Glendale Area Mental Health Professionals Association (GAMHPA)
Presents Our Fourth Annual
Virtual Continuing Education Conference 2026
Friday, May 15, 2026, 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
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Conference Schedule
9:30-10 a.m. Check-In
10-11 Session 1: Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Mental Rumination: The Newest Trends and Developments, Martin Hsia, PsyD, (eligible for 1 CE unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
11-12 Session 2: PACE – Navigating the Chaos of Family Therapy, Mervin Maier, LMFT, (eligible for 1 CE unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
12-12:30 Lunch Break
12:30-1:30 Session 3: The Challenge of Working with Borderline Personality Disorder While Keeping Your Sanity, Chalon Barnett, LCSW, (eligible for 1 CE unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
1:30-2:30 Session 4: Masking & Unmasking in Neurodiverse Affirmative Therapy, Melissa Dellens, MA, LMFT, TRM-1, (eligible for 1 CE unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
2:30-3 p.m. Closing
Cost
GAMHPA Member attendance is FREE. Non-member attendance for the day is $30 (includes one free introductory membership through the end of the calendar year). Registrants who do not attend or fail to request a refund one week prior to the event will forfeit fees paid.
Location
Zoom video conferencing login will be provided two days prior to the event and only after registration (and receipt of payment for non-members).
Registration
Registration closes by the end of Monday, May 12. Registration is required online at www.GAMHPA.org.
Continuing Education Credit
* See the bottom of this post for all continuing education policies.
Thank you to Patricia Gieselman, LMFT, and Choices Counseling & Skills Center, for sponsoring our continuing education credits. Please contact our sponsor at training@choices.care with any questions or accommodation requests.
CAMFT CEs: Choices Counseling & Skills Center is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT#128621) to sponsor continuing professional education for MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and LPCCs. Each individual workshop course meets the qualifications for 1.0 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and LPCCs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (each workshop equivalent to 1.0 CEs, must attend the full workshop to be eligible. up to 4 CEs possible throughout event).
NBCC CEs: Choices Counseling & Skills Center has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7321. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Choices Counseling & Skills Center is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Each workshop equivalent to 1.0 CEs, must attend the full workshop to be eligible. Up to 4 CEs possible throughout event.
* See the bottom of this post for all continuing education policies.
Further Program Information and Questions
Contact GAMHPA Member Mary Ann Aronsohn, LMFT, at (626) 441-5131, m.aronsohn@protonmail.com.
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Our Presentations
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Session 1: Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Mental Rumination: The Newest Trends and Developments, Martin Hsia, PsyD, (eligible for 1 CE or CPD unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
10-11 a.m.
Description
For decades, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been understood as an Anxiety Disorder, and treatment has descended from behavioral and phobic models. Just in the past five years, that status quo is being challenged, as more metacognitive, narrative, and imagination-based understandings have started to gain traction among the OCD specialist community. This presentation will describe the professional conflicts as well as the promise for OCD sufferers brought about by these developments.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will be able to compare traditional and emerging therapy approaches for treating OCD.
2. Participants will be able to describe two core tenets of Inference-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy (I-CBT).
Session 2: PACE – Navigating the Chaos of Family Therapy, Mervin Maier, LMFT, (eligible for 1 CE or CPD unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
11-12 p.m.
Description
PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) is an internationally recognized therapeutic approach that facilitates intersubjectivity, allowing therapists, parents, and children to have a profound influence upon each other while upholding parental autonomy. Participants will familiarize themselves with this attachment-focused stance and learn how to integrate into their family therapy practice. Attendees will learn how to help parents to be more available, sensitive, and responsive as well as how to repair family conflicts through a compassionate based model in contrast to the social learning theory model.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will be able to name the three key aspects of intersubjectivity.
2. Participants will be able to name at least two reasons to see parents prior to including their child in treatment.
Session 3: The Challenge of Working with Borderline Personality Disorder While Keeping Your Sanity, Chalon Barnett, LCSW, (eligible for 1 CE or CPD unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Description
This session will present an overview of Borderline Personality Disorder, including criteria for diagnosis and how those criteria show up in sessions with clients. Some tips and methods will be provided for managing client’s behavior and maintaining your own boundaries, emotional regulation and sanity while working with these challenging clients.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify four diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder.
2. Describe two ways to maintain boundaries in treatment of individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder.
Session 4: Masking & Unmasking in Neurodiverse Affirmative Therapy, Melissa Dellens, MA, LMFT, TRM-1, (eligible for 1 CE or CPD unit for those who attend the entire 1-hour session)
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Description
Autistic masking is the conscious and unconscious suppression of natural Autistic responses and adoption of socially “normal” behaviors (Pearson & Rose, 2021). This chronic performance experienced by Autistic and other neurodivergent people may lead to mental health concerns, including increased anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Unmasking is a supportive, lifelong process of cultivating self-awareness and flexibility to align with an authentic sense of self. Clinicians have a lot to hold in mind when addressing the anxieties related to expressing authenticity. There can be conflicts in safety considerations within the client's relationships and environment, and the wish to disrupt unwanted patterns. This presentation will review current clinical research and best practice to support therapists in implementing safer un-masking interventions in neurodivergent-affirming treatment.
Learning Objectives
1. Participant will be able to discuss 2 ways to address stress that may lead a client to engage in chronic masking.
2. Participant will be able to identify 2 ways to support a client to unmask more safely in the context of trusted relationships.
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Our Speakers
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Chalon Barnett, LCSW
Chalon Barnett, MSW, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW #87431, is in private practice seeing clients in person in her office in Pasadena or online in California. She specializes in working with life transitions, especially those going through or recovering from divorce as well as with individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or those in close relationships with someone that has borderline personality disorder. As someone who has spent a lifetime navigating relationships with loved ones with borderline personality disorder, she has a wealth of experience maintaining her own boundaries, managing her expectations and keeping her sanity, while assisting clients in coping with big feelings and calming the dysregulation that are the hallmarks of BPD.
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Melissa Dellens, MA, LMFT, TRM-1
Melissa Dellens, MA, LMFT (she/they) works to help people reconnect with their ability to work, love, and play with more ease. Melissa is a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor at Out Couch Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, a group practice and training space where LGBTQIA+, CNM/ENM, and kink affirming pre-licensed therapists can learn to incorporate psychoanalytic theory into their work. Prior to her transition into mental health, Melissa supervised a community integration program for Autistic, Neurodivergent, and Intellectually/Developmentally Disabled people for 12 years. Melissa served as COO, an educator, and an author at The Affirmative Couch for five years, and has been adjunct faculty at Antioch University Los Angeles and Alliant International University, Los Angeles. Melissa earned their Master of Arts in Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles with an emphasis in Applied Community Psychology. Their certifications include the one-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Certificate at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS) and Level 1 of the Trauma Resiliency Model. Melissa is an affiliate member of LAISPS and is active in the institute’s Diversity Affairs Committee.
References
McLennan, H., Aberdein, R., Saggers, B., & Gillett-Swan, J. (2025). Neurodiversity: A scoping review of empirical research. Neurodiversity, 3.
Pantazakos, T. (2025). Neurodiversity and psychotherapy—Connections and ways forward. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 25(1).
Pearson, A., & Rose, K. (2021). A Conceptual Analysis of Autistic Masking: Understanding the Narrative of Stigma and the Illusion of Choice. Autism in Adulthood, 3(1), 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0043.
Martin Hsia, PsyD
Martin Hsia, Psy.D., is the Executive Director at the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Southern California (CBT SoCal). CBT SoCal specializes in services for people with OCD, Anxiety spectrum presentations (Panic, Phobias, Health/Illness Anxiety, Social Anxiety), ruminating thoughts, as well as adjacent concerns, such as Trichotillomania, Excoriation Disorder, Insomnia, and Tics. Dr. Hsia has lectured, trained, and supervised clinicians in the treatment of OCD. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at USC Keck School of Medicine and creates videos related to mental health for the channel, Redirect Personal Solutions.
Mervin Maier, LMFT
Mervin Maier is a licensed therapist in Pasadena with over 40 years of experience. His work in residential treatment in Italy shaped his belief in the importance of supporting families for effective therapy. Since 2006, he has focused on private practice, helping families, couples, and individuals with attachment, trauma, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, neurodiversity, and adoption issues. Mervin also trains others in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and PACE, teaching in the U.S., U.K., and Europe.
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* Continuing Education Policies
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Target Audience
This course is intended for beginning to advanced mental health professionals.
Attendance and Participation
Each unit of credit requires 100% attendance, participation in interactive activities and completion of identified readings for those seeking CEs and wanting a certificate of completion.
If there is an emergency or other unforeseen reason to miss a training session, a review of the video for the training session can be provided in order to obtain the missing content.
For online workshops, maintaining camera webcams is expected for greater integrative interaction.
Continuing Education
Certificates of attendance will be provided to each participant who completes a presentation.
CAMFT CEs – 1 per training attended: Choices Counseling & Skills Center is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT#128621) to sponsor continuing professional education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and LPCCs. Each completed course meets the qualifications for 1 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and LPCCs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
NBCC CEs – 1: Choices Counseling & Skills Center has been approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7321. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Choices Counseling & Skills Center is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Board of Psychology CPD: GAMHPA and Choices Counseling and Skills Center are not certified providers of continuing education for psychologists. Course meets the qualifications for up to 4.0 units of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit for re-licensure by licensed psychologists per the California Board of Psychology under the category of Learning Category #1 – Professional Activity: Conference/Convention Attendance, defined as “attendance at professional gatherings, either in person or via electronic means, that consists of multiple concurrent or sequential free–standing presentations related to the practice of psychology.” Note that “licensees shall maintain a record of this activity as documentation of compliance. This record shall include the following: name of conference/convention attended, proof of registration, and date(s) of conference/convention attended.”
Accommodations Policy
Reasonable accommodations can be made for individuals with disabilities as needed. For online workshops, efforts will be made upon request to provide accommodations for auditory, visual, or experiential components as much as possible. Participants requiring additional assistance are welcome to bring an assistant with them at no extra cost with 72-hour notification of need for accommodation. Recordings of trainings and/or recording devices will be allowed under needed circumstances. Release forms will be required stating that information recorded will not be distributed to anyone but the requesting party. If participants have accommodation needs, they can contact Cathleen Cash, LMFT at cathleen@choices.care or 626.470.9834 ext. 502.
Ethics Policy
Our organization does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and termination of staff members, selection of volunteers, instructors, vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to proving an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, workshop participants, and vendors.
Choices Marriage and Family Therapy, Inc. is a professional corporation. The President and CEO of the corporation is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who provides clinical services and educational and training opportunities that teach and train participants and licensees to treat any client in an ethical and clinically sound manner that is consistent with the CAMFT Code of Ethics. All selected trainers will be expected to abide by the same ethical expectations. In the event that a trainer for a particular event is a member of another professional organization, they will be expected to teach and train in accordance with that Code of Ethics as well.
Grievance Policy
If the complaint concerns a speaker (content, style of presentation) the participant filing the complaint will be asked to do so in a written format. The CE Program Director will assure the confidentiality of the individual by addressing the speaker directly.
If the complaint concerns the workshop itself (content, level of presentation, or facilities), the CE Director will:
· Attempt to resolve facilities or service provision
· Provide a full refund or issue a credit to be used within one (1) year of training registration.
Grievances can be filed by emailing Cathleen Cash, LMFT, at cathleen@choices.care or by mail to: Cathleen Cash, Choices Counseling & Skills Center, 37 Auburn Avenue, Suite 1, Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Privacy Policy
We are committed to the responsible management of consumer information, and Internet user privacy is a high priority. We will not collect any personally-identifiable information about you (name, address, telephone number or email address) unless you send it to us voluntarily. If you do not want your personal information collected, please do not submit it on our site. You have a choice about how we use your personal information to communicate with you, and you may opt out at any time by unsubscribing or changing your preferences.
Security Policy
We take great care to maintain the security of your information. Among other measures, we use 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts information as it is transmitted. We send your credit card information to our card processing company when you make a purchase and do not read or retain this information ourselves. Read more about how your personal financial information is handled by our payment gateway provider, Authorize.net, on their website. Inquiries regarding credit card payments can be sent to Choices Counseling & Skills Center, Attn: Cathleen Cash, LMFT, 37 Auburn Ave., Suite 1, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.
Cancellations and Refunds Policy
The deadline to cancel is seven days prior to the start of the workshop. Registrants who do not attend or fail to request a refund one week prior to the event will forfeit fees paid. For cancellations and refunds, contact Jim De Santis, Ph.D., at JJDeSantis@aol.com.
Substitution Policy
Substituting participants must be requested in writing within 10 days of the start of the workshop. To substitute a participant, contact Jim De Santis, Ph.D., at JJDeSantis@aol.com.
