Upcoming events

    • 29 Aug 2025
    • 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
    • Zoom Meeting
    Register


    • You are invited!

      SBCPA Presents:   Autism and Neurodiversity in Therapy: Building Understanding and Practical Tools for Clinicians

      Presenter: Anna Krasno, Ph.D.

    Dr. Krasno is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in autism assessment and neurodiversity-affirming care. She earned her doctorate in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and completed her pre-doctoral internship at Children’s Health Council and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Her postdoctoral training was at CALM in Santa Barbara. Prior to graduate school, she was a Donald J. Cohen Fellow at Yale’s Child Study Center, researching early autism diagnosis. She currently serves as the Clinical Director of the Koegel Autism Center at UCSB and is the founder of Autism Assessment Santa Barbara. She has assessed hundreds of individuals ages 14 months to 65 years, with a focus on those missed or misdiagnosed—especially AFAB, BIPOC, trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse individuals.

    • Course Outline

      1.
          Understanding neurodivergence and the neurodiversity paradigm (20 minutes)

      2.    Describing autism diagnostic criteria and reframing the spectrum using difference based language (25 minutes)

      3.    Neurodiverse affirming and strength-based care considerations in the therapeutic setting (30 minutes)

      4.    Q & A (15 minutes)


      Topic
      :  

      Autistic individuals are present across all environments, with a current prevalence of 1 in 31 people. A comprehensive understanding of autism, and the wide range of ways it may present, is essential for clinical practitioners in all settings. Additionally, with approximately 1 in 5 individuals identifying as neurodivergent, it is highly likely that you are already working with autistic and neurodivergent clients in your practice. This workshop provides up-to-date, clinically relevant insights into autism as a potentially hidden disability, the broader concept of neurodivergence, and the principles of the neurodiversity paradigm. It will explore how clinicians can adapt their language and approaches to better support autistic individuals, and how to reframe clinical work through the lens of neurodiversity-affirming care.

       Learning Objectives:

      1. Name two main differences between the medical model and the neurodiversity paradigm.
      2.     Describe the diagnostic criteria for autism using difference-based language instead of deficit-based language.
      3.  Identify three ways they can shift clinical practice to provide strength-based and neurodiverse-affirming care for autistic individuals.


      Continuing Education:

      CPA is co-sponsoring with Santa Barbara County Psychological Association (SBCPA). The California Psychological Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CPA maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.

        Important Notice:

        Those who attend the workshop and complete the CPA evaluation form will receive (1.5) continuing education credits. Please note that APA CE rules require that we give credit only to those who attend the entire workshop. Those arriving more than 15 minutes after the start time or leaving before the workshop is completed will not receive CE credits.

         

        Please Note: This salon will be held via Zoom.


      • 17 Oct 2025
      • 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
      • Zoom Meeting
      Register



        You are invited!

        SBCPA Presents: Parent Counseling as an Effective, Evidence-Based Treatment for ADHD and Co-Occurring Disorders

        Presenter: Richard Formica, Ph.D.

        Dr. Formica has been in private practice for the past 40+ years. He has offered both intensive psychotherapy and parent counseling to adults. He is the co-founder of the Fairfield/Formica Parenting Program, a workshop comprising 40 hours of experiential training and coaching. In addition, Dr. Formica co-founded the Center for ADHD Children and Parents. He has authored a 250-page Parent Workshop Manual, entitled “Skills for Growing as a Parent.” In 2023, Dr. Formica published a paperback book, “Parenting With Wisdom and Skill: a Practical Guidebook,” demonstrating how to apply parenting principles to the everyday challenges that parents commonly face. Dr. Formica has been a specialist in parent counseling for 40+ years. He is the co-founder of the Fairfield/Formica Parenting Program and the co-founder of the Center for ADHD Children and Parents. He has recently authored a paperback book, “Parenting With Wisdom and Skill.”

        Course Outline

        Timeline:         

        12:00 - 12:05 pm                Introduction of Speaker and Opening Remarks

        12:05 - 2:45 pm                Presentation will be broken down into the following sections:

        • Development of Core Parenting Principles (15 minutes)
        • Review of clinical findings and research related to ADHD and parent counseling (15 minutes)
        • Review of clinical findings and research related to co-occurring clinical disorders and parent counseling (15 minutes)
        • ADHD: What is it, what it is not, and what is the core disability beneath the DSM-5 symptom list (45 minutes)
        • Practical applications and adaptations of parent counseling methods with parents of children/teens suffering from ADHD and co-occurring disorders (70 minutes)

        2:45 - 3:00 pm                Q & A and evaluations

        Topic

        ADHD is one of the most common diagnoses of childhood and adolescence. Raising a child with ADHD is a daunting challenge. Parent Counseling, coupled with personal psychotherapy, is essential for parents of ADHD children and teens as many such parents are profoundly stressed and confused. In this workshop, Dr. Formica will outline the core parenting principles he has developed and taught to parents for decades. He will discuss the features of ADHD itself, what it is and what it is not, and what makes life so difficult for both the ADHD child and their parents. Dr. Formica will also present data on the effectiveness of parent counseling for parents of ADHD children. Finally, Dr. Formica will outline methods and procedures for parent counseling, with special emphasis on the adaptations which clinicians, parent counselors and psychotherapists should make when working with parents of ADHD children.

        Learning Objectives:

        1.     List three core principles which comprise the parenting roadmap and identify the five essential parenting skills.

        2.     Identify three examples of research which has validated the use of parent counseling as an effective treatment modality for parents of children with ADHD.

        3. Identify three examples of research studies which have validated the use of parent counseling for related clinical comorbidities.

        4.     Identify ten common myths and six common misinformed statements about ADHD medication which parents of ADHD children are exposed to by the popular media.

        5.     State the six-stage approach to clinical adaptations needed when working with parents of ADHD children.


          Continuing Education:

          CPA is co-sponsoring with Santa Barbara County Psychological Association (SBCPA). The California Psychological Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CPA maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.

            Important Notice:

            Those who attend the workshop and complete the CPA evaluation form will receive three (3.0) continuing education credits. Please note that APA CE rules require that we give credit only to those who attend the entire workshop. Those arriving more than 15 minutes after the start time or leaving before the workshop is completed will not receive CE credits.

            Please note: This event is offered at a rate of $25 for SBCPA and VCPA members. Non-members are welcome to join this event at a rate of $50. Students, or participants who are not applying for CE credit are welcome to join this event at a rate of $25.  

            Please Note: This salon will be held via Zoom.

            Past events

            20 Jun 2025 SBCPA CE Event: Healing Attachment Trauma: The Power of Creating a Coherent Narrative with Dr. Lisa Firestone
            18 Apr 2025 SBCPA Spring Social at Satellite
            18 Apr 2025 SBCPA CE Event: An Introduction to Tic Disorders with Dr. James Claiborn
            19 Mar 2025 March Membership Networking Breakfast
            06 Dec 2024 SBCPA Holiday Party
            06 Dec 2024 SBCPA CE Event: Suicide Assessment and Intervention with Dr. Kjell Rudestam
            08 Nov 2024 Kunin Wines Fall Membership Event
            01 Nov 2024 SBCPA CE Event: Accessing the Power of Therapeutic Wizards Through Constructionism, Altered States and Charisma with Dr. Stephen Bacon
            29 Sep 2024 SBCPA/VCA CE Opportunity! Antisemitism: What Mental Health Professionals Need to Know with Dr. Liya Levanda
            28 Sep 2024 Join Us! Tomorrow is the Suicide Prevention Walk.
            22 Sep 2024 DON'T MISS IT: SBCPA End of Summer Social at Valley Project Winery Tasting Room (now with Slate Catering!)
            08 Sep 2024 SBCPA End of Summer Social at Shoreline Park
            18 May 2024 Peace of Mind: 10,000 Steps in the Right Direction Charity Walk at Alma Rosa Ranch
            17 May 2024 SBCPA CE Opportunity: Medical Complications of Eating Disorders with Dr. Kathryn Kinasz, MD
            11 May 2024 UCSB Reads Author Event Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
            01 May 2024 Spring Membership Networking Breakfast
            17 Apr 2024 Ethical and Legal Issues in the Practice of Clinical Psychology
            23 Feb 2024 Novel Biofeedback as Part of a Chronic Pain Recovery Program
            26 Jul 2023 SBCPA Summer Social
            23 Jun 2023 SBCPA/VCPA Salon: Competency-Based Clinical Supervision: Theory, Research & Deliberate Practice with Heidi Zetzer, Ph.D.
            26 May 2023 Reminder: Spring Membership Networking Breakfast
            21 Apr 2023 SBCPA/VCPA Salon: Madly We Love, Sharply We Fall: Conceptualizing Romantic Love and Breakups as an Addictive Process with Cortney Warren, PhD, ABPP
            31 Mar 2023 SBCPA/VCPA Salon: Decolonial Indigenous Psychology, Identity, and Dreamwork with Indigenous Peoples with Barbara Bain, M.S., PhD.
            03 Feb 2023 VCPA/SBCPA Salon: Gender Expansiveness: Supporting Youth and Their Families with Dr. Krishna Kary, PhD (they/them)
            01 Jan 2023 [RESCHEDULED] 2022 SBCPA Holiday Happy Hour(s) Gathering!
            02 Dec 2022 SBCPA/VCPA Salon: Decolonize Mental Health: Fostering Equity, Diversity and Belonging in our Clients with Susana López, Ph.D.
            04 Nov 2022 Gather in Gratitude: Fall SBCPA Social & Membership Event
            01 Oct 2022 How We Got Here and Where We're Going: Civil Community Conversation About the Roe v. Wade Reversal
            23 Sep 2022 SBCPA/VCPA Salon: Human Trafficking in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties
            17 Jun 2022 SBCPA Salon: Integration of Mobile Mental Health Apps Along the Continuum of Care (6-17-22, 12PM-1:30PM)
            10 Jun 2022 Ventura County Psychological Association Law & Ethics CE: The Standard of Care: Shield Against Liability (3 CE Credits)
            13 May 2022 Heart Medicine in Clinical Practice: How to Heal Longstanding Recurrent Painful Patterns on and off the Couch, with Radhule Weininger, Ph.D.
            12 Apr 2022 Lunch and Learn: How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the mental health needs of Santa Barbara County?
            19 Nov 2021 Prevention & Treatment of Youth Suicide with Richard T. Liu, Ph.D.
            05 Nov 2021 Autism in Adulthood with Anna Krasno, Ph.D.
            23 Jun 2021 Psychiatric Medications for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Pearls of Wisdom for Psychologists
            04 Jun 2021 CE Lunch and Learn: Understanding Neurocognitive Sequelae of Hypoxic and Anoxic Brain Injury and How it May Apply To COVID-19
            14 May 2021 CE Salon: ACT Daily in Clinical Practice: Bringing the Processes to Life On and Off the Couch
            17 Mar 2021 SBCPA Mindfulness During CoVid with Dr. Radhule Weininger
            30 Jan 2021 SBCPA Implicit Bias Workshop (6 CE Credits)
            23 Jan 2021 Zoom CoVid19 Check-in for SBCPA Members with Dr. Chuck Lepkowsky
            09 Jan 2021 Zoom CoVid19 Check-in for SBCPA Members with Dr. Karen Lehman
            12 Nov 2020 Virtual Membership Networking Breakfast-- Zoom & Dune Coffee!
            23 Oct 2020 SBCPA Salon: Transgender Patient Care w/ Max Rorty, LCSW
            17 Oct 2020 We're Back! - THIS Saturday 10/17/20 - Zoom Check-in for SBCPA Members - CoVid19 Updates with Dr. Chuck Lepkowsky
            04 Sep 2020 SBCPA Salon Rescheduled--- Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Young Adults in Santa Barbara County
            28 Aug 2020 Caring Together: A Compassion-Focused Approach When We Need It Most
            07 Aug 2020 Membership Networking Breakfast via Zoom
            17 Jul 2020 SBCPA SALON: Shelter From the Storm: Protecting Children From Custody Conflict
            09 Jul 2020 Sip and Share Social Hour
            26 Jun 2020 SBCPA SALON: Pro Bono Psychosocial Accompaniment of Asylum Seekers with Mary Watkins, Ph.D.
            05 Jun 2020 UPDATED: Virtual Membership Networking Breakfast @ Zoom/Dune Coffee
            04 Jun 2020 Social and Creativity Hour
            15 May 2020 SBCPA SALON: CORONAVIRUS ANXIETY AND THE CBT TREATMENT OF PANIC, ILLNESS ANXIETY, AND SOMATIC SYMPTOM DISORDER
            12 Mar 2020 March 2020 Board of Directors Meeting
            04 Mar 2020 Using Mindfulness in Clinical Practice: Case Presentations
            03 Mar 2020 Membership Network Breakfast @ Andersen's
            24 Jan 2020 Well-Being and Work-Life Balance: Cultural, Positive Psychology, and Practical Perspectives
            19 Jan 2020 SBCPA 2020 Installation Brunch and Legacy Awards Ceremony
            06 Dec 2019 SBCPA Holiday Party
            08 Nov 2019 Assessment and Treatment for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
            01 Nov 2019 Riverbench Winery Fall Membership Event
            18 Oct 2019 Salon-Digital Overuse: The Clinician’s Role in Assessment and Intervention
            14 Sep 2019 SBCPA CE Event - Suicide: Effective Crisis Response and Treatment
            13 Sep 2019 Membership Networking Breakfast
            03 Aug 2019 Summer Social 2019
            28 Jun 2019 A Fitting Denouement: Understanding and Meeting the Psychological Needs of Older Adults
            14 Jun 2019 Membership Networking Breakfast
            31 May 2019 Salon: A Humanistic Approach to Culturally Sensitive Clinical Supervision
            25 Apr 2019 2019 Spring Social
            12 Apr 2019 Salon-Give Psychology a Chance: How the Gut Influences the Brain
            04 Apr 2019 Meet and Greet with Monique Limon
            22 Mar 2019 Membership Networking Breakfast
            08 Mar 2019 SALON: The Shadows of Xenophobia in Clinical Practice: Therapeutic Approaches to Working with Issues in Relation to Immigration
            08 Feb 2019 Where are we with HOPE and Resilience? Your Role during our Community’s Long Term Disaster Recovery
            13 Jan 2019 2019 SBCPA Installation Brunch
            30 Nov 2018 The Divorce Conundrum: Legal, Ethical, and Psychological Issues
            16 Nov 2018 Keys to Treating Kids with Behavior Problems
            08 Nov 2018 Membership Networking Breakfast
            12 Oct 2018 Carr Winery Fall Membership Event
            30 Aug 2018 Membership Networking Breakfast (Note Date Change to Aug 30)
            09 Jun 2018 Digital Ethics with Dr. Keely Kolmes (6 CE Hours)
            30 May 2018 Membership Networking Breakfast @ Jeannine's Downtown
            25 May 2018 Opioids: What Psychologists Should Know with Mikhail Meyerovich, M.D. (Board Certified Psychiatrist)
            22 Mar 2018 Five Invitations: What the Dying Teach the Living, an evening with Frank Ostaseski
            15 Mar 2018 Membership Networking Breakfast @ Finch & Fork
            09 Mar 2018 Integrating the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual 2 with the DSM 5 and ICD-10 in Clinical Assessment and Treatment Planning
            01 Mar 2018 SBCPA Board Meeting
            24 Jan 2018 2018 SBCPA Installation Dinner
            17 Nov 2017 Practicing Psychotherapy In Constructed Reality with Stephen Bacon, Ph.D.
            07 Oct 2017 POST-PONED- Digital Ethics with Dr. Keely Kolmes (6 CE Hours)
            08 Sep 2017 Record Keeping: Charting New Courses with Dean Given, Ph.D.
            09 Jun 2017 Mindfulness in Psychotherapy: The Role of Self-Reflective Function with Marjorie Schuman, Ph.D.
            05 May 2017 Promoting Engagement in Parenting Programs with Miya L. Barnett, Ph.D.
            07 Apr 2017 Constructivism, Reality, and Psychotherapy with Kjell Rudestan, Ph.D.
            10 Mar 2017 2017 SBCPA Spring Social Gala
            03 Mar 2017 On Nurturing The Negative In The Age Of Positive Psychology: Psychoanalytic, Feminist, And Multicultural Considerations For Practice with Oksana Yakushko, PhD
            28 Jan 2017 Beyond Words: Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Experience (3 CE hours)
            17 Dec 2016 SBCPA HOLIDAY PARTY 2016
            02 Dec 2016 In Search of Meaning: Using Self-Compassion and Values Clarification in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Diana Hill, PhD
            17 Nov 2016 SBCPA Harvest Wine Tasting Event and Membership Drive
            05 Nov 2016 Patient Welfare, Therapist Responsibility: Legal and Ethical Considerations (6 CE Hours)
            07 Oct 2016 Horses Never Lie: An Introduction to Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with Mary Ann Evans, Ph.D.
            09 Sep 2016 In Search of Meaning: Using Self-Compassion and Values Clarification in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Diana Hill, PhD
            20 Aug 2016 Sunset Cruise Hawaiian Style on the Condor Express
            10 Jun 2016 Transgender Client Care with Max Rorty, LCSW (1.5 CE hours)
            20 May 2016 Bridges And Barriers In Mental Health Care Access By Mexican/Mexican-Americans with Andres Consoli, PhD
            06 May 2016 5th Mental Wellness Walk- Join or Donate to SBCPA Team!
            29 Apr 2016 SBCPA Spring Social Gala
            08 Apr 2016 Inquiring Deeply: Finding the Opportunities Within Problems with Marjorie Schuman, Ph.D.
            18 Mar 2016 Liberation Psychology and Psychosocial Accompaniment with Mary Watkins, PhD
            26 Feb 2016 Increasing Children’s Resilience through The Healing Power of Story with Deborah Schiller, PhD
            11 Dec 2015 Psychodynamic Taxonomies of Anxiety with Matthew Bennett, PhD
            20 Nov 2015 SBCPA Membership Mingle Wine Tasting Event
            20 Nov 2015 (copy) SBCPA Membership Mingle Wine Tasting Event
            14 Nov 2015 Facilitating Behavior Change: Energizing Healthier Living for the Long Term with Jennifer La Guardia, Ph.D.
            06 Nov 2015 SBCPA Salon Series: "Healing Into Wholeness: Liberation From the Stories that Bring Suffering to Our Lives", Presented by: Gail Brenner, Ph.D.
            23 Oct 2015 Meet and Greet with Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson
            10 Apr 2015 SBCPA Salon Series: "A Theatre of the Mind: Psychodrama and Role Theory", Presented by: Elizabeth Plummer, Ph.D.
            06 Feb 2015 SBCPA Salon Series: In Sickness as in Health; Psychology's Role in Medical Illness, Presented by: Betsy Bates Freed, Psy.D.
            23 Jan 2015 2015 SBCPA Board Installation Dinner
            09 Jan 2015 SBCPA Salon Series: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: What it is and how to use it, Presented by: Suzanne Johnson, Ph.D.
            13 Dec 2014 SBCPA Holiday Party
            07 Nov 2014 SBCPA Salon Series: Being a Gender Competent Clinician, Presented by: Max Rorty, LCSW
            23 Oct 2014 SBCPA Harvest Wine Tasting Event
            10 Oct 2014 SBCPA Salon Series: Supporting Families in Developing Balance in their Digital Use—The Clinician’s Role and Tools for Use, presented by Winifred Lloyds Lender, Ph.D.
            12 Sep 2014 SBCPA Salon Series: A Clinician's Primer on Violence and Mental Illness, presented by John Lewis, Ph.D.
            17 May 2014 Join Our Walk for Mental Wellness
            03 May 2014 C.G. Jung's Red Book Art Exhibition
            02 May 2014 SBCPA Salon Series: Creating a Professional Will - The Why, The What, and The How, presented by Joan Sandberg, Ph.D. and Sari H. Dworkin, Ph.D.
            26 Apr 2014 Anxiety Toolbox: 4 Experts Discuss how they Understand and Treat Anxiety from their Distinct Theoretical Perspectives
            03 Apr 2014 SBCPA April Board Meeting
            14 Mar 2014 SBCPA Salon Series: Embodied Attentiveness: Recognizing the Language of Nonverbal Behavior -- taught by Katya Bloom, PhD, BC-DMT, CMA
            06 Mar 2014 SBCPA March Board Meeting
            21 Feb 2014 SBCPA Student Salon, AN INTRODUCTION TO EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY AND PSYCHODRAMA, with Elizabeth Plummer, Ph.D.
            07 Feb 2014 SBCPA February Salon: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Behavioral Issues and Phenotype, presented by Elisa Gottheil, Ph.D.
            06 Feb 2014 SBCPA February Board Meeting
            24 Jan 2014 2014 Installation Dinner
            10 Jan 2014 SBCPA Salon Series: Therapeutic Assessment as Psychotherapy Consultation, presented by Steve Smith, Ph.D. and Deborah Schiller, Ph.D.
            09 Jan 2014 SBCPA January 2014 Board Meeting
            06 Dec 2013 Holiday Potluck
            01 Nov 2013 SBCPA November Salon: Mindful Aging presented by Christine Fredericks, Ph.D.
            19 Oct 2013 Hot Topics in Ethics and Risk Management In Psychological Practice
            08 Oct 2013 Psychotherapist Mixer
            04 Oct 2013 Salon: Healthcare Reform
            12 Sep 2013 Carr Winery
            07 Jun 2013 Trauma Conference
            06 Jun 2013 Board Meeting
            14 Dec 2012 Board Meeting
            07 Dec 2012 Holiday Party
            02 Nov 2012 Salon
            01 Nov 2012 Board Meeting
            Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software