Creating More Sustainable Community for Us All!

Hey LA-CAMFT family! 

As the new Diversity Committee Chairwoman for 2024-2025, I wanted you to be aware of some of the many changes in the air . . .

Therapist of Color Support Group (TOC-SG): In January, we decided to switch the 6+ years and running FREE support group from monthly to quarterly—starting in 2024! We have already had two meetings (in Jan and Apr); the remaining two TOC Support Group dates for the year are July 14th and October 13th (still on the 2nd Sundays of the month from 11am-1pm). So, please mark your calendars (and register on the LA-CAMFT website) if you’d like to attend again . . . OR check it out if you’ve never been!  

Other TOC Support Groups with changes:
• Black Therapists Support Group (BTSG) now meets on the 2nd Monday of the month, 6-7:30pm
• Asian-American Pacific Islanders (AAPI+) Circle is (sadly) *canceled*—for now (due to a lack of facilitators),
• Middle Easterners and North Africans (MENA) is on break / hopes to return soon, maybe with a new name (in an effort to decolonize it): Southwest Asians and North Africans (SWANA).

Latinxers: We’d still love to launch a support group for you—but, we need passionate, committed facilitators to do this! [Hint; Could this be YOU???] Actually, we are . . . 

***LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS*** who understand the urgent need to create and maintain these safe spaces for therapists of color (in today’s political climate, etc. AND)—especially those with intersectional (multiple, marginalized) identities and backgrounds—i.e. POC / BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Neurodivergent, and other underserved populations. [NOTE: Our D.C. support groups will continue to increase inclusivity by highlighting the “diversity within diversity” or what we in the D.C fondly call “Race AND . . .”] 

Part of the reason we had to cut back on some of the D.C. support groups this year was: we didn’t have enough therapists of color to keep them happening on a regular basis! So, if these groups are important to you, please consider lending a hand!  

And, as I mentioned in my January article, I’m still very focused on nurturing our TOC leaders more—to create more sustainable community for all of us! (which leads me to our most exciting announcement . . .) 

This year, we’re working on hosting an amazing NEW event called a “Rest Retreat”—an attempt to nurture therapists of color facilitators of our various Diversity Committee TOC Support Groups who’ve volunteered their time and energy to maintain safe places for therapists of color to attend, share our struggles and successes, and feel supported on the often arduous path of becoming licensed and the difficulties often faced by therapists of color in this field. We have to work harder than our white counterparts…so, it’s time to rest, y’all! Please, come join us! 

Curious? Wanna get involved with the Diversity Committee? Come check out a meeting (4th Sundays, 10am-12pm) or contact me at: diversitycommittee@lacamft.org. I look forward to hearing from you! ☺.

Stara Shakti, LMFT is a psychotherapist and lightworker with a private practice in Los Angeles. Stara helps young adults—(in their 20s / 30s) who are LGBTQ+, POC/BIPOC, 1st-gen Americans, neurodivergents, and adult children of narcissistic / emotionally immature parents—heal from past trauma so they can love themselves, fully express who they are, and attract healthier adult relationships. Stara also has a new YouTube channel on “all things healing from trauma.” www.StaraShaktiLMFT.com.