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The San Francisco Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SFCAMFT) is the local chapter of your professional organization providing you with the opportunity to participate in advanced clinical training, practice building, professional development, networking, gaining referrals and the promotion of the Marriage and Family Therapy profession. (Click on "about SFCAMFT" or "the benefits of membership.")
SFCAMFT supports the right of same-sex couples to have legal access to civil marriage and to all its attendant benefits, rights, and privileges. SFCAMFT acknowledges that the denial of civil marriage rights to same-sex couples constitutes discrimination, and that such discrimination and prejudice have been shown to be detrimental to the psychological, physical, social, and economic well-being of individuals, couples, and families. SFCAMFT shall take a leadership role in opposing all discrimination in legal benefits, rights, and privileges against same-sex couples and encourages MFTs to act to eliminate all discrimination against same-sex couples in their practice, research, education, and training.
San Francisco Chapter of CAMFT
Statement on the Ethical Treatment of Sexual Orientation and Gender
Recent events regarding the debate over marriage equality have raised larger concerns about ethical treatment in areas where the personal, cultural or religious beliefs of the clinician conflict with evidence-based practices and the standards of care accepted by our profession. Nowhere has this conflict been more profound than in matters concerning the treatment of sexual minorities (i.e., LGBT clients) and people with non-conforming gender identifications.
We recognize that some clinicians feel bound to offer treatments that are line with their personal, cultural and religious convictions, even when these beliefs conflict with evidence-based research. We also recognize that some clients feel compelled to try and change aspects of themselves to better fit into cultural and religious norms that privilege heterosexuality and certain stereotypes of masculinity and femininity.
Recognizing these pressures, the board of the San Francisco chapter of CAMFT wants to clarify that it is unethical for clinicians to recommend or support treatments that seek to alter a person's sexual orientation or mode of gender expression. Rather, we believe that therapeutic treatments should be aimed at helping clients come to terms with their sexual orientation and discover authentic modes of gender expression rather than try to change them.
This ethical position is consistent with the empirical research accepted by our profession, which holds that sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) do not lead to effective, enduring or beneficial change. Moreover, much of the literature emphasizes the harm to clients that can result from such efforts (Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation, 2009; Serovich, et. al., Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 2009). Likewise, therapeutic approaches that force a person to conform to culturally expected modes of gender expression can result in harm to the person's identity formation (APA Policy Statement: Transgender, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression Non-Discrimination, 2008).
The SFCAMFT Chapter serves the community-at-large by providing you with access to professional psychotherapists who are trained to diagnose, assess and treat individuals, couples, families, children, and adolescents. Marriage and Family Therapists are relationship experts. We can help you to achieve more productive, happy and satisfying relationships, marriages, families and social lives. Our Marriage and Family Therapists can offer professional help with a variety of issues, including:
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Marriage and relationship therapy
Family, child and adolescent therapy
Divorce, mediation and child custody
Sexual dysfunction, desire & intimacy
Cross cultural relationships
Depression and anxiety
Life transitions
Substance abuse
Recovery from abuse or trauma
Chronic pain or illness
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Communication skills & conflict resolution
Parenting, single parenting, adoption
Personal growth and development
Lesbian and Gay relationships
Domestic Violence
Grief and loss
Self esteem, self worth and body image
Compulsive behaviors
Stress management
Sexual orientation and "coming out"
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Our goal is to help you attain a higher level of personal well-being, improve your quality of life, achieve
greater levels of happiness and satisfaction in your relationships. Our therapists work with individuals and
couples of all genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. MFTs work in private practice, social service
agency hospital and school settings.
Members of the SFCAMFT Chapter provide free Crisis Response Team services, when traumatic events affect the
students and/or staff of the San Francisco Unified School District.
As a free community service, the SF CAMFT Chapter provides trained speakers who are professional psychotherapists.
The Speakers Bureau serves businesses, educational institutions, health service agencies and other community-based
organizations. Topics such as family life, work, relationships, health, transitions and professional growth are
typical. We would be happy to work with you to provide the appropriate educational service to your organization.
Call the Speakers Bureau at: (415) 273-1954
Click here to view upcoming Speaker's Bureau engagements.
SFCAMFT
1032 Irving Street, #441
San Francisco, CA 94122-2200
(415) 273-1954
24-hour message line for membership, meeting and newsletter information: (415) 273-1954.
Webmaster: Carol Gould, MS, MFT
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