Our Community

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Jia Rebecca Li, LMFT, MA, JD, feels honored for the opportunity to support the important causes for which SCV-CAMFT stands and advocates, and to be more involved with the Bay Area therapist community. She believes that the professional resources and networking opportunities made available by the SCV Chapter are invaluable and would love to help more local therapists benefit from them. In her private practice, Rebecca specializes in grief work (having trained at Kara), couples therapy (Gottman level-II, Couples Institute), and culturally informed psychotherapy with Asian clients. Her clinical work is also informed by her significant prior experiences working in the competitive settings of large law firms, an international investment bank, and multiple startups in the U.S. and Asia, which have helped her appreciate the demand and complexity of the work/life dynamics facing her clients. Additionally, as a bilingual therapist (English and Mandarin), she hopes to find more ways to support minority therapists and generally enhance cultural competence in our work. Rebecca holds degrees in psychology (B.S., Beijing University, China; M.A., The University of Chicago), counseling (M.A., Palo Alto University) and law (J.D., The University of Chicago Law School). She enjoys reading, morning walks, contemplative and mindfulness practices, and volunteering in the community.

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Natalie Shahar, LMFT

I am grateful and excited to join this wonderful community of licensed therapists. On my path to licensure I have worked in school-base settings and private practice with a variety of populations. In my private practice I work with adults, adolescents, and couples on relationship issues, parenting, and other life challenges such as anxiety and depression. I work with women coping with perinatal anxiety and depression, challenges related to motherhood and life transitions, among other issues. Please consider referring adult and teenage clients who may need support around those areas. I invite you to check out my website https://www.natalieshahar.com/

Peter Cellarius, LMFT

Hi there!  Peter here, so proud and glad to be joining this tribe of healers.  Thank you for taking a few moments to read about me.  I do a lot of work with couples; I have EFT Beyond Core Skills training and see a dozen couples a week.  I am also completing my third year of Somatic Experiencing training which I use in trauma work; as well as ACT (Advanced) training which I love.  Oh, and also – EMDR – I am struck each time how powerful it is with clients – and Intensive Fundamentals in Ericksonian Hypnosis.  Phew! I so look forward to meeting and connecting with many of you.  BTW I am also on the CAMFT State Board, so if I can ever help, just reach out. Please visit my website https://yourgrowthcounseling.com/about/.

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Recognizing Mary VanRiper, LMFT!

We want to recognize board member Mary Van Riper, Director of Special Events, for her hard work in bringing the chapter together after COVID hit. Mary brought her research skills to the board and created the survey that we sent out in April. The board received a terrific response to the survey with one quarter of our membership returning responses. Mary and Nancy Orr spent countless hours analyzing the results and following up with members about concerns they had expressed in the survey, COVID-related challenges they were experiencing, and ways that they would be willing to help fellow members. The results were published in the June issue of the newsletter. Mary then went on to help create the monthly social gathering that we have enjoyed in July and August and which we plan to continue. Thank you, Mary! 

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Junko Yamauchi, LMFT, is excited to join the SCV-CAMFT board of directors, as the Director of Newly and Pre-licensed Members. Among other duties, she will recruit as needed and oversee the facilitators of the pre-licensed and newly-licensed support groups. She is also a facilitator herself of one of the pre-licensed groups. Junko has been highly involved with SCV-CAMFT as a member of the support groups, as a leader of a support group, and as a volunteer at the luncheons. She has her own practice in Santa Clara and now only offers Telehealth. Her passion is working with immigrants, especially Asian Americans dealing with multicultural and/or identity issues. She is also trained to work with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. Her recent interest is Brainspotting and she completed the phase 1 training. She is hoping to finish the phase 2 training to be certified. Junko is originally from Japan and enjoys watching Japanese TV programs to keep up with the latest trends in Japan!

dariah brown, AMFT

Dariah Brown, AMFT, is still earning hours at her job at Gardner Family Health Network. She has about 800 hours to go before reaching her 3000 hours. dbrownmft@gmail.com 

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connie, AMFT

Connie (not her real name), AMFT, has been working at an agency and also in private practice since she submitted her hours in June 2019. It took 5.5 months to get them approved by the BBS. She needed accommodations to take the exam given a health issue, so her approval process took longer than normal. She was finally scheduled to take the exam March 18 and then the day before the testing center closed. She is now in limbo not knowing when she can expect to take the exam.

Natalie Shahar, AMFT

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monica, AMFT

Monica (not her real name), AMFT, works for an area agency in an Intensive Outpatient Program for youth.  She completed her 3000 hours in March (she is still collecting hours for her LPCC).  She has not yet submitted her MFT hours to the BBS and has found it more difficult to get final signatures and other administrative details done during this time when her supervisors are sheltering at home.

susan, AMFT

Susan (not her real name), AMFT, finished her hours at the end of February but found it difficult during March to get her hours signed off from her supervisors, again because the supervisors were then sheltering in place. She did submit her hours to the BBS on April 1. She most recently worked at CHAC.