Happy Fall 2025
Happy Fall All Y’All,
Abi here. I’m so wiped out from school starting again (we have an elementary aged student at our home) and all of the Jewish Fall holidays starting up soon-ish let alone the fabulous educational activities that have helped me learn and grow (how tiring!).
APA Convention 2025
This late Summer/ Fall was and is a time of learning, learning, and more learning.
My big conferences this year were not ones I was speaking at, rather, I was and am solely an attendee. First there was the APA Convention in Denver, Colorado. I went and brought my wife and kiddo along to learn all that I could. It was the weekend before school began so we wanted one last summer trip together, however brief. I also went to earn some continuing education credit and to surround myself with new psychological perspectives.
Association for Jewish Psychologists
At the convention, I also co-facilitated the Association for Jewish Psychologists’ Friday night Shabbat Candle Lighting service. It was so lovely to gather with my other board members and new-to-me people as well. While Dr. Beth lit the candles and we all sang. I read a section from the Sha’ar Zahav Siddur (prayerbook) about twilight. It was a beautiful night to talk about opening ourselves up to possibilities that the Convention and us all together might bring.
I attended one presentation by Julie Hirschfeld, Ph.D. of the Jewish Resilience Initiative speaking about Religious and Spiritual Competencies for Outpatient Practice (Permalink: https://www.xcdsystem.com/apa/program/FbFMGhZ/index.cfm?pgid=1923&sid=48506) . The several of us there ranged from graduate students to midcareer professionals. The case study was fascinating to hear as well. It was a smaller crowd and the material and the speaker really drew her audience in and helped us learn how to recognize and discuss religion and spirituality as part of our case conceptualizations. When I saw some attendees throughout the rest of the convention, we always waved or stopped to chat. It felt like there was a camaraderie amongst these people who I had never met before the presentation. I loved it. I had many meetings like that. I met people at lunch or at other presentations or even at the airport on the way home. Although I was extremely drained when we returned back home, I was also energized by the connections I had found and co-created.
EMDR
The next conference I’m going to is the mid-September, EMDRIA Conference 2025 in Anaheim, CA. According to EMDRIA’s website (https://emdriaconference.com/ ), it is the largest gathering of EMDR therapists in the United States. Unlike the APA Convention, it is only available in person. While the in person option sounds somewhat feasible for me, as it is only a few hours away from my home, I wonder who it leaves out. The in person format really doesn’t allow for protecting immunocompromised people or those who don’t want to fork over more money on hotels or the like to make it to another conference, let alone those who are concerned about flying into an airport and facing TSA. (Yes, even in California, it can be frightening to be a trans person and worry that one’s body isn’t going to match up with how the agent perceives what a specifically gendered body will look like.) All that said, I’m going and I'm pretty excited. I love helping clients get through their pain using EMDR and I want to learn as much as I can during the conference. Some topics include: working with anxiety; sleep; queering EMDR therapy (I’m especially excited to attend this one and meet some folks who I’ve only met online who often also work with trans people!); working with OCD and PTSD; Disordered Eating; Treatment planning; Integrating the body into EMDR (which I so love to do and want to learn even more about); working with parents whose kids are utilizing EMDR, and so so much more!!! The more I read about the topics and watch the mini videos they have about the topics, I’m getting more and more jazzed about the whole experience.
Teaching
I’ve also started teaching again. While I have a home study continuing education course available about working with trans people, I’m also adjuncting in the Nursing Department at the University of San Diego, San Diego, CA. I’m learning how to best teach doctoral students in the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program. I’ll be teaching on LGBTQ+ mental health and communication and group psychotherapy and help in their skills training and exam simulation activities. I can’t wait to put my knowledge to use in supporting doctoral students.
Clinicians
While we at Waves are always learning how to be better: better teachers, students, and clinicians, we are proud to be clinical psychologists, those who work with clients directly. As such, we have clinical availability to work with clients and help them through their pain and out the other side.
We are LGBTQI+ centered clinicians. We support and have experience in working with poly and kinky people too. We adore working with high schoolers, college students, graduate students, clinicians and professionals, and older adults. Perinatal clients and grieving clients alike.
To schedule an appointment to see either Dr. Camilla Williams (she) or myself, Dr. Abi Weissman (they/she), please click here and sign up as a new client (or a returning one if you’ve worked with us before).
If you have any questions, please text us at 619-403-5578. You can also call us at 619-403-5578 and leave a message and we’ll be sure to get back to you. If you are more of an email person, you are welcome to email us at office@wavespsych.com . Please leave your name and number in the email as well as we want to be able to find you amongst the spam.
Both Dr. Williams and Dr. Weissman have virtual sessions and Dr. Weissman works with people in person too as appropriate. We do ask that you are vaccinated should you want to work in person.
We can’t wait to connect. Happy Fall!
Abi Weissman, Psychologist and Founder of Waves, A Psych Co
Other Services Offered With Waves, A Psych Co
We at Waves are happy to support Californians with LGBTQI+ centered therapy services. We listen closely and we don’t shy away from the tough topics. We are kink and polyamory - affirming. We have appointments and can’t wait to fill them with people interested in making their lives better - however that looks like for each person. We provide individualized care as each person has different needs. We have LGBTQI+ - centered mental health care and provide EMDR, talk therapy, and somatic therapy (Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy). We work with people 11 years old and up and love our work. If you want to feel better today, please schedule a 15 minute free consultation with us.
