cause of great harm, trauma, and emotional toll, particularly for people of color and other marginalized groups. We are committed to doing our part to help remedy that which we have the position, privilege, and/or resources to do so.

At LA-CAMFT events, all members are welcome regardless of race/ethnicity, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, disabilities, religion, regional background, Veteran status, citizenship, status, nationality and other diverse identities that we each bring to our professions. We expect that leadership and members will promote an atmosphere of respect for all members of our community.

In a diverse community, the goal of inclusiveness encourages and appreciates expressions of different ideas, opinions, and beliefs, so that potentially divisive conversations and interactions become opportunities for intellectual and personal growth. LA-CAMFT leadership wants to embrace this opportunity to create and maintain inclusive and safe spaces for all of our members, free of bias, discrimination, and harassment, where people will be treated with respect and dignity and where all individuals are provided equitable opportunity to participate, contribute, and succeed.

We value your voice in this process. If you feel that our leadership or programming falls short of this commitment, we encourage you to get involved, and to begin a dialogue with those in leadership. It is undeniable that the success of LA-CAMFT relies on the participation, support, and understanding of all its members.

Wishing good health to you and yours, may you find yourself centered in feelings of abundance, safety, belonging, and peace.

Standing together,
The LA-CAMFT Board of Directors and Diversity Committee

Voices Publication Guidelines

Calling all community writers and contributors!

Are you searching for a unique platform to express your passions and showcase your expertise in the Marriage and Family Therapy field? Look no further, as we welcome your input!

Following are the due dates and publication guidelines for submitting articles and ads for the 2024 calendar year to Voices, LA-CAMFT's monthly newsletter:

Upcoming Voices Newsletters	Submission Deadlines
August	July 1
September	August 1
October	September 1
November	October 1
December	November 1

 

 

LA-CAMFT Publishing Guidelines for Voices

• All submissions are DUE by the 1ST of each month.
  • Around the 15th of each month, you will receive the editor’s call for articles for the next edition of VOICES.
  • This editor’s call will allow contributors to have up to 2 weeks to put together all the material for submission by the 1st of the month.
  • Around the 25th of each month, you will receive the editor’s second and last call for articles, reminding contributors to submit completed articles by the first should they wish to be included in VOICES.
  • In this last call for submissions, the editor will include a list of the content planned for the next edition of VOICES. This editorial list will note submissions received as well as submissions expected but not yet received and which must be received by the 1st in order to be included.
  • Any submissions received after the 1st, will be included in the following month's edition of VOICES.
• ARTICLES are 500–1000 word submissions by LA-CAMFT members, sponsors, speakers, or recognized experts in their field. Only universal file formats, like Word (.doc and docx.) will be accepted as submissions. If an article is submitted in a “.pages” format, it will be returned to the submitter.
• HYPERLINKS in articles must be individually typed into the body of the article by the writer and must be included at time of submission. It is the responsibility of each writer to “type in” the hyperlink(s) in their own work when the article is submitted. Putting “LIVE LINK” in the body of an article won't work. When multiple links are being included, this must be made clear by the writer as to where each link is to be featured.
• IMAGES: All personal headshots or images must be attached to an email as either a JPEG, PNG or TIF. Images pasted into an email are not acceptable since the quality of such photos is diminished. Any images received in the body of the email may result in delayed publication of the submission.
• AUTHOR TAGLINES: Author taglines are a short paragraph of 50 to 75 words after the end of the article in which the author is identified. It includes the author's full name, pertinent professional credentials, a short business description, and website address with a HYPERLINK. Email addresses and phone numbers are not included — the only exceptions are lacamft.org emails. All taglines are limited to 75 words, MAXIMUM. This word count includes the author's name and website.
• IMAGES OTHER THAN PERSONAL HEADSHOTS. There is an issue about images. When you submit an image other than a personal headshot, you must provide proof of how you obtained that photo. Following is a link that covers the importance of copyright issues, but especially so when it comes to anything “Internet.” (Sued for Copyright Infringement)
• AN ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN:
  • Helpful tips, strategies, analysis, and other specific useful clinical, educational, business or professional marketing or networking information.
  • A review of literature or arts (reviewer not related to or in business with the creator of the item being reviewed).
• AN ARTICLE MAY NOT CONTAIN:
  • Reference to commercial products or services being sold or distributed by author;
  • Information that is only useful if the author’s book or other materials are purchased
  • Suggestions that the reader attend the author’s workshop, conference or podcast for more information;
  • Any other material that could be construed as an advertisement, rather than an article;
  • Language that could be construed as defamatory, discriminatory, or offensive.