President's Message

Akiah Selwa, LMFT, President

It's one of my favorite times of the LA-CAMFT year—Board Nomination season! Our Board Nomination Committee and current board members are talking with LA-CAMFT members who are interested in volunteering as board members.

Why Join the Board?

1. Make a Difference: As a board member, you can shape the future of LA-CAMFT. Your ideas and efforts can directly impact our community and the services we provide.
2. Professional Growth: Serving on the board is a fantastic way to develop leadership skills, expand your professional network, and gain valuable experience in organizational governance. (Word! I have learned several impactful and life-changing lessons as a board member and now as the president.
3. Collaborative Environment: Work alongside passionate and dedicated professionals who share your commitment to the field. Our board's collaborative spirit fosters innovation and growth. (It is a privilege to work alongside your LA-CAMFT board members, who are professional, caring, fun, and committed. As the president, I have been supported and mentored by the most recent past presidents.)
4. Give Back: This is your chance to give back to the community that has supported you. Your contribution can help ensure that LA-CAMFT continues to thrive and support its members. (LA-CAMFT has always been progressive, because we are committed to offering relevant and inclusive events to our membership. Let’s add your voice to the conversation and planning.

How to Get Involved

If you're interested in joining the board, please contact our Board Nomination Committee or any current board member at president@lacamft.org. We would love to discuss how you can contribute to and grow with LA-CAMFT.

Let's work together to make a positive impact!

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.

Therapists of Color

Mentorship Program

presents

Dishes of Diversity:

Finding Liberation Through Community

Saturday, November 15, 2025

12:00pm-3:00pm

Center Pointe Club at Playa Vista

Sponsored by

We are thrilled to invite past, present, and interested program participants to the transformative Dishes of Diversity: Finding Liberation Through Community, hosted by the Therapists of Color Mentorship Program. This enriching potluck gathering celebrates the power and strength found in community, providing a unique opportunity for therapists of color to feast, connect, share, and grow together. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE AN LA-CAMFT MEMBER TO ATTEND!

"Finding Liberation Through Community" is more than just a theme; it's a movement towards empowerment, understanding, and collective growth. Our theme emphasizes the importance of community in fostering resilience, healing, and liberation for therapists of color and their clients. Through dynamic discussions and interactive social activities, attendees will explore how building strong community bonds can lead to personal and professional liberation.

Dishes of Diversity: Finding Liberation Through Community Potluck will feature:

• Interactive Social Activities designed to deepen our understanding of community dynamics that foster collective healing and growth.
• Networking Opportunities to connect with fellow therapists, sponsors, mentors, and mentees to build lasting relationships and expand our professional network within a supportive and inclusive environment.
• Free Heritage Headshots aimed to create images that are not only professional but authentically reflect our cultural identity. Bring a cultural artifact, traditional garment, ancestral piece of jewelry, or a symbolic item as a prop that will be beautifully integrated into your headshot to uniquely highlight your heritage.
• Dishes of Diversity Culinary Potluck, our highly anticipated grand feast that celebrates the rich cultural tapestry of our communities of color with dishes that guests will bring to share. Bring your favorite dish from your culture.
• Exclusive First Look at our TOC Mentorship Program Merchandise celebrating our vibrant community promoting unity, empowerment, and pride among our mentors and mentees. Items are available for pre-order until Oct. 31, 2025 -5pm (for past and present TOC mentors and mentees only). All proceeds go towards supporting the sustainability of our programs and services offered through the TOC Mentorship Program. Please be on the lookout for the preorder link in your registration confirmation and reminder emails.
• Special Awards & Raffle Prizes that honor and recognize those who have gone above and beyond to foster growth and provide guidance.

There is plenty of FREE parking in the venue lot and on the street.

Take a look at the flyer attached for more details about the event.

If interested in learning more about the program, please contact Keonna Robinson at tocmentorshipprogram@lacamft.org or visit our website page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

TOC Mentorship Program Committee

Event Details:

For: All past and present TOC mentors and mentees, members of the Diversity Committee, Therapists of Color in the 3000 Club, any interested Therapist of Color (students, associates, licensed, related professionals)

When: Saturday, November 15, 2025 from 12:00pm-3:00pm

Where: Center Pointe Club at Playa Vista (6200 Playa Vista Dr., Playa Vista, CA 90094)

Cost: FREE for anyone who identifies as a past and present TOC mentor and mentee, member of the Diversity Committee, Therapist of Color in the 3000 Club, any interested Therapist of Color

https://lacamft.org/event-6295377

Editor's Note

Getting Paid: Tips for Getting the Word Out About You, Your Practice & Your Expertise

Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT, Voices Editor

Getting the word out about your therapy practice and the services you provide is important. To be successful in private practice, you need a steady stream of clients—QUALITY referrals that are a good match for both you and your practice.

Letting people know what you do therapeutically and how you can help them, not only helps fill your practice, it helps you help more people.

The more people who know about your therapy services and expertise, the easier it will be for those who need your services to find you when they need you and to get the help they need. Consider the ways you can let colleagues, prospective clients, and referral sources know about you and your services.

1. Getting the word out about your practice is a community service.

Getting the word out about your therapy services and expertise is really about letting people in the community know about you, your practice, and your services. It’s educating those in your community—your peers, prospective clients, and referral sources—about what therapy is, who you serve in your practice, and how you help people.

Tip: When clients go to your website, directory listing, and social media pages, what they are really looking for is: Who are you? What can you do for me? How can I contact you? Make sure your content on your website, directory listings, and social media pages gives them that information clearly and easily.

Tip: It doesn’t matter what you do to get the word out about your practice and services but you have to do something. Since you have to do something, ONLY do the things you like.

Tip: Remember, only do what fits or makes sense to you to get the word out—and always within legal and ethical guidelines! It’s okay to make things up to do that you like. However, you will have to try things out to see what you like.

Tip: Be sure to make the act of promoting yourself and your skills and services energy producing instead of energy draining.

2. Getting to know people in your community and letting them get to know you, the services you offer, and the type of work you do, brings in quality referrals.

People who already know about, like, or trust you, are more likely to refer to you than anyone else. People trust their friends and people they know so that’s why word of mouth, whether in person or online, is the most valuable source of referrals for your practice.

Tip: Connect with local businesses. 

Introduce yourself to other local business owners who are your neighbors. One therapist I know who moved into a new office went to each one of the businesses around her—introduced herself, met and got to know the business owners and or those who worked there, found out about their business and gave them her business cards and brochures.

Tip: Join a professional organization or association. Attend meetings of professional groups, associations or organizations to get known in your community. Become a member. Volunteer. Register and attend a conference.

Tip: Post your professional and or practice information to a directory. LinkedIn, Psychology Today, Therapy for Latinx, Asian Mental Health Collective, etc.

GoodTherapy, etc. Remember that Linked In is social media for professionals, and is a trusted source for professional services and referrals.

Tip: Either donate products or volunteer your services to a worthy cause and get your name and the name of your practice out there to new people while doing a good deed.

Tip: Consider getting some promotional products with your name, website, phone number, email, and or practice specialties on them to hand out. Pens, notebooks, notepads, post-it notes, shopping bags, led flashlights, etc., are all favorite types of promotional swag that people appreciate.

3. Tapping into existing relationships is the fastest way to fill and grow your practice.

People trust other people and the experiences they have so that’s why when people hear from a friend, someone they know or a professional they trust, about a service or product they choose that one over others. For therapists, the first few referrals after you open your private practice will usually come through in person connections and relationships you’ve already built.

Tip: Build an email list. Who should you put on it? Include those you meet while networking but don’t stop there, add close friends, acquaintances, family members, extended family; neighbors, acquaintances. Professionals you have personally used—medical professionals such as doctors, physical therapists, psychiatrists, dentists, dental hygienists—as well as business professionals who are lawyers, estate planners, financial planners, as well as nutritionists, doulas, Lamaze instructors. Personal trainers, Pilates instructors, meditation instructors, massage therapists, aestheticians, hair stylists. Those who attend your church or who worked with you in the past as well as elementary, middle and high school teachers and coaches. Mentors, past clinical supervisors and professors, classmates and supervision group members. teachers, guidance counselors.

Tip: Send regular emails to your list to keep them informed of what you are doing in your practice—do this at least three times a year. Or start a free monthly email newsletter and send it to your email list.

Tip: Utilize Your Email Signature. Make sure your email signatures contain contact information for your business—links to your website, upcoming workshop, new book or audiobook, podcast, video, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube channel, etc. This makes it easy for people to know more about you and what you offer.

4. Consider using some type of social media to get the word out.

Today there are a lot of people who are looking for help—and most of them aren't asking their friends or family for referrals. They are looking on the internet at websites, social media platforms (Threads, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Messenger, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Tik Tok, Viber, Pinterest, etc.) and closed groups, discussion groups or forums (Quora, Reddit, etc.).

Because social media helps you build relationships, using social media to get the word out about your services allows you to showcase skills and expertise and to build relationships with existing and potential clients and referral sources.

When you post a variety of content on social media (blogs, articles, videos, quotes, podcasts—your content as well as other’s), you can build recognition, connect with your peers, referral sources, and potential clients to show them that you are trustworthy. You’ll definitely get some interest in your work from this—people will love your content and want more.

Tip: Not all social media platforms may be suitable for your business. Different customer segments frequent different social media. There's no point in spending time and money on promoting your business on a social network that your customers don't use.

Tip: When you blog or write articles regularly, social media is a great place for you to share that content. You can also share articles that you find interesting, inspirational quotes, podcasts, and videos that you think those following you would enjoy. All these are great relationship builders.

Tip: Record a video blog post and put it on your website or upload the video to YouTube. Record a Facebook Live or Instagram Stories short video. People love this content and enjoy getting to know you through what they see and hear on the videos.

5. Track what’s working and then do more of it.

Know the results you get from each thing you do to get the word out and repeat what works. Quit what doesn’t work.

These are all fairly low cost and not too time-consuming tips for getting the word out. See which ones you enjoy doing and that work best to fill your practice.

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.

LA-CAMFT Diversity Committee

presents

Therapists of Color Support Group

Meets Every Quarter

Next Meeting:
Sunday, October 12, 2025
11:00 am-1:00 pm (PT)

Online Via Zoom

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.

Open to LA-CAMFT Members and Non-Members.

For more information, contact the Diversity Committee.

Event Details:

For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students

Event Details: Sunday, October 12, 2025 from 11:00 am-1:00 pm (PT)
Time of Check-In: 10:50 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

*Registration is open and available until the group begins.*

In diversity there is beauty
and there is strength.

Maya Angelou

https://lacamft.org/event-5999267

Member Article

Dating After Divorce: When Is the Right Time?

Steven Unruh, MDiv, LMFT

Imagine this: the divorce papers are signed, you’ve started to settle into your new life, and for the first time in a long time, you’re single. Friends may encourage you to start dating again. Dating apps promise fresh connections. But deep down, you’re left wondering: Am I really ready?

It’s a question many people face after divorce—and the answer isn’t always simple.

The Challenge of Dating Again

Dating after divorce comes with its own set of challenges. Life looks different now—managing a household on your own, handling custody schedules, and adjusting to financial changes can all feel overwhelming. At the same time, there’s the quiet ache of loneliness or the fear of repeating past mistakes. And underneath it all is the sense that it just shouldn’t be this hard to find companionship again.

But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to stay this way. With the right approach, dating after divorce can become an opportunity for growth, healing, and hope.

A Healthier Path Forward

I’ve been a divorce mediator for more than 30 years. I’ve walked alongside thousands of people through the divorce process and into their next chapter. I know how hard this season can feel, and I care about helping people rebuild their lives with clarity and confidence.

Here are some guiding principles I encourage my clients to consider before stepping back into the dating world.

1. Take Time to Heal

It’s tempting to jump right back into dating to fill the silence, but healing takes time. Allow yourself the space to grieve the end of your marriage and to process what went wrong. The stronger and healthier you feel on your own, the better foundation you’ll bring into a future relationship.

2. Rediscover Yourself

Divorce often leaves people asking, Who am I now? Before blending your life with someone else’s, take time to rediscover yourself. Explore hobbies, nurture friendships, or revisit passions you may have set aside. When you know yourself well, you’ll attract relationships that fit who you truly are.

3. Consider Your Children

If you have kids, your dating life impacts them, too. Introducing a new partner too soon can create confusion or stress. Give your children time to adjust to the new normal before adding someone new to the picture. A stable foundation for them will make dating less complicated for everyone involved.

4. Choose Peace Through Mediation

A peaceful divorce makes a big difference in how you approach new relationships. Mediation allows couples to separate with dignity, reducing conflict and building healthier co-parenting dynamics. When your divorce ends respectfully, you carry less emotional baggage into your next relationship. Mediation isn’t just about resolving the past—it helps you move into the future with a clearer heart.

5. Set Boundaries with Dating

When you’re ready, be intentional. Online dating can be helpful, but without boundaries it can feel overwhelming. Be honest about your story, move at a pace that feels right for you, and remember—your worth is not defined by someone else’s attention.

Overcoming Doubts

It’s normal to wonder:

• What if I wait too long and miss my chance?
• What if I never feel ready?
• What if I end up alone?

These doubts are part of the journey. But rushing into dating before you’ve healed can lead to more pain and disappointment. Waiting until you feel grounded ensures that when the right person comes along, you’re ready to build something healthy and lasting.

Your Fresh Start

Dating after divorce isn’t about following someone else’s timeline—it’s about finding your own readiness. When you take time to heal, rediscover yourself, and create a peaceful foundation, you can approach dating with confidence and hope.

As a divorce mediator, I’ve seen what happens when people prioritize peace and clarity during and after divorce—they don’t just survive, they thrive.

You deserve a fresh start, one filled with freedom, stability, and the possibility of love again.

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.

LA-CAMFT Diversity Committee

presents

White Therapists Fighting Racism (WTFR)

Third Sunday of Every Month

Next Meeting:
Sunday, October 19, 2025
3:00pm-5:00pm (PT)

Online Via Zoom

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.

Open to LA-CAMFT Members and Non-Members.

For more information or if you have additional questions, please send all inquiries to the facilitators at WTFR@lacamft.org.

Event Details:

For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students

When: Sunday, October 19, 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.)

Cost: No charge

Facilitator(s): Estelle, Randi, and Hazel

https://lacamft.org/event-6041756

Guest Article

Motivation

Chellie Campbell, Financial Stress Reduction Expert

“So many thirsty pass so close to the water, yet do not drink.” -Sufi Proverb

Jim Rohn, a great speaker and business philosopher, wrote that motivation is a mystery. He said, “Give a lecture to a thousand people. One walks out and says, ‘I’m going to change my life.’ Another one walks out with a yawn and says, ‘I’ve heard all this before.’ Why is that?” He shakes his head in wonder that a millionaire tells a thousand people about a book that started him on the path to wealth, yet very few of them ever get the book. If people are listening to this man talk, and probably paid money to hear him, why wouldn’t they do what he told them to do? He called this a mystery of life.

During one session of the Financial Stress Reduction® Workshop, I had twenty-five participants. On the day of the last class, twenty-four of them wrote glowing reviews of the course on their evaluation sheets. The twenty-fifth didn’t come to the last class, but instead left a message on voice-mail that she “didn’t hear anything new” and wanted a refund of her money. Why was that? She heard the same information. Why couldn’t I reach her, too?

Many people are looking for someone special who holds the key to their success. They believe that the right key will unlock their potential. What they don’t realize is that everyone has that key. They’re being showered with keys all the time. They just don’t turn it in their lock. Instead of saying, “This isn’t working for me,” they need to say, “How can I make this work for me?”

Look for your key today. Then put it in your lock and turn it.

Today’s Affirmation:
“I learn from all around me and grow wiser, richer, and happier every day.”

I really enjoy reading my own pages from “The Wealthy Spirit”. The life lessons I’ve learned in the past are often lessons I need to relearn right now in the present! I am constantly reminded to walk my talk and keep all these principals for living active in my life.

I don’t always see it. Then I need other people to share their wisdom with me.

For example, I was annoyed because I was feeling like other people were copying my writings and teachings, sending out their own twists to what I said to market their own seminars and teleclasses. Now, I spend a lot of time writing these blog pieces, my monthly newsletters, and various emails and blog posts. So I was a bit in a snit over this.

I participate in a monthly mastermind group with several other coaches, and I mentioned this issue with some irritation. Then my friend and fabulous fellow coach, Louise Crooks, asked, “What is it taking away from you?”

That stopped me in my tracks. “Uhh….” I said sheepishly, thinking maybe I was afraid I was losing business? People were going to other workshops instead of mine? But I quickly came to the realization that I lose nothing when other people get ideas from my work. Haven’t I learned and gotten ideas from other teachers I’ve studied with and other great books I’ve read?

“Oh, Louise,” I said, “thank you for that. I see clearly that I lose nothing from other people playing off my ideas. I have plenty of clients and I can only work with about 80 people a year. There’s plenty of business for everyone!” I knew that. I just forgot for a minute.

There was general agreement about this, and Louise shared about a great book she was reading called “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon, which I promptly purchased and enjoyed reading. It’s terrifically funny, and he mentions many famous artists and writers like Francis Ford Coppola, who said, “We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us, because you can’t steal. You will take what we give you and you will put it in your own voice and that’s how you will find your voice. And that’s how you begin. And then one day someone will steal from you.”

Writer Wilson Mizner said if you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research.” So here I am copying from Austin, but praising him and giving him credit, too.

So I hope that some of my writings inspire you to copy, too. Put your own spin on it and speak about the ideas from your experience. And guess what? That will be original!

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

Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Therapists Community Group

First Monday of Every Month

Next Meeting:
Monday, October 6, 2025
9:30am-10:30am

Online Via Zoom

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.

Event Details:

For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students

When: Monday, October 6, 2025 from 9:30am-10:30am

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-5893544

Member Article

Protecting Women's Midlife Breakthrough and Renew Your Life

Joanna Poppink, LMFT

What Is a Midlife Breakthrough?

A breakthrough is more than a sudden flash of insight. It can begin quietly—sometimes as a small thought, a shift in feeling, or a moment you almost dismiss. Often, without realizing it, you’ve been resisting certain truths about yourself, your perceptions, and the people and events around you. This resistance can be so deep and familiar that it feels invisible.

Then, over time, something changes. You begin to move through that unseen resistance. You start noticing the limits of your old way of thinking and catching glimpses of a new way of thinking, seeing, and perceiving. These glimpses can be exhilarating, but they can also feel unsettling—stirring fear, grief, or uncertainty alongside relief, wonder, and hope.

For midlife women, such moments can be part of self-discovery midlife and deep personal growth midlife women long for. They are also fragile. A midlife breakthrough needs care, protection, and the right conditions to survive. Without that care, the insight can fade under the pressures of daily life, relationship patterns, and cultural expectations.

Stage 1: Recognition

You notice something—a feeling of relief when you say no, a sense of energy after spending time with certain people, an unease in a situation you’ve always accepted. It might be so subtle you question whether it matters.

Hidden resistance: Up to this point, you may have been unconsciously avoiding or minimizing these feelings to keep life predictable.

Choice: You can dismiss it—or you can honor it by giving it space.

Strategies:

• Write it down before you talk yourself out of it.
• Share it only with trusted people who will respect its importance.

Why it matters: This is the first step in the breakthrough stages. Recognizing and honoring breakthrough moments early is essential to give them a chance to grow.

Stage 2: Adjustment

You begin to explore how this awareness fits—or doesn’t fit—into your life. The old way of thinking starts to feel confining, while the new perspective feels open but uncertain.

Hidden resistance to a midlife breakthrough: The pull of old habits can be strong, especially when they’ve kept you safe.

Choice: Continue exploring the new perspective or retreat to the familiar.

Strategies:

• Build daily support practices like journaling, grounding exercises, and reflection time.
• Expect some pushback from others; prepare calm, short responses so you’re not caught off guard.

Why it matters: The adjustment stage is where midlife women transformation begins to take shape. Protecting the insight here prevents it from fading back into resistance.

Stage 3: Integration

You start acting in ways that align with your breakthrough—setting boundaries, making different choices, or speaking more honestly.

Hidden resistance: Old patterns can resurface as self-doubt, telling you the change isn’t “real” or sustainable.

Choice: Reinforce the new behavior or slip back into the old pattern.

Strategies:

• Adjust your environment to support your new direction—change routines, reorganize spaces, and seek supportive relationships.
• Keep visible reminders of your insight where you’ll see them daily.

Why it matters: Integration is where midlife insight and change become visible to you and others. This stage solidifies personal growth midlife women can build on for the rest of their lives.

Stage 4: Stabilization

The new way of thinking or behaving starts to feel natural. You no longer have to focus on it constantly—it’s becoming part of you.

Hidden resistance: External pressures—health issues, caregiving, work stress—can still shake the foundation if you’re not prepared.

Choice: Maintain the practices that keep your breakthrough alive, or let them fade.

Strategies:

• Keep rituals or symbols that anchor the insight.
• Use the breakthrough in small, consistent ways each day to keep it strong.

Why it matters: In this part of the breakthrough stages, stability ensures that protecting personal breakthroughs becomes an ongoing practice, not a one-time effort.

Stage 5: Growth and Expansion

With the first breakthrough stable, you begin to notice other areas of life where you’ve been unconsciously resisting change. New insights start to appear.

Hidden resistance: Fear of “too much change” all at once can slow your momentum.

Choice: Apply what you’ve learned to these new areas or hold back until you feel ready.

Strategies:

• See each breakthrough as part of your life’s unfolding story.
• Use your experience with this one to guide the next.

Why it matters: Growth and expansion are where midlife women transformation truly accelerates. Your first midlife breakthrough becomes the foundation for ongoing self-discovery in midlife.

Why This Matters in Protecting and Honoring a Midlife Breakthrough

For midlife women, a breakthrough can open the door to living with more authenticity, freedom, and self-respect. But it is always a choice. You can nurture it so it becomes a steady force in your life—or you can turn away and let it fade.

By recognizing that breakthroughs often begin as small, easily overlooked moments, understanding the hidden resistance that can delay or block them, and making deliberate choices at each stage, you give your insight the best chance to grow into lasting change.

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

Black Therapist Support Group

Second Monday of Every Month

Next Meeting:

(this month 3rd Monday)

Monday, October 20, 2025
6:00 pm-7:30 pm (PT)

Online Via Zoom

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.

Event Details:

For: Licensed Therapists, Associates, and Students

When: Monday, October 20, 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.*

https://lacamft.org/event-5999260