Dear NCGPS Community,

Following up on our last email, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce the new Board.

We are hoping to offer many events and ways to connect with each other throughout our community. In the last mailing we erroneously addressed our community as Bay Area Community.  We are redoubling our efforts to be an inclusive community. Part of that effort will be acknowledging ways in which we may have fallen short. Cultural humility is both an active desire to reach out, and to understand shortcomings and mistakes. In that spirit, we apologize for this error as in this wording we left out our members who are further away from the Bay. Our current Board's goal is to be mindful of and welcoming to the great array of diversity in our community including geographic diversity. We are hopeful that through our events and offerings we will address all our colleagues, welcoming and integrating our differences!

Please take advantage of our new website and directory. We're working hard to update the website so that you can check your membership status and renew all online. Take a minute and check if your profile is up to date and the groups you are running are listed. We hope that our website is going to be the go to place for people who are searching for group therapists and groups throughout Northern California.

If you have questions that other group therapists might help you to brainstorm about, don't hesitate to put your questions on the listserve. It is a forum where we can support each other. If you need assistance with the listserve, please contact Annie.

Come to Open Studios and other events to socialize and network with each other. It is in those small conversations and connections we make at these events that further connection and professional relationships can blossom.

Volunteer! - if you would like to become active in leadership in our organization please ask us about volunteering. Several of our committees could use more help in organizing events. It is our shared organization, help us help you to be a thriving, vibrant community.

Some events to consider

• Membership retreat - September 17, 2017  - Oakland, CA
  We meet in Carla Haimowitz's home for this event. Please mark your calendars! We would like to fill Carla's house this year! We have had wonderfully productive and socially enriching meetings in the last years. It is a salad potluck event with engaging and meaningful conversations about group therapy and our work as group therapists as well as exchanges about NCGPS events.

• Fall event - An educational event TBD, offering a day of learning (CEUs included) and witnessing an experienced group therapist's work. We are currently working on the possibility of holding it on November 11, 2017. The Board is talking with an exciting nationally known speaker with a wealth of knowledge about group work. More details to be forthcoming.

• Keep an eye on upcoming Open Studios Let us know subjects you’d like to see and where you might like to see them (e.g. Sacramento, Santa Cruz etc.)

• Our next upcoming Open Studio is on Dream work by Meredith Sabini - July 22nd, Berkeley, CA

• Follow NCGPS on FaceBook!

Our next Newsletter is going to be published in September. Please consider writing up a piece about your experience at the Institute weekend or at an Open Studio, or our New Members event we just held a couple of weeks ago. If you have a poem or other writing you would consider to publish, please contact Annie our current Newsletter editor to submit. Due date for submissions is August 1st. We would love to fill our Newsletter with informative and personal stories that might touch others in our community.

Meet the 2017-2018 Board:

Erica Anderson, PhD: President

Erica E. Anderson, Ph.D. is an accomplished clinical psychologist, academic administrator, healthcare executive, professor, and consultant who has held academic appointments in health psychology, public health, clinical psychology, healthcare management and pediatrics. At UCSF she is involved in the Child and Adolescent Gender Clinic in Pediatric Endocrinology with transgender and gender nonconforming children, adolescents, their families and other healthcare professionals. Both at UCSF and JFKU she supports training of healthcare professional students and fellows in the rapidly advancing field of transgender healthcare. At JFKU she serves as Professor of Clinical Psychology, having previously served as Chair of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, Chair of Graduate Psychology, and Dean of the Graduate School. At her previous University she served as Chair and Professor of Healthcare Management. In her private consulting practice through Anderson Health Strategies, L.L.C. (based in Oakland) Dr. Anderson provides consultation to corporations on issues related to sexual and gender diversity and inclusion and success (including gender transition) of transgender and gender nonconforming leaders. She provides clinical services to teenagers, adults, couples, and families focused upon Sexuality, Gender and Identity.

Dr. Anderson is fast becoming an international expert on transgender issues. This summer she is an invited speaker at Stockholm Pride and will be consulting with the Swedish Government on trans health issues. A recent article in The Financial Times cited her as a global expert on transgender health issues and she has been interviewed for several newspapers and TV in Sweden where she last year became the first openly transgender person in prime time television. She has been a senior executive in a number of corporations including subsidiaries of Merck/Medco, United Healthcare, Integra, Primary Mental Health Care, and College Health Enterprises. In those organizations she served as Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. She lives in Berkeley. She brings her extensive business and leadership background to NCGPS and hopes to help our Society build upon its success and refresh for the next generation of group therapists, especially by recognizing diversity, intersectionality, and various identities. She runs a process group for transgender women.

(510) 910-1578 | drericaanderson@gmail.com | drericaanderson.net                
 

Shira Marin, PhD., LMFT:  Immediate Past-President

Shira Marin is dedicated to furthering work begun during her tenure as President, as Secretary, and as Fall Event Chair through preserving the valued traditions of our community while supporting innovation that includes NCGPS members throughout our region. Her focus remains the continuation of diversity training and cultural sensitivity, the NCGPS  Bylaws revisions that support us in the digital age, and encouraging the volunteer spirit in all members of our region, recognizing that getting involved evolves our society’s vitality and augments our relevance in providing group therapy.

 Shira is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Expressive Arts Therapist, and Certified Transformative Learning Coach with over 35 years of experience. In her her clinical practice, Shira offers psychotherapy, private and group consultation and supervision, arts-based process groups, dream groups, and serves individuals, couples, and families. Beyond her clinical practice, Shira is a lifelong multi-media creative, an author, a speaker, and an educator whose primary interest is in the way that the psyche’s creative impulse informs and guides human growth and development to its fullest expression.

Her memoir, Shards of a Broken Mystery: The Restoration of Hekate will be available Summer 2017.

(415) 499-0737  | ShiraMarinPhD@gmail.com | ShiraMarinPhD.com
 

John Rochios, PhD, CGP: Treasurer

John Rochios, PhD, CGP has served on the board for nearly 30 years, in various roles: as President, as Co-Chair the Asilomar conference and institute four times, as Tape Library Manager, and as Treasurer for a total of 14 years. He has trained psychiatry residents for many years as clinical faculty of UCSF Medical school and is the co-founder of the Oasis Center in Walnut Creek where he works with individuals, couples, and groups, and specializes in group work with adolescents and "Failure to Launch" young adults.

He is best reached by phone or text at (925) 963-8205
 

Trevor M. Ahrendt, PsyD: Secretary

Trevor is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist working in San Francisco. He received his doctorate from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Prior to his work in private practice, he acted as the Associate Director of The Wright Institute Recovery Clinic (a community mental health clinic specializing in helping people recover from addiction and training doctoral student therapist) and is currently an adjunct faculty at The Wright Institute teaching Substance Abuse courses and Motivational Interviewing. He also serves on the board of the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group, and on their education committee.

In his private practice he sees individuals, couples, and runs groups. He also provides trainings to organizations and clinicians on working with addiction (especially Motivational Interviewing), the therapeutic relationship, Control-Mastery theory, and mindfulness in therapy. He’s provided trainings to Chowchilla Correctional Facilities, Options Recovery Services, Fort Leavenworth's Veteran's Affairs, the University of Kansas and others. Recently, he authored of the book How to Breathe Underwater: The Four Week Plan to Relieve Debt Stress.

Trevor is called to serve on the board because he believes group therapy is therapy's best kept secret, which is a huge mistake. He also sees group therapy as one of the most practical and effective approaches to attachment work. And they’re fun as all heck.

(510) 868-2256 | drahrendt@drtrevorahrendt.com | drtrevorahrendt.com

Board Members:

Geri Alpert, PhD, CGP

Geri is a Past President of NCGPS, and Fellow of AGPA. Other past roles for NCGPS have included: four years as  Treasurer; six years as  Co-Director of our  Annual Training Institute/Conference; Annual Dinner Chair; Fall Event Chair; Evenings with the Masters Chair; and Newsletter Editor.   She is currently serving her 5th year as Continuing Education Chair.

As a former  Director of Postdoctoral Training at Kaiser,  Director of Group Therapy Training at McCauley Neuropsychiatric Institute, and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF,  Geri has taught and supervised psychotherapists for over 30 years. She is currently in full-time private practice in San Francisco and San Rafael, where she sees individuals, couples,  and families with adult children. In addition to providing consultation to both individual and group psychotherapists, she  co-leads  a long standing weekly process  group for mature therapists along with Elaine Cooper, who has been her co-leader for over 30 years.

(415) 453-8969 | geraldine.alpert@pacbell.net | geraldinealpert.com

Annie Danberg, MFT

Annie Danberg, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and lifelong artist. She offers individual psychotherapy, art therapy, and co-leads an arts-based process group. Annie also offers classes that use art-making as a vehicle for achieving insight, personal growth and creative freedom for people of any artistic experience.

Prior to becoming a therapist, Annie worked in the field of graphic design and brings her skills from this profession to her roles as newsletter editor, website and listserve moderator. She is inspired to serve on the board to promote group work in general, and enhance communications both within the organization and to the community at large.

415-322-8984 | connecting@anniedanberg.com | AnnieDanberg.com
 

Carla Haimowitz, PhD

Carla Haimowitz was licensed as a marriage, family, and child therapist in 1975, as a psychologist in 1995.  So far she has been a professor of sociology, psychology, and women's studies.  She has taught at CIIS, JFK, Merritt, Laney colleges and others, teaching such courses as the psychology of war and peace, Child and adolescent development, research and statistics.

She was educated in a variety of treatment frames of reference, including Radical Psychiatry Transactional Analysis and Gestalt therapies, and has worked in methadone programs, partial hospitals, elementary schools, family service clinics, and of course, for over forty years, in private practice doing groups including groups for single parents, for persons divorcing, for Bosnian refugees, for anxious Latino youth, for adults molested as children, for persons with substance abuse. She says she has a lot to learn.

(510) 655-7828 | carlahaimo@sbcglobal.net

Latoyia Piper, LCSW, CGP

Latoyia Piper (Formerly Latoyia Griffin) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Group Psychotherapist dually licensed in Nevada and New York, with her private practice located in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Her roots are in the Bay Area, having grown up here, and she has thus been connected with NCGPS over time where she feels at home.  She serves on the NCGPS Board as well as the chair of the Diversity Committee.  

She is a Social Work Board authorized supervisor for Social Work Interns and a Registered Mental Facilitator for NBCC International.  Faculty Appointments include Cabrini University, Widener University, and University of Phoenix, including former Lead Faculty Area Chair for BSHS in the College of Social Sciences. She also serves as a Liason for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Social Work.   Her work has been in the following areas: developing and directing mental health programs in Upstate New York and Las Vegas, Nevada, including Developing and Directing the Young Adult Program for SPMI at University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital; Supervision of Social Work Interns; Corporate Training around Diversity issues; Provision of professional and layperson training around mental health, inclusion of family in the therapeutic process, sexuality, and diversity issues; provision of therapy to individuals, groups and families; developing educational materials for distribution.  

She has presented and provided trainings at the local, state, and national level and in professional, academic, corporate, community and spiritual based settings.  She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Family Mental Health from Syracuse University, as well as an advanced certification in Women's Studies.  She obtained her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Psychology, with a Minor in Childhood Development from Kentucky State University.   She feels privileged to have worked extensively providing individual, group, and family therapy to individuals diagnosed with severe and persistent mental health concerns and their families, first responders, those in corporate settings, as well as those with a range of concerns.  

She is client centered and strengths based in her approach, and operates from a systems based perspective. She has served on a range of committees and Boards both personal and professional, including University Academic Advisory Council, Campus College Management Team, Student Disciplinary Review Committee, Social Work Advisory Board, Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union Board, Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union Policy and Procedure committee. She has a sincere passion for her work & brings that passion to each endeavor that she undertakes.

(702) 485-0430 | Latoyiagriffin.lcsw.cgp@gmail.com | website

Ildiko Ran, MFT, CGP - Outreach Coordinator

My private practice is downtown San Francisco where I see individuals and couples and run three interpersonal process groups. I have been teaching graduate level group dynamics classes, have lead groups for interns and newly licensed clinicians, as well as for psychiatry residents at Stanford medical school. Having worked at hospitals, leading intensive outpatient groups, my experience shows that both clients and therapists, when exposed to transformational experiences in groups, realize the great value of group work. I am dedicated to demystifying group therapy, establishing access to good quality training, and serving the community by helping therapists to start and maintain their groups. I am proud to be the originator of the Open Group Studios series, which has proven to be a successful addition to NCGPS’s offerings.

I am a Membership Committee member at AGPA and serve on the Board of SFCAMFT, as Newsletter Editor. I am a member and frequent visitor to our sibling affiliate organization in Los Angeles, GPALA. Along with those activities, as Board member at NCGPS, I am dedicated to create more connection and bridging between communities and organizations.

(650) 353-8885 | ildikoran@gmail.com | groupsforeveryone.com

Beth Cooper Tabakin, Ph.D

Board member Beth Cooper Tabakin, Ph.D. is an individual, couple, family and group psychologist with a private practice in San Anselmo. She uses a Mind-Body-Spirit approach incorporating transpersonal, humanistic, somatic, behavioral and structural techniques. She is the founder of 'Life After Breakfast' and has led groups focused on health, weight-loss, self-esteem, friendship, non-violent communication, AMACs (adults molested as children), and parenting children with special needs.

(415) 225-8683 | lifeafterbreakfast@me.com