President's Message — Daniel Hermosillo, LMFT

A Season of Thanks

The Days are getting shorter and the nights are becoming longer, but the light that shines through our work perseveres. Approaching this holiday season, for us, there may be many unknowns we face, life changes (both pleasant or unpleasant), and personal and/or professional growth. Whatever be the case for us, we can always fall back on our SFV-CAMFT family, clinical skills, professional support groups, and intimate social support systems.

However, we can work with clientele that do not have support that may be afforded to us. In those cases, we are tasked with the somber reminder that not everyone has a positive association to this time of year, and we must soberly and diligently support many that are in need of emotional healing in this holiday season.

As an American Veteran and being of Mexican descent, it's all too easy to fixate on the negative associations of this season. Whether it be the legal climate in which people like me are pursued due to their perceived legal status, Indigenous Peoples' Day (Formally known as Columbus Day) in which many peoples lost everything to western expansionism, and Veterans Day. Veterans Day is unique to many like me, as it is a reminder to us of what my brethren and I did for the sake of "Old Glory."

But that's what makes us unique, our struggles give us a framework of how to not just work through our challenges, but how to utilize therapeutic principles to overcome them. All this to build empathy for those we work with, perfect our craft, and to be of encouragement to those that have lost hope or are looking to rekindle a smoldering one.

We may not hear this much but, I want to make sure you read it now. Thank you for your commitment to the mental health field and thank you for your work as clinicians.I hope you and those you love have a great Holiday Season.

Daniel Hermosillo, MA, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice, the Program Manager for the Veteran Peer Access Network (VPAN), and the Senior Vice Commander (Vice President) of the VFW’s Post 3834. Daniel is a CBT certified therapist that is trained in somatic work and mindfulness interventions. He has experience working with couples, veterans, men, and teenage boys.