Los Angeles Chapter — California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Voices — June 2025
President's Message
Akiah Selwa, LMFTLA-CAMFT President
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Happy Spring! You may have noticed that the article published in March was repeated in the April Voices Newsletter. Some of you may relate to the following: all at the end of March. The current local, national, and global events hit me. I was overwhelmed with grief for my friends and the community of people impacted by the January fires; as a Black American woman, I was not sure if any state in the United States would be a safe place for me and my partner. I had no more space to grieve with my global community. It is not my intent to bring you down, but to invite anyone who needs an invitation to practice presence with our personal, local, and global pain. As a Somatic Experiencing therapist in training, I know that I went into total dorsal vagal shut down, for my IFS colleagues---my Self got lost in my Shadow. For my SoulCollage® practitioners, I ignored my Transpersonal, Council, Companion, Committee, and Community cards.
Well, I'm back! Who or what brought me back? When I realized that I was in a freeze state, I began reaching out to my communities. I started participating in community events and shared responses to what we have faced in 2025. I was reminded how important and influential it is to gather, listen, share, and be understood or acknowledged. I also slowed my pace by resuming my early morning coffee dates with the rising sun, morning watercolor warmups or painting circles on wet-strength tissue paper, and watching the plain wool skeins eco-dyeing in the sun on my back patio during my afternoon tea break. Slowing down is a great way to speed up!
As keen witnesses to how our clients are responding to the big things happening in our world, I encourage you to slow down and engage in meaningful fellowships with others. If you do not think any of these is necessary for you, please remember that it may be important to someone you know. In closing, I want to end this article with a quote from my current favorite author, Dr. Cindy S. Lee: "Each time you sense urgency, take a moment to pause…”. I encourage you to pause as many moments as needed; there is so much power in our communal and individual pauses.
Akiah T. R. Selwa, LMFT, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a great sense of humor, a heart full of hope, and twenty-three years of experience as a psychotherapist. Akiah is the owner of Sunrise Therapy Center (STC) a private practice corporation that services all of California via a telehealth platform. Akiah approaches her work with cultural humility and humor that promotes acceptance, empowerment, spirituality, and creativity. Akiah will complete Somatic Experiencing training in 2025 with Somatic Experiencing International, is a certified SoulCollage® Facilitator (2024), and a currently in a two-year Spiritual Direction program with Stillpoint. When Akiah is not working as a therapist, she is a mixed media artist, having fun with my next crochet project, singing, or exploring nature.
Friday, June 20, 2025 9:00am-11:00am
Online Via Zoom
2 CE Credits
Crisis and Disaster Response: Supporting Survivors
with Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW
Disasters like the recent Los Angeles wildfires devastate a community’s infrastructure and create significant mental health challenges. It is essential for mental health providers to offer disaster-informed interventions – not only during the immediate crisis but throughout the long-term recovery process. The key concepts and wellness skills of the evidence-based Community and Trauma Resiliency Models will be presented. They are designed to support recovery and healing following traumatic experiences and have been brought to disasters worldwide, including the Los Angeles, Lahaina, and Paradise wildfires. Grounded in neuroscience, these biologically based models teach six wellness skills that help restore balance to the mind, body, and spirit.
Educational Goals/Learning Objectives:
To increase participants’ knowledge and practical clinical skills in responding to individuals and communities during crises and disasters.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
Presenter:
Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW (she/her) is co-founder and Director of Innovation of the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI). She developed the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM). Her book Building Resilience to Trauma: the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models gained recognition from the United Nations. She contributes to Psychology Today, providing expertise on trauma-related topics. Her podcast, Resiliency Within, is available on iTunes. She has responded to disasters worldwide and has presented at the U.N., the Global Fund, Catalyst 2030, Psychotherapy Networker, and the Skoll World Forum.
For more information, contact Course Organizer/CE Networking Chair Alexandra Levins-Trail.
Event Details:
For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, Students, & Related Professionals
When: Friday, June 20, 2025 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, June 19 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.
Lynne Azpeitia, LMFTVoices Editor
Getting Paid: Key Differences in Marketing & Branding Approaches with Insurance-Based and Private-Pay Clients
Private-pay clients are seeking out an expert in the field. When you are in a private-pay practice, your marketing and branding must reflect that.
When it comes to seeking out therapy services, a client’s decision-making process can vary greatly depending on the type of practice, the therapist’s expertise, and the payment structure.
Research reveals that insurance-based clients generally select a therapist based on who takes their insurance and the convenience of appointments.
This usually leads insurance-based clients to choose a therapist based solely on price and insurance coverage, rather than on expertise or personal fit.
This is NOT the case with private-pay clients.
Private-pay clients who select therapists in private practice are seeking out an expert in the field and are usually looking for a more personalized, specialized, approach.
Because private-pay clients want a therapist who is knowledgeable, experienced, and an expert in the areas of their concerns, these clients are willing to prioritize the therapist's expertise over factors such as price, insurance coverage, and location—and are willing to pay out-of-pocket for the services of a highly skilled and experienced therapist.
For therapists in private-pay private practices, it is important to tailor marketing and branding efforts to attract and this type of client and referral. Since these clients are seeking out an expert in the field, your marketing and branding has to focus on and reflect that.
Ensuring that the overall client experience is positive, responsive, and supportive is another key factor in attracting, retaining, and continuously keeping your practice full with private-pay clients. Because these clients are often seeking a high level of personalized attention and care, the therapist's communication style, responsiveness, and attention to detail can all play a role in their decision-making process.
This may involve responding promptly enough to texts, DMs, emails, and voicemails, as well as having an engaging professional website with content that addresses their concerns, an interesting social media presence or platform with videos, images, and interesting content, and implementing effective communication strategies.
It also may involve highlighting your areas of expertise in your networking introductions as well as on your website, social media, email communications and other promotional materials. Including appropriate testimonials can also be effective in demonstrating a therapist's effectiveness and success in treating specific issues.
As you can see, insurance-based clients and private-pay private practice clients have different priorities when it comes to choosing a therapist. Private-pay clients prioritize finding an expert in the field who is responsive to them and can address their specific concerns and issues. As a therapist in private practice, it's important to understand this about your target audience and tailor your marketing and branding efforts accordingly.
Focus on your expertise and specialization, develop an engaging website that demonstrates that; utilize social media in interesting ways that your clientele appreciates; build relationships with other like-minded and allied professionals; and offer value-added services such as books, webinars, workshops, talks, and retreats to differentiate your practice and attract private-pay clients and referrals.
While insurance-based clients may prioritize convenience and insurance coverage in their decision-making process, private-pay clients are seeking out an expert in the field and are willing to pay for a personalized and specialized approach.
Therapists in private-pay private practices must tailor their marketing efforts towards this type of client, highlighting their experience and expertise, and providing a high level of personalized attention and care. By doing so, they can attract and retain a clientele that values their skills and expertise, and is willing pay for their services.
Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, is in private practice in Santa Monica where she works with Couples and Gifted, Talented, and Creative Adults across the lifespan. Lynne’s been doing business and clinical coaching with mental health professionals for more than 15 years, helping professionals develop even more successful careers and practices. To learn more about her in-person and online services, workshops or monthly no-cost Online Networking & Practice Development Lunch visit www.Gifted-Adults.com or www.LAPracticeDevelopment.com.
Black Therapist Support Group
Second Monday of Every Month
Next Meeting: Monday, June 9, 2025 6:00 pm-7:30 pm (PT)
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
For more information, contact the Diversity Committee.
For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students
When: Monday, June 9, 2025, 6:00 pm-7:30 pm (PT) Time of Check-In: 5:50 pm
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
*Registration is open and available until the group begins.*
Announcing the Launch of the 5th Cohort of the Therapist of Color Mentorship Program (TOCMP)
Keonna Robinson, LMFT, TOC Mentorship Program Chair
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the 5th cohort of the LA-CAMFT Therapist of Color Mentorship Program (TOCMP), a milestone that reflects both the program's success and continued effectiveness within the mental health field. Since its inception in 2021, the TOCMP has been dedicated to supporting diversity and fostering growth within the mental health community.
Historic Number of Applicants
This year, TOCMP received the highest number of applicants since the program's launch. The overwhelming response is a testament to the crucial need and the community's desire for guidance and support in navigating the professional landscape and highlights the importance of our mission, especially during these unprecedented times we currently face.
Dedicated Review and Matching Process
The selection process was both meticulous and rewarding. Our dedicated committee members convened in person to review and match nearly 100 interested clinicians, ensuring that each mentor-mentee pairing would be beneficial and enriching for both parties. The committee's commitment to this process ensures that the program continues to provide meaningful and personalized mentorship experiences.
Huge shout out to my amazing committee who is deeply passionate, both personally and professionally, about the growth and guidance of our program. Thank you, Perla Hollow, Leanne Nettles, Gabriela Florez, Tina Cacho-Sakai, Angela Mull, and Maggie Gomez. You can read more about each one of these fabulous women on our TOC Mentorship Committee Webpage.
Announcing the 2025 Cohort
On May 19th, the announcement of the 2025 cohort was made, signifying a new chapter in the TOCMP's journey. This cohort brings together a diverse and talented group of clinicians who are eager to learn, grow, and contribute to the field of mental health. We wish this cohort an abundance of self-reflection, laughter, and lasting memories. May you be stretched in new ways through deep conversations and allow yourselves to dream bigger than you ever have knowing that you have the support from a clinician in your corner who simply “gets it”.
Upcoming Orientation and Program Support
To kick off this exciting journey, the TOCMP committee will host its annual Mentorship Orientation today, on June 1st. This orientation will be a pivotal event where all matched mentors and mentees will gather virtually to outline program support, guidance, and expectations. It will also serve as a warm welcome to all new members of our mentoring community, setting the stage for a year of development, collaboration, and shared success.
Stay Tuned for Updates
As the program progresses, we invite everyone to stay tuned for updates throughout the year. Our commitment to transparency and communication will ensure that participants and the wider community are kept informed about the program's developments and achievements.
Call to Action: Call for Mentors
We are continuously seeking licensed professionals who are passionate about mentoring the next generation of therapists. If you are interested in becoming a mentor and contributing to the empowerment and enrichment of therapists of color, please reach out to us at tocmentorshipprogram@lacamft.org. Your expertise and guidance could make a significant difference in the lives and careers of aspiring therapists.
The launch of the 5th cohort of the Therapist of Color Mentorship Program marks another step forward in our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and professional growth within the mental health field. We look forward to witnessing the incredible journeys of our mentors and mentees and are excited for the positive impact this program will continue to have.
Keonna Robinson, MA, LMFT
TOC Mentorship Program Chair
TOC Mentorship Webpage
Email: Tocmentorshipprogram@lacamft.org
Images: all images were taken and designed by Keonna Robinson using a personal smartphone device.
Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Therapists Community Group
First Monday of Every Month
Next Meeting: Monday, June 2, 2025 9:30am-10:30am
Free Registration
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.
When: Monday, June 2, 2025 from 9:30am-10:30am
Facilitator(s): Perla and Susan
Member Article
Reclaim Inner Freedom: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse, Addiction, and Authoritarian Systems
Joanna Poppink, LMFT
Emerge from a dark pit of censorship. Free your eyes, see opportunities to expand your mind, and breathe and reclaim your inner freedom.
Momentary relief from fear, shame, or chaos can feel like safety. Blocking or numbing your awareness of reality and choice can feel like safety.
But over time, these emotional survival strategies create psychological fragmentation, leading to disconnection from soul, loss of vitality, and inner freedom.
Through depth psychotherapy and symbolic healing practices, we explore how trauma-informed recovery helps rebuild the psyche—and why to reclaim inner freedom after trauma is not just possible, but essential.
What Do Eating Disorders, Narcissistic Relationships, and Authoritarian Regimes Have in Common?
At the surface, they seem unrelated—eating disorder recovery, narcissistic abuse, and political control. But all involve surrendering your inner authority in exchange for psychological safety.
This article maps their shared structure using tools from depth psychology, trauma theory, and mythic symbolism.
“I’ll keep you safe—just give me your freedom.”
Whether it’s an abusive partner, addiction, or a controlling parent, each system manipulates a vulnerable psyche, offering false safety while fragmenting the authentic self. To reclaim inner freedom is not even in your imagination.
1. Psychological Structure: How Trauma Fragments the Self
Every authoritarian system—whether external (like a regime) or internal (like an eating disorder)—demands a split: a false self emerges to please, perform, or disappear. The authentic self retreats, and with it, your power to feel and choose. Even if you have an inkling that you have more depth than is allowed in your environment, to actually reclaim inner freedom seems, and may be, dangerous.
Survival System
Internalized Message
Narcissist
"I’ll become what you need so I’m not abandoned."
Addiction
"This ritual feels safer than my emotions."
Eating Disorder
"If I control my body, I might control my worth."
This is a trauma response, not a weakness. It’s how the psyche survives when overwhelmed by fear, shame, or neglect.
Explore more: Healing Your Hungry Heart by Joanna Poppink
2. Emotional Survival Strategies: Why Control Feels Safer Than Freedom
These systems don’t just dominate—they soothe. Temporarily.
Force Submitted To
Relief Offered
Controlling Parent
Conditional love
Authoritarian Family System
Predictable order
False mastery and numbing
Illusion of control over self-worth
The psyche isn’t irrational—it’s protecting itself. Sometimes, controlling food or seeking a narcissist’s approval can feel safer than facing emotional abandonment.
Learn more: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr. Gabor Maté
3. Symbolic Healing and the False God Archetype
In symbolic terms, these systems function as false gods. Each promises salvation but requires submission.
System
Archetype
Dictator
Messiah, Protector
Mirror, Master
Priest, Punisher, Savior
Spiritual psychology and Jungian depth work reveal how these distorted archetypes colonize the soul. In trauma recovery, soul retrieval is a sacred act of reclaiming your inner authority.
Further reading:
4. Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy: Survival Through Submission
If you’ve been shaped by abuse, authoritarian control, or toxic family systems, your patterns are likely trauma-based adaptations. They’re not bad choices—they’re survival codes embedded deep in the nervous system.
“How to reclaim inner freedom after trauma?” Start by understanding your nervous system is doing what it had to do.
Depth-oriented psychotherapy offers a path to release these patterns by rebuilding inner safety, emotional capacity, and soul-level trust.
Suggested resources:
5. Colonizing the Inner World: When Soul Is Suppressed
When you live under internalized oppression, it’s not just your behavior that’s affected—your imagination gets shut down.
To reclaim inner freedom, your soul, creativity, and symbolic freedom, you need space—space for art, movement, dreaming, grieving.
Explore:
Reclaiming the Self: Small Acts of Sovereignty
Inner freedom is not a glossy outcome—it’s a sacred unfolding.
What helps:
Try:
Final Thought: Why Inner Freedom Is Essential
Whether you’re recovering from an eating disorder, addiction, narcissistic abuse, or authoritarian control, one truth remains:
Inner freedom is not a luxury. It’s the foundation for wholeness. To live an authentic life its essential to reclaim your inner freedom. And this is possible.
Depth psychotherapy helps you rebuild from the inside out—restoring your voice, your creativity, your power to choose.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is inner freedom? The ability to think, feel, and act from your authentic self, free from domination by fear, shame, or internalized control systems.
2. How are eating disorders connected to authoritarian or abusive dynamics? They often attempt to reclaim control or establish worth in environments where expression, emotion, or freedom were punished.
3. Why do people stay in these systems? Because they once provided safety. The exit begins with trauma-informed awareness and support.
4. Can psychotherapy help with this? Yes—especially when rooted in depth psychotherapy, symbolic healing, and somatic attunement.
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
LA-CAMFT Diversity Committee
presents
White Therapists Fighting Racism (WTFR)
Third Sunday of Every Month
Next Meeting: Sunday, June 22, 2025 3:00pm-5:00pm (PT)
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, WTFR 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.
How Do I Join? To join this group, please click here to complete our online submission form. Once submitted, a group facilitator will reach out to you for next steps.
For more information or if you have additional questions, please send all inquiries to the facilitators at WTFR@lacamft.org.
When: Sunday, June 22, 2025 from 3:00pm-5:00pm (PT)
Where: Online Via Zoom (Once you complete the online submission process, you will be emailed a monthly Zoom link.)
Facilitator(s): Estelle, Randi, and Hazel
The Emotional Stages of Divorce (and Why Mediation Helps You Heal Faster)
Steven Unruh, MDiv, LMFT
You thought the hard part was making the decision to divorce. But now that you’re in it, you’re realizing the emotions are heavier and more complicated than you expected. Some days you feel relief, other days you feel overwhelmed, and sometimes you wonder if life will ever feel normal again.
What nobody told you is that divorce is not just a legal process — it’s an emotional journey.
But there’s good news: you don’t have to stay stuck in the pain.
Why Divorce Feels So Overwhelming (and Unfair)
Divorce doesn’t just change your address or your bank account — it shakes the very foundation of your life.
Here’s what’s really happening:
You’re suddenly facing a mountain of logistics — custody schedules, property division, financial negotiations. It can feel like you’re putting out fires every single day, with no end in sight.
At the same time, you’re carrying invisible burdens. Anxiety, loneliness, grief, and even guilt can show up without warning. It’s overwhelming trying to manage deep emotional pain while making decisions that will shape the rest of your life.
And somehow, through all of this, you’re expected to stay clear-headed and focused — even though everything inside you feels unsteady. It’s not right that a process so heavy and personal often feels cold and transactional.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
There’s a better path — one that helps you navigate the practical details while also giving space for emotional healing.
A Better Way to Heal and Move Forward
As a divorce mediator with more than 30 years of experience helping couples transition out of marriage with dignity and hope, I believe you deserve a divorce process that honors your emotional journey — not just the legal paperwork.
That’s why I’m sharing a few powerful ways to manage the emotional stages of divorce — and why mediation can help you heal faster and more completely.
1. Understand the Emotional Stages Are Normal
Grief isn’t reserved only for death. Divorce can trigger a similar cycle of emotions — denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, and eventually, acceptance.
Knowing that these emotional ups and downs are part of the process (and that they won’t last forever) can ease the pressure you put on yourself.
In mediation, we create space to acknowledge the emotional side of the experience — not to judge it, but to allow healing to start.
2. Focus on Small Wins
When you’re standing at the base of a mountain of change, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stuck. Instead of trying to solve everything at once, focus on small victories:
Each step you take builds confidence and helps restore a sense of control. In mediation, I guide clients through these manageable steps, so progress feels steady — not overwhelming.
3. Choose Cooperation Over Combat
Court battles often add more hurt to an already painful situation. Litigation can pit you against your former spouse, deepen resentments, and leave lasting emotional scars.
Mediation offers another way — one that encourages problem-solving, mutual respect, and forward movement.
Choosing cooperation doesn’t mean giving up what matters to you. It means protecting your peace of mind, your children’s well-being, and your own emotional future.
4. Prioritize Emotional Self-Care
Divorce drains your energy, not just your time and finances. It’s easy to put your own well-being last when you’re focused on everything else. But small, intentional acts of self-care can make a tremendous difference:
In mediation, I encourage my clients to build a strong support system early — because legal agreements alone aren’t enough to rebuild a life. Healing needs attention too.
5. Envision Your New Life
When you’re going through divorce, it’s natural to focus on what’s being lost. But it’s just as important to start imagining what’s ahead:
Mediation keeps your attention on what you’re moving toward, not just what you’re leaving behind. It’s about creating space for hope, not just closure.
What If You’re Thinking, “But We Can’t Even Talk Without Fighting”?
If you’re worried that mediation won’t work because emotions are running too high, you’re not alone. Here’s the good news: you don’t need to agree on everything to benefit from mediation.
You just need a willingness to show up and try.
As a trained mediator with decades of experience, I know how to guide difficult conversations, keep discussions productive, and move even tense situations toward workable solutions.
Mediation isn’t about pretending there’s no conflict — it’s about creating a safe space to work through conflict with respect and care.
Start Healing Today
If you’re ready to move out of the pain and start building a healthier, more peaceful future, mediation can help you get there faster — and with less emotional damage.
You deserve a process that protects not just your legal rights, but also your emotional well-being.
Steven Unruh, MA, MDiv, is a Divorce Mediator and LMFT. He and his team at Unruh Mediation complete the entire divorce process, including all assets, pensions, properties, alimony and child support—along with all required documentation. Unruh Mediation files in 13 different courthouses throughout Southern California. Website: stevenunruh.com.
Therapists of Color Support Group
Meets Every Quarter
Next Meeting: Sunday, July 13, 2025 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, July 13, 2025 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 Angelo
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