In Person - Membership Meeting - In Person

Ivette R. Pelayo, LMFT

"Addressing the Rise in Political & Affective Polarization: Clinical Considerations When Providing Treatment to Those with Drastically Differing and Opposing Views"

In this course, we will be exploring affective and political polarization, and how it affects mental health professionals and their work with clients. We will go into depth about how polarization has increased in recent times, how it affects different types of clients, including how their mental health diagnosis can increase or decrease their divisiveness. We will examine how bias in mental health professions has left certain clients not wanting to receive mental health support. We will also discuss how to cope using effective techniques, and we will briefly cover how social media has made a negative impact on everyone - including clients and therapists. Finally, we’ll identify ways to seek further training and support to be able to manage our own biases and to treat client’s who’s partisan beliefs differ completely from our own.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify 3 ways that affective and political polarization matters in mental health treatment.

2. Identify 2 coping skills mental health professionals can use to manage new stressors related to political/affective polarization.

3. Identify 3 ethical considerations to be aware of when we support therapy services to clients who hold vastly different belief systems.

4. Identify 2 ways mental health professionals can move towards being more candid and self-reflective about our own biases.

Ivette R. Pelayo, LMFT, is a mental health professional with over eight years of experience in community-based mental health services. Her experience includes diagnosing and treating court mandated and voluntary at-risk children, adolescents, adults, parents and families. She currently serves as a Program Coordinator and Clinical Supervisor for the Full Service Partnership (FSP) crisis stabilization program at San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc., where she co-supervises a team of counselors, clinicians and parent partners, who serve children, adolescents and young adults facing a range of moderate to severe mental health issues. In addition to working in the FSP program, Ivette is also the agency’s Certified Supervisor/Trainer for Managing and Adapting Practices (MAP) - an evidenced based practice (EBP) that is mostly utilized for prevention and early intervention treatment.

Ivette is dedicated to supervising clinical staff, as they navigate their roles in the helping field, and as they grow their own skills as clinicians. Recently, Ivette has become intrigued by how mental health professionals’ work with clients has become more infiltrated by political and affective polarization, a topic which up until now, has rarely been spoken about openly amongst other mental health professionals. This intrigue has led Ivette to seek support and guidance with her own biases, and by doing so, encountered new insights that she wants to share with other mental health professionals who may also be struggling to navigate the mental health sphere in this modern day zeitgeist.

Sponsored by:

    

Lightfully Behavioral Health is one of the first and only mental healthcare providers focused solely on primary mental health care: treating the whole person with clinical expertise, deep compassion, and a rigorous commitment to measurable results.

When: Sunday, June 8, 2025

Time:

  8:30am-9am Check-In/Light Breakfast*

  9am-9:30am Membership Meeting/

      Chapter Announcements*

  9:30-11am CE/Speaker Presentation

  11am-11:15am Opportunity Drawing/

      Private Practice Announcements*

  11:15am-11:45am Break*

  11:45am-1:45pm Board Meeting (in-person)*

*=portion of course not eligible for CE's

This course is intended for beginning to advanced mental health professionals.

Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Course evaluations will be sent and CE completion certificates will be awarded to participants that attend the entire presentation and complete the course evaluation within 48 hours of the speaker presentation.

Place:

In-Person at Encino Golf Course Banquet Room

                              16821 Burbank Blvd

                              Encino, CA 91436

This location is ADA compliant.

Professional or business casual attire suggested. It is recommended to dress in layers due to the weather and AC conditions.

Please note the following:

Confirm your meeting selection is accurate for in person or webinar and member or non-member. No walk-ins or registration changes will be allowed less than 24 hours before the meeting.

Price/Registration:

SFV-CAMFT chapter members

In-person

     $25 (online until Friday, May 30th at 11:59pm)

     $35 (online week of event, May 31st - June 6th)

Non chapter members

In-person

     $35 (online until Friday, May 30th at 11:59pm)

     $45 (online week of event, May 31st - June 6th)

No phone or email RSVP.

No cash or check, credit card only (we accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover).

Email us for Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley chapter reciprocity.

Please click on the register button. If you are not logged in yet and are a member of our chapter, please be sure to log in here first. A confirmation email will be sent once payment is received.   

Questions? Contact our VP of Membership here

Grievances? Contact our President here

Accommodations? Contact our Hospitality Chair here

Policies: View a list of our policies here

Refund Policy 

Requests for refunds must be in writing and received by SFV-CAMFT before one week prior to the event. A $2 administrative fee will be deducted for cancellation of a paid event, through the cancellation deadline. There will be no changes or cancellations received after one week prior to the event (this includes no shows and arriving late to the presentation on the day of the event). The President has discretion to issue refunds that do not comply with the policy. To request a refund, email sfv.camft@gmail.com.

The personal values and beliefs expressed by presenter(s) are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SFV-CAMFT). SFV-CAMFT is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive professional community and does not endorse any specific personal viewpoints shared by presenters.

CAMFT- approved Continuing Education Provider #62281

SFV-CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for Marriage & Family Therapists. SFV-CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.

Webinar - Membership Meeting - Webinar

Ivette R. Pelayo, LMFT

"Addressing the Rise in Political & Affective Polarization: Clinical Considerations When Providing Treatment to Those with Drastically Differing and Opposing Views"

In this course, we will be exploring affective and political polarization, and how it affects mental health professionals and their work with clients. We will go into depth about how polarization has increased in recent times, how it affects different types of clients, including how their mental health diagnosis can increase or decrease their divisiveness. We will examine how bias in mental health professions has left certain clients not wanting to receive mental health support. We will also discuss how to cope using effective techniques, and we will briefly cover how social media has made a negative impact on everyone - including clients and therapists. Finally, we’ll identify ways to seek further training and support to be able to manage our own biases and to treat client’s who’s partisan beliefs differ completely from our own.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify 3 ways that affective and political polarization matters in mental health treatment.

2. Identify 2 coping skills mental health professionals can use to manage new stressors related to political/affective polarization.

3. Identify 3 ethical considerations to be aware of when we support therapy services to clients who hold vastly different belief systems.

4. Identify 2 ways mental health professionals can move towards being more candid and self-reflective about our own biases.

Ivette R. Pelayo, LMFT, is a mental health professional with over eight years of experience in community-based mental health services. Her experience includes diagnosing and treating court mandated and voluntary at-risk children, adolescents, adults, parents and families. She currently serves as a Program Coordinator and Clinical Supervisor for the Full Service Partnership (FSP) crisis stabilization program at San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc., where she co-supervises a team of counselors, clinicians and parent partners, who serve children, adolescents and young adults facing a range of moderate to severe mental health issues. In addition to working in the FSP program, Ivette is also the agency’s Certified Supervisor/Trainer for Managing and Adapting Practices (MAP) - an evidenced based practice (EBP) that is mostly utilized for prevention and early intervention treatment.

Ivette is dedicated to supervising clinical staff, as they navigate their roles in the helping field, and as they grow their own skills as clinicians. Recently, Ivette has become intrigued by how mental health professionals’ work with clients has become more infiltrated by political and affective polarization, a topic which up until now, has rarely been spoken about openly amongst other mental health professionals. This intrigue has led Ivette to seek support and guidance with her own biases, and by doing so, encountered new insights that she wants to share with other mental health professionals who may also be struggling to navigate the mental health sphere in this modern day zeitgeist.

Sponsored by:

    

Lightfully Behavioral Health is one of the first and only mental healthcare providers focused solely on primary mental health care: treating the whole person with clinical expertise, deep compassion, and a rigorous commitment to measurable results.

When: Sunday, June 8, 2025

Time:

  8:30am-9am Check-In*

  9am-9:30am Membership Meeting/

      Chapter Announcements*

  9:30-11am CE/Speaker Presentation

  11am-11:15am Opportunity Drawing/

      Private Practice Announcements*

  11:15am-11:45am Break*

  11:45am-1:45pm Board Meeting (in-person)*

*=portion of course not eligible for CE's

This course is intended for beginning to advanced mental health professionals.

Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Course evaluations will be sent and CE completion certificates will be awarded to participants that attend the entire presentation and complete the course evaluation within 48 hours of the speaker presentation.

Place:

Webinar on Zoom

The link will be sent in the confirmation email to those that register for the webinar option. A reminder email will also be sent out a day before.

Please note the following:

Confirm your meeting selection is accurate for in person or webinar and member or non-member. No walk-ins or registration changes will be allowed less than 24 hours before the meeting.

Price/Registration:

SFV-CAMFT chapter members

In-person

     $25 (online until Friday, May 30th at 11:59pm)

     $35 (online week of event, May 31st - June 6th)

Non chapter members

In-person

     $35 (online until Friday, May 30th at 11:59pm)

     $45 (online week of event, May 31st - June 6th)

No phone or email RSVP.

No cash or check, credit card only (we accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover).

Email us for Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley chapter reciprocity.

Please click on the register button. If you are not logged in yet and are a member of our chapter, please be sure to log in here first. A confirmation email will be sent once payment is received.   

Questions? Contact our VP of Membership here

Grievances? Contact our President here

Accommodations? Contact our Hospitality Chair here

Policies: View a list of our policies here

Refund Policy 

Requests for refunds must be in writing and received by SFV-CAMFT before one week prior to the event. A $2 administrative fee will be deducted for cancellation of a paid event, through the cancellation deadline. There will be no changes or cancellations received after one week prior to the event (this includes no shows and arriving late to the presentation on the day of the event). The President has discretion to issue refunds that do not comply with the policy. To request a refund, email sfv.camft@gmail.com.

The personal values and beliefs expressed by presenter(s) are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SFV-CAMFT). SFV-CAMFT is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive professional community and does not endorse any specific personal viewpoints shared by presenters.

CAMFT- approved Continuing Education Provider #62281

SFV-CAMFT is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for Marriage & Family Therapists. SFV-CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.

Learn from CAMFT's Expert Attorneys 

Alain Montgomery, Esq.

"Working with Minor Clients: Prepare for

Success and Avoid the Pitfalls"

Webinar - register directly through CAMFT's website below

Working with minors requires an understanding of the laws and ethical standards that pertain to minor consent and the authority that minors, and/or others, have over the minor’s clinical information. Additionally, working with minors may involve the need to interact and share information with third parties. During this three (3) hour presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney Alain Montgomery will review California minor consent laws and common issues related to the confidentiality of the minor’s healthcare information.

Learning Objectives At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to: Identify the ethical standards relevant to a therapist’s duty to determine who has the legal authority to provide consent and treatment for a minor. Explain the rights of minors to control the right of access to their information.  Distinguish when parents and other non-parental adults have the legal authority to consent treatment for a minor and exercise control over a minor’s healthcare information. Understand how to manage the varied roles that third parties may play during the course of the minor’s treatment.

Presenter:

Alain Montgomery, Esq., CAMFT Staff Attorney is a member of the State Bar of California. Alain received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Prior to joining the CAMFT legal department, Alain worked in public interest law as a legal advisor for the Superior Court of California where he helped self-represented parties navigate the complexities of small claims litigation. As a member of the CAMFT legal department, Alain has served as part of the support staff for the CAMFT Ethics Committee and has represented the Association at various state regulatory board meetings. After graduating from college and before attending law school, Alain worked as a ski instructor at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.

When:

Friday, September 19, 2025

Time:

9am - 12pm

3 CEs provided by CAMFT. This course satisfies the Law and Ethics course requirement for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs which is required for each license renewal cycle.

Place: 

Webinar on Zoom

The link will be sent by CAMFT upon registering through their website.

Price/Registration:

CAMFT members: $65

Chapter members: $60

Non-members: $85

Members of a local chapter will receive a $5 discount on the Law and Ethics webinars. It's our way of saying thank you for being a valued part of the chapter community.

Please click on the link below to go straight to the CAMFT registration page. If you are not logged in yet and are a member of our chapter, please be sure to log in here first.

REGISTER HERE - CAMFT's website

Can't attend the webinar? No problem! This event will be recorded, and your registration will have access to the recording for 3 months.

Questions? Contact our VP of Membership here or our president here

Thank you!

Board of Directors

Learn from CAMFT's Expert Attorneys 

Sara Jasper, Esq.

"Updates and Resources for Medi-Cal Providers"

Webinar - register directly through CAMFT's website below

California’s Medi-Cal system is complex and ever-changing. During this three-hour presentation, CAMFT Staff Attorney, Sara Jasper, will provide an overview of the Medi-Cal Behavioral Health system, including information about CalAIM and BH-Connect. Ms. Jasper will review Medi-Cal’s requirements for telehealth services, provider addresses and how providers who offer “remote-only” services can apply for an exemption from Medi-Cal’s place of business requirements. Ms. Jasper will offer practice tips and resources Medi-Cal providers may use to strengthen their recordkeeping practices in anticipation of audits. Finally, Ms. Jasper will offer general resources to support providers as they navigate the Medi-Cal system, including resources for those providing care to dual eligible patients and caregivers.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the pathways to behavioral health care services within the Medi-Cal system.
2. Identify possible opportunities for behavioral health care providers as a result of BH-Connect.
3. Describe Medi-Cal’s requirements for the delivery of telehealth services.
4. Review Medi-Cal Provider address rules and the telehealth or “remote-only” place of business exemption.
5. Discuss Medi-Cal’s documentation requirements to audits.
6. Identify critical resources for providers working within Medi-Cal’s behavioral health system.

Presenter:

Sara Jasper, JD, CAMFT Staff Attorney grew up in the Sacramento area. She graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Chico with a B.A. in Journalism. While attending CSUC, Sara Interned for Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C. and served as an editor for the award-winning weekly student newspaper, The Orion. Sara attended The University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where she served as a library research assistant to professors on campus. During law school, she also clerked for the California Judicial Council, Center for Children, Families & the Courts and for the National Center for Youth Law. Until she moved to San Diego last fall, Sara was on the Board of Directors for Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocates (C.A.S.A.) and is a member of the State Bar of California. Prior to joining CAMFT, Sara worked at the private firm of Middleton, Young & Minney, LLP where she specialized in education and employment law. Sara also worked as the Legal Liaison and Administrative Officer in the Office of the Chief of Police for the City of Sacramento for three years. She assumed her role with the City of Sacramento's Police Department upon graduating from law school.

When:

Friday, November 14, 2025

Time:

9am - 12pm

3 CEs provided by CAMFT. This course satisfies the Law and Ethics course requirement for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs which is required for each license renewal cycle.

Place: 

Webinar on Zoom

The link will be sent by CAMFT upon registering through their website.

Price/Registration:

CAMFT members: $65

Chapter members: $60

Non-members: $85

Members of a local chapter will receive a $5 discount on the Law and Ethics webinars. It's our way of saying thank you for being a valued part of the chapter community.

Please click on the link below to go straight to the CAMFT registration page. If you are not logged in yet and are a member of our chapter, please be sure to log in here first.

REGISTER HERE - CAMFT's website

Can't attend the webinar? No problem! This event will be recorded, and your registration will have access to the recording for 3 months.

Questions? Contact our VP of Membership here or our president here

Thank you!

Board of Directors