Dear Esteemed AFCC-California Members,
As this year comes to an end, I hope that you all get an opportunity to wind down your practices and spend quality time with friends and family during the holiday season. Given the challenging work that we do, taking time off is essential to replenish, so that we can approach our work with enthusiasm and vigor in the New Year.
As I reflect upon 2023, I am most grateful for the unwavering dedication and support from our AFCC-CA members. I especially want to acknowledge those members who have made and continue to make financial contributions to AFCC-CA. Without this support, the organization could not thrive.
In February 2023, we had a successful post-COVID in-person conference in Costa Mesa. There were a substantial number of new presenters and new faces in the audience at that conference. This is promising because we need new members, especially mental health professionals in our field!
I would like to acknowledge the effort some of our senior members put forth behind the scenes and at the legislative level to try to ensure that those of us who do clinical work with court-involved children and families remain relevant. It is also noteworthy that some of our more experienced or senior members in Sacramento, San Diego, and Sonoma Counties have successfully established thriving professional communities wherein new mental health professionals (clinical and forensic) enter into our field on an ongoing basis. I know that this trend will continue in these communities, and I hope that more experienced or senior members in other counties follow suit so that one day there will be less concern about there being a shortage of mental health practitioners available to work with court-involved children and families in California.
I would like to thank you all for entrusting me to serve as President of AFCC-CA over the past two years. Serving in the role of President for our organization has been an honor and very rewarding experience. When I first became an AFCC-CA member in 2012, I never imagined that I would be President of the organization someday. Every now and then, I am still in disbelief about how this all fell into place.
Lastly, I would like to underscore that receiving ongoing mentorship from several senior AFCC-CA members and support from a very dynamic and robust Board who believed in me has been an integral part of my experience of President of this amazing organization. I hope this trend continues for future presidents and members of AFCC-CA.
Warmly,
Frank Davis, Ph.D.
Current President of AFCC-CA
Dr. Frank Davis is a licensed psychologist specializing in providing forensic evaluations and clinical treatment for adults, children, and families involved in family court cases. He has been practicing since 2012 in Bay Area. Also, since 2015, Dr. Davis has worked at Transitioning Families, a specialized family reunification psychotherapy treatment program located in Sonoma, California wherein he works with a team of mental health professionals who serve adults, children, and families involved in high conflict, complex family law cases. Lastly, Dr. Davis served as a member of the task force for the 2022 AFCC International Guidelines for Parenting Plan Evaluations in Family Law Cases.