President's Message — Nikki Gabriel, LMFT

Events and Opportunities

It was a very cold and rainy winter in southern California, however, I have found the chapter events this year to be both warm and inviting, and filled with supportive colleagues. If you have not been able to join us so far this year, I encourage you to visit the calendar of events page on the website as we have some fantastic speaker presentations coming up along with many other opportunities for membership education and networking. One of my personal favorite chapter groups is the hiking group started by Kelly Lowry about six years ago. The group is now under new leadership with David Eshleman, however, continues on as in the past offering both an opportunity for self-care and a great way to network and form closer relationships with peers. The hiking group meets once a month Oct through June. Please do not be intimidated by the idea of hiking. These are easy to moderate hiking conditions for 1-2 hours, and difficulty is determined based on the mood of the group that day.

The 2019 board of directors is eager to continue working toward enhancing the strong foundation that has been established by the previous chapter leaders. There are some exciting new opportunities for members taking place this year. We are giving focus to the future of our profession and the chapter by increasing outreach to pre-licensed members at the universities, and associate sites throughout the valley. In order to better support our pre-licensed members a new mentoring program is being developed and will be presented soon. This will be an opportunity for the licensed clinical members to volunteer their time and knowledge to support pre-licensed members who are going through the process of getting hours, testing, and preparing to find their path into a career as a therapist.

There is something new for the clinical members also! In partnership with Interactions IOP, there will be a new member speaker series, which will offer both a weekday option for CEU's and additional opportunities for members to present on a topic of choice. This will be in a smaller group setting of 20-30, and a place to show off your specialty and market your practice to a group of your peers.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 7-13, 2019. This is a time to recognize all those who volunteer to make our chapter the strong, vibrant, and welcoming organization that it has become. We want to thank all of the 35+ volunteers that currently serve the chapter and encourage other chapter members to consider getting more involved. The thing about volunteering is that it brings a lot of benefit to the individual, the chapter, and the profession we all love. Like most things in life the more you put into it the more you get out. I have found that by volunteering for the chapter, I have met so many wonderful and encouraging individuals. I have blossomed from someone who often felt like an outsider as I entered into this new profession to someone who finally found a community where I truly belong. Thank you SFV-CAMFT!

Nikki Gabriel is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in Encino and Granada Hills. She assists teens and adults in learning to manage anger, anxiety, depression, and confidence issues by utilizing interventions from an eclectic background. She enjoys helping people discover new ways to solve problems, develop healthier behavior patterns, and improve communication skills. Learn more about Nikki by visiting her website http://www.nikkigabrielmft.com. She can be reached at 818.473.0088 or nikkigabrielmft@gmail.com.