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Presidents Letter 

Hello Members,

Monterey County’s CAMFT chapter has kicked off 2025 with the inaugural chapter board retreat. Our leadership convened for the first time in the new year to discuss a wide range of issues related to our network of professional helpers. Our membership, and our leadership continues to expand as we build on the foundations already established by the chapter's leadership that has come before. And I am happy to report to our chapter that our board of trustees are excited to provide robust benefits and support to all of the chapter's membership. 

When I was asked to join the leadership of our chapter board, a distinct shadow of self-doubt passed over me, making it difficult for me to see myself occupying this role. This sense of uncertainty stayed with me, firmly keeping me in its grasp until our board convened for the first time late into January. It was there that I had a chance to finally catch a glimpse of how this year could unfold. I came to appreciate my colleagues as fellow board chairs and their zest for the work we have the privilege of doing.  We discussed a wide range of issues including training and workshops for the year, social events, and ways to improve our established programs. My heart was encouraged by the depth of experience inherent in our board chairs, and their generosity and interest in supporting our membership to establish practices throughout the Monterey County region. Witnessing this collective generosity was like a revelation to me, leaving with me the hope-filled impression that 2025 is in good hands with this group of admirable individuals. All of this is to say that any nervousness I may have prior to our initial board meeting has since abated, leaving my mind free to loiter around interesting ideas regarding how our year might look as an organization. And if I may, I would like to share with you one such thought that heavies me.

Our profession of Marriage and Family Therapy has taken a significant step back from systemic, contextual, and relational considerations in providing care; which were principal achievements of our field 50 years ago. These changes are the result of social and political movements influenced heavily by the insurance and medical industry. The notion that beneficial change may result from disrupting problems that are caused by reciprocal coercive struggles within a familial or social context is no longer prioritized within the broader helping field. Professional coaching, counseling, social work, psychology, and psychiatry have largely pivoted towards an individualizing model of care that prioritizes executive processing, emotional regulation and cognitive deficits as the subject of intervention. In my view, this dramatic shift towards an individualizing model of care has identity-shaping effects on the way people come to think about themselves in therapy, inviting those seeking care to come to conclusions of individual brokenness or inadequacy. What's particularly worrisome is how strong these conclusions of personal inadequacy are once they take hold. These conclusions are regularly supported by marketing campaigns on social media from those in our field looking to position themselves as having some silver-bullet solution for generic problems. The prism through which people evaluate their problems in our modern world, I fear, casts an exacting and identity-limiting light, leaving little room for people to question the political, economic, and cultural forces in which problems exist. Family therapy, on the other hand, has its roots in establishing innovative, unique, and creative interventions designed to challenge status quo thinking. When I review our field's history I am constantly reminded just how pioneering and adventurous our forebears have been. Salvador Manuchin, Jay Haley, Milton Erickson, Michael White, and Virginia Satir are but a few of those that have radically shaped our field, offering brave, inventive and culturally relevant ways of working. Their voices have much to offer us as we look ahead to an increasingly individualizing society.  My hope for this year is to invite our community to rediscover the heart and passion of our field's history and find ways to reconnect our chapter with the kind of innovative spirit that once defined our field of Family Therapy.

With sincere gratitude for the opportunity to be this years chapter president,

Brian Wainwright, LMFT 

FOR PRE-LICENSED THERAPISTS

The Monterey Chapter CAMFT is a great way to start your professional connections in your new career! Join us and be a part of a group of peers supported by your professional community as you journey through your 3000 hours to licensure. First, become a member of CAMFT. Then become one of our valued chapter members by going to our membership application page. You'll be supported by:

• NETWORKING ACTIVITIES with Pre-Licensed and Licensed Members.
• TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES from short to day-long programs.
• JOB SEARCH SUPPORT with links to active job search sites.
• MENTORING: Find a mentor. 
• RESOURCES for the Road to Licensure.
• CHAIR SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE: Contact mccamft@gmail.com with attention to the pre-licensed chair.

FIND A MENTOR

Are you a therapist? We can help connect members or would-be members to an established therapist for the purpose of mentoring in setting up a private practice or becoming connected to the professional community available in our area. Read more.