Careers in Family & Couples Therapy Panel
Join us for a panel of family therapists in various employment settings. In this workshop, a panel of family therapists will discuss their career path in family and couples therapy. Hear how practicing clinicians launched their practice, got involved in teaching and publishing, working in a hospital setting, and other creative activities in the field of couple and family therapy.
The Panelists:
Alissa Vannet, PsyD
I am a clinical psychologist specializing in supporting teens, adults, couples, and families through emotional and relational challenges. My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and rooted in psychodynamic and relational principles. In addition to therapy, I provide co-parenting counseling and serve as a Divorce Coach/Child Specialist within the Collaborative Divorce model, helping parents reduce conflict, strengthen communication, and prioritize their children’s wellbeing. I graduated from The Wright Institute in 2020 and completed my pre-doctoral internship at Alameda Family Services and my post-doctoral residency at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael. Currently, I work in private practice, and as well as adjunct faculty at the Wright Institute Counseling Program teaching Family Therapy II. At the core of my work is a commitment to creating a safe space where clients feel seen and supported as they move toward healing and growth.
Kate Threlfall, PhD
Dr. Kate is a systemic therapist who supports client-led changes with a collaborative and integrative approach: blending evidence-based treatments (such as CBT, DBT, ACT, and EMDR) she utilizes a narrative lens that is deeply grounded in a relational framework. This means Dr. Kate works with individuals, families, and their systems in a solution focused and strengths-based way. As a compassionate clinician providing gender affirming care is paramount. Supported by international clinical experience working with diverse populations, Dr. Kate holds a deep respect for all cultural backgrounds and intersectional identities. Dr. Kate received a PhD in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in child and family practice from the California School of Professional Psychology (AIU) and has continuously lectured in graduate schools in the US and Hong Kong since 2013. Mentoring graduate students is a passion. Her research interests include early interventions, family-based services, and the transition to parenthood. Clinical specializations: family systems and couples experiencing conflict and divorce, children and adolescents, working systemically within medical and educational settings, and supporting children and adults healing from trauma. With an extensive background in early childhood both as an educator and as a parent Kate is especially attuned to the needs of children and their families. Dr. Kate is experienced in working with a wide range of presenting issues such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, ADHD and learning differences, grief and loss, family cut-offs, as well as psychodiagnostic evaluations.
Raven Westhoelter, LMFT
Raven Westhoelter is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist that specializes in working with couples (monogamous and polyamorous), sexual and gender identity exploration, sexual and intimacy issues, complex trauma, and ADHD. Her practice is rooted in attachment theory, and she draws from several therapeutic models (EFT, EMDR, ACT, IFS, CBT, DBT, Exposure Therapy and Mindfulness) to help her clients meet their therapeutic goals and create closer and healthier connections. Her goal for all of her clients is to help them create a life where they are thriving not just surviving. Raven completed her M.A. in Counseling Psychology at Argosy University. She worked as a private practice intern with Bay Area Community Counseling and joined IAP after licensing in 2016. She has a private practice and served on the board for AFTNC for several years as an intern.
W. Keith Sutton, Psy.D.
Dr. Sutton is a psychologist who works systemically with children, teens, families, couples and individual adults in San Francisco, Corte Madera and throughout California via Zoom. In addition to his practice, he is the founder and director of the Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, where he provides trainings in evidence based treatments including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Structural-Strategic Family Therapy, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, EMDR and Motivational Interviewing, as well as he and James Keim, LCSW’s Evolving Structural-Strategic Family Therapy four stage, transdiagnostic approach to working with families. IAP also has 37 licensed, experienced therapists and a psychiatrist who are seeing clients in San Francisco, Marin, the East Bay, the Peninsula, South Bay and via Zoom through the specialty centers, which include the Bay Area Center for Children, Bay Area Center for Adolescents, Bay Area Center for Couples, Bay Area Center for ADHD, Bay Area Center for Anxiety and the Bay Area Oppositional and Conduct Disorder Clinic. He is also the founder and director of Bay Area Community Counseling and The Family Institute of Berkeley, which has MFT, SW, and PCC associates, as well as post doc psych assistants who train in family systems and learn to integrate evidence based treatments, and provide services on a sliding scale for those in financial need. He is the past president of the Association of Family Therapists of Northern California, a certified EFT Supervisor and is the host of the podcast, Therapy On The Cutting Edge, where he interviews therapists who are doing interesting, innovative, integrative work in the field of psychotherapy. He works with a range of diverse clients who are coming to him for his specialties in ADHD, Complex PTSD, OCD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Substance Abuse/Dependence, family therapy, couples therapy, and treatment for anxiety disorders, and often sees clients whom have attempted therapy times before but were unable to make change. Dr. Sutton focuses on cultural competency, with a focus on awareness of privilege and its blindspots and the power dynamics within therapy, focusing on social justice and awareness of not imposing dominant cultural narratives on all clients.
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Time: 10am - 12pm PDT
Location: Online via Zoom (link will be sent when you RSVP)
Cost: Free