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.
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