Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Eduardo Viezca, PhD, LCSW is a therapist, educator, and scholar whose work integrates depth psychology, decolonial studies, and culturally responsive mental health care. He serves as an affiliate and instructor at the Denver Family Institute and as an adjunct professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he teaches graduate-level courses on Jungian psychology, decoloniality, and systemic therapy. His research and writing focus on liberatory approaches to psychotherapy, including Jotería psychologies and arts-based, participatory methods, and he regularly presents on identity, culture, and healing in academic and clinical spaces.

Dr. Viezca specializes in working with queer, trans, neurodivergent, and BIPOC individuals, couples, and families. His approach is relational, trauma-informed, and culturally affirming, integrating somatic, creative, and community-based practices to support meaningful change. A bilingual (Spanish-English) clinician, he is committed to creating spaces where clients can explore identity, relationships, and personal transformation in ways that honor their lived experiences.

This Train & Gain offers a historical overview of the past 200 years of American mental health discourse, focusing on how ideas about gender, sexuality, race, and childhood behavior have been constructed and challenged over time. Participants will explore how social, cultural, and political forces have shaped dominant understandings of normality and pathology. We will examine key moments in which these shifting perceptions influenced clinical frameworks, including revisions to the DSM over time. The role of social movements in challenging pathologizing narratives and advancing more inclusive understandings of human development and identity will also be explored. By placing systemic family therapy within this broader historical context, participants will be able to deepen their ability to think intersectionally and link social movements with clinical practice.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify key historical moments that shaped U.S. mental health discourse related to gender, sexuality, race, and childhood behavior.

2. Describe how social movements influenced changes in psychiatric diagnosis, including shifts in the DSM related to sexuality.

3. Apply historical insight to deepen intersectional awareness in contemporary marriage and family therapy practice.

Please note that many regulatory boards accept AAMFT course attendance to fulfill CE requirements, but do not have a pre-approval process. If in doubt, check with the board.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Dr. Priyanka Rao is a Licensed Psychologist and the founder of Asha Mental Health, a neurodiversity affirming therapy and assessment practice in Minneapolis. She specializes in working with late-diagnosed ADHD and autistic adults, with a clinical emphasis on trauma, identity development, and the lifelong impact of masking and chronic self-blame. Dr. Rao is known for her strengths-based, culturally responsive approach that helps clients rewrite internalized narratives and develop sustainable, shame-free systems that reflect how their brains work. In addition to her clinical practice, she leads Asha Coaching & Consulting, where she supports ADHD professionals and entrepreneurs in building executive function skills and creating work lives aligned with their neurodivergent wiring. Dr. Rao brings both lived experience and deep clinical expertise to her work, making her a trusted voice in adult ADHD, neurodiversity, and compassionate behavior change.

Adult ADHD is often misunderstood in clinical practice, leading many clients to be overlooked, misdiagnosed, or unsupported until well into adulthood. This presentation reframes ADHD through a neurodiversity affirming lens and equips therapists with evidence-informed strategies to recognize diverse presentations and support clients before and after diagnosis. We will address the shame, trauma, and identity shifts common among late-diagnosed adults and demonstrate how targeted psychoeducation can dramatically improve insight and functioning. Attendees will leave with concrete tools they can implement immediately in therapy, including energy mapping, interest-based planning, externalized executive function supports, and flexible habit-building strategies.

Learning Objectives
1. Describe key principles of a neurodiversity affirming approach to adult ADHD and differentiate this framework from deficit-based models.

2. Identify common but underrecognized ADHD presentations in adults, particularly among women, BIPOC clients, and high-achieving individuals.

3. Explain the emotional and psychological impact of late ADHD diagnosis, including shame, grief, trauma responses, and identity shifts.

4. Apply relationship-based strategies to support clients experiencing rejection sensitivity dysphoria and internalized narratives shaped by years of masking.

5. Implement at least three practical, evidence-informed tools (such as interest-based planning, energy mapping, and externalized executive function supports) to help clients improve daily functioning and reduce overwhelm.

Please note that many regulatory boards accept AAMFT course attendance to fulfill CE requirements, but do not have a pre-approval process. If in doubt, check with the board.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, we host a 50-minute, virtual meet-up, designed to provide opportunities for support, connection, and conversation. Some months we'll have a theme, and others will be open-ended to provide room for any field-related discussions or case consultations.

Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby, PhD, LMFT, BCC, is a clinical psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, board-certified coach, AAMFT-approved clinical supervisor, founder of Growing Self Counseling & Coaching, founder of the first NBCC-accredited coach credentialing program exclusively for therapists, and the host of the Love, Happiness and Success for Therapists Podcast.

This training provides a clear, essential breakdown of the legal, ethical, and practical differences between therapy and coaching for licensed mental health professionals. You'll learn why coaching is considered an unregulated field, why therapists are held to a different standard than self-appointed coaches, and how those differences create unique risks for clinicians who offer coaching without the proper structure.

The workshop walks you through how to distinguish therapy from coaching, how to appropriately screen clients for coaching services, and the common mistakes that lead to licensing board complaints. You’ll leave with a clear action plan to protect your license, serve clients ethically, and confidently integrate coaching into your practice—while staying safely within scope.

1. Crystal clarity on the differences between coaching and therapy.

2. How to screen clients for coaching appropriateness

3. The mistakes therapists make that get them in trouble

4. A clear action plan to protect yourself and your clients

Please note that many regulatory boards accept AAMFT course attendance to fulfill CE requirements, but do not have a pre-approval process. If in doubt, check with the board.