by Jacqui Gerritsen, LMFT

Jacqui has been licensed since 2007. She joined the SCV-CAMFT board in 2015, initially as the Communication and Technology Director. She has a private practice in Palo Alto and San Mateo and is certified in TEAM-CBT level 2. She works with teens and adults and uses both a family systems model as well as a supportive, humanistic approach.

Greetings from my new home office in the corner of my garage.  Here we are, almost three months into a radically transformed world.  This is a world comprised of staying at home as much as possible, wearing masks in public, and limiting our contact with anyone outside our immediate household.  While we may appreciate some parts of this change (less driving, less pollution, more time to enjoy family), others within our communities and throughout the world are struggling.  And now, on top of the pandemic, the nation is convulsing in response to civil unrest.  Uncertainty and fear about the future has created increased anxiety in all of us and those we care for.

To get a better sense of what our members are struggling with, the board recently sent a survey to members about the impacts of COVID-19.  We wanted to know what you are experiencing, what challenges you are facing, and get your ideas on how the chapter can come together to support each other.  We were happy to receive 117 responses from members.  Your responses are helping us to think of ways we can be stronger together.  Thank you so much to all who participated.
In summary, we learned that many of you have successfully transitioned to using telehealth and the various platforms you are using, while others are struggling with the technology.  Another big issue for therapists is loss of clients and wanting to find sources of new clients.  Based on these survey results, the board is working to create support for members in these areas.  Nancy Orr, our chapter coordinator, will discuss what is happening in more detail in this newsletter.  She has been incredibly involved in putting out the survey, in taking advantage of our website capabilities, and in figuring out how to offer more programs online.  Thank you, Nancy, for your hard work!

We have a lot to cover in this issue of the newsletter.  Several of our articles are longer than is typical.  Where that is true, we have included the first page of the article and added a link to allow access to the full article.  We wanted to bring you news of how members are coping with these extraordinary times.  In this issue you will read an article on how associates are dealing with shelter-in-place while finishing up their licensing process and an article by our colleague Kent Campbell, LMFT on converting his group practice to teletherapy.  You will also find Dr. Elaine Brady’s summary of her February talk on pornography addiction and an article about internet addiction in the time of COVID-19 by Alex Basche, LMFT.  We have revived the Community Focus column, giving you a snapshot of a member of our therapist community.  And we have created a new feature, “Noteworthy,” with links to articles or videos that we think you will find of interest.  Finally, for fun, we feature a few pictures of your colleagues doing teletherapy or remote work! Most recently, Dr. Marty Klein presented our first virtual webinar on Couples Therapy 2020: When Old Problems Require New Solutions on May 29 and 30 for 6 CEU hours.  He addressed the challenges of doing couples therapy via telehealth, which he said he added just for our seminar.  The webinar went off without a hitch, and we are hoping to offer more online support groups, trainings and gatherings as the year moves on.  We are working hard to meet your needs given the new realities.  Please check the SCV-CAMFT website for updates.

Our Pre-Licensed and Newly Licensed Support Groups have been meeting successfully online now for the past 3 months.  Thank you to our group leaders Junko Yamauchi, Jim Arjani, Barbara Pannoni, and Della Fernandes for doing a terrific job with transitioning over to online support groups.  We hope you will take advantage of these groups—it is easier than ever to participate right now.
Please continue to reach out to us with your concerns and ideas.  We hope to connect with each of you in the coming days.

Continue to stay safe and healthy,
Jacqui