Olivia Loewy - Working in the California Community Behavioral Health System: A Navigational Tool

WORKING IN THE CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SYSTEM:

A NAVIGATIONAL TOOL

Olivia Loewy, Ph.D. and Associates:

Margaret L. Avineri, Psy.D., LMFT

Jasmeet Bhullar, M.A., Registered Associate MFT

Susan Davis, M.S., LMFT

Cassidy Manton, M.S., LMFT

Mary M. Read, Ph.D., LMFT

P.O. Box 6907

Santa Barbara, CA. 93160

www.olivialoewy.com

Copyright 2019

Olivia Loewy, Ph.D. and Associates

All rights reserved, including the rights to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

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Working in the Community Behavioral Health System: A Navigational Tool.

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Dedication

T his book is dedicated to Rusty Selix, longtime mental health advocate and co-author of Proposition 63. His lifes work has been devoted to advancing, improving and supporting our California public behavioral health systems of care. Rusty is a brilliant, inspired architect of change who embodies that unique combination of visionary and craftsman, able to concretely define how to make his concept a reality. With a solid knowledge of the system and strong relationships among policy leaders, legislators and providers, Rusty possesses an instinctual sense of how to find his way to reach a destination. He is a true team player who cares about the end goal and not about who gets credit for the success. As a result of his work, California became the only state in the nation to have passed Mental Health Services Act legislation, improving and/or saving the lives of literally thousands in need of care.

The brilliance of Rusty Selix is matched only by his focus, drive, determination, unshakable optimism and trust and belief in the process. Without the efforts of this remarkable leader, the evolution of our California behavioral health system and our book would look quite different.

OLA is proud to be able to list Rusty Selix as an Associate and pleased to acknowledge him as the inspiration for this book.

Acknowledgments

T he text that follows is the outcome of a truly collaborative process. Olivia Loewy and Associates (OLA) formed a working Committee of six who were drawn together by a strong love for and commitment to the California public behavioral health system. Individual Committee members brought diverse perspectives into the process based on their own unique experiences, positions held, number of years in the system, levels of education and cultural backgrounds. True to the inclusive and respectful spirit of the evolving public systems of care, all input and ideas were welcome and next steps were jointly determined as the project moved forward. For almost two years, Committee members learned from each other, energized each other, worked hard and had a lot of fun. More about these sensational six Committee members:

Margaret L. Avineri, Psy.D., LMFT is Senior Director of Integrated Clinical Services & Quality Management at Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. Her early training and experience in the field were as a social worker and probation officer in Israel over three decades ago. Through that experience, she developed a particular interest in the relationship between Law & Ethics and human services. An AAMFT Approved Supervisor, Margaret teaches courses on Legal & Ethical Aspects of Counseling and Clinical Supervision in a variety of academic and professional settings and provides consultation and continuing education on these and other related subjects. In addition to her responsibilities for agency-wide quality assurance and compliance at JFSLA, she oversees a range of clinical and social service programs. A key focus of her current work is care coordination in community-based systems with the goal of ensuring access to effective and culturally appropriate mental health and social services.

Jasmeet Bhullar, M.A., Registered Associate MFT is committed to helping people from diverse backgrounds utilizing truly diverse methods. Jasmeet is a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine University and Fullerton College, Vice President of Expert Resource in the field of aerospace and national defense manufacturing and Vice President of the Pepperdine University Alumni Leadership Council. Jasmeet earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from U.C. Davis. Jasmeet is experienced in providing therapy to individuals ranging in age from 2 to 90 years old, from several different ethnic backgrounds and from low, middle and upper socioeconomic status. Jasmeet believes in inspiring broad changes in society by utilizing opportunities to help others via communicative techniques. Jasmeet hopes to benefit society as a whole at multiple levels, while using communication to continue to learn more about the experiences of others.

Susan Davis, M.S., LMFT is the MFT Intern Program Supervisor for the Department Behavioral Health at the County of San Bernardino. She has worked in public mental health for 24 years both in California and Washington State. Prior to her work in public mental health she was in private practice for over thirteen years. Susan has been an adjunct professor in the Marriage and Family graduate program at Hope International University, the psychology graduate programs at Chapman University and at CSUN, San Bernardino. Her work in public mental health has created a deeper understanding of the mental health needs in the public sector and an appreciation of the components of Recovery Oriented Care. Susan finds working with trainees and interns in the public system to be a gratifying experience and she enjoys helping to train MFTs who are passionate about working in community mental health.

Olivia Loewy, Ph.D., LMFT is the founder and Executive Director of Olivia Loewy and Associates (OLA), a consulting company that brings together a diverse group of professionals dedicated to supporting the needs of the public behavioral health workforce. Prior to the establishment of OLA, Olivia served for 15 years as the Executive Director of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California Division. Inspired by her previous experience as the Clinical Director of the community-based Verdugo Mental Health Center, Olivias advocacy work at the state level focused on representing providers in helping to shape the emerging systems of public behavioral health.

Presently, through active and aggressive participation in the California public policy arena, Olivia works with state leaders to respond to the challenges involved in developing the seamless systems of preparation and training needed to competently staff the behavioral healthcare system.

Cassidy Manton, M.S., LMFT is the program manager for Chapman Universitys Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program. Prior to working at Chapman, Cassidy dedicated many years to working in public mental health in Los Angeles County where she provided outpatient therapy services to children and adolescents, managed a Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) program for clients with severe mental illness and provided trainings and clinical supervision. In addition to her role at Chapman, she maintains a private practice in Santa Ana, specializing in the treatment of anxiety.