My name is Linita Morris. In July 2017 I moved to Sacramento from Southern California with my husband and three children. I hold a BA in Psychology from Cal Poly Pomona and a MA in Clinical Psychology from Azusa Pacific University. I have over 18 years of experience working with children and families. As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I have provided direct service to couples, children, families and adults. I have served as Clinical Supervisor,Behavioral Health Consultant, and as an Adjunct Faculty member for Victor Valley College in Victorville, CA.

President-Elect

Candidate - Dr. La Tanya Takla, EdD, LMFT

I proudly became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in 2010.  I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area where I became licensed and started a private practice.  I relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2016 and began my journey in creating community by starting a private practice in Sacramento.  I am currently the Director of Spark Center’s Inclusive Mental Health Initiative.  In addition to providing therapy services, my role is to support our organization's effort to promote therapeutic environments that foster cultural awareness and promotes inclusivity within our community.  Since the start of my career as an LMFT I have provided clinical case management and psychotherapy services to children, individuals and families in both the public and private sectors.  I have worked for various Human Services Agencies within Child Welfare, County Behavioral Health Services, and multiple non-profits.  In 2015 I became a CAMFT certified supervisor and have provided clinical consultation and supervision to trainees and interns since 2012.  In 2018 I completed an Education Doctorate Degree in Counseling Psychology in which my research was primarily focused on cross-cultural supervision.   In the last decade, I have served on several committees within professional boards.  I have served a chair as well as a committee member for the AAMFT Elections Committee during a three-year term.  I have also served a three-year term as a board member for Beyond Emancipation, an organization that serves foster youth in Alameda County.    I enjoy my work and roles as a clinician, consultant, and clinical supervisor.  Considering the high level of engagement that our professional lives bring, promoting self-care is a value I take to heart.  I regularly enjoy communing with nature, engaging in cultural song, dance, and poetry writing.   I am honored to have the opportunity to continue in the spirit of services to SVC-CAMFT.  

Secretary

Candidate - Marianna Jakucska, LMFT

Marianna Jakucska has been a licensed marriage and family therapist since December 2014. She got her Bachelor of Arts degree at San Francisco State University in Psychology and her two minor focus-of-interest in Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies. She received her Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, CA. She is originally from Hungary and she finished her high school education there. She moved to the U.S. in 1993, lived in New York, then moved to the East Bay, California in 2003. She has been a Sacramento resident since 2015.

Marianna worked at Alameda County Crisis Support Services in Oakland and counseled many people who called the crisis hotline. She acted as a milieu counselor for adults using substances at New Bridge Foundation in Berkeley. In Sacramento, she was employed by WellSpace Health and provided much-needed trauma counseling to children, young adults and their caregivers as well as to parents who were mandated to counseling by CPS. She also provided therapy at Lions Heart Counseling. Since February of this year, she is in her private practice full time.

Next year? Marianna is aiming for the Secretary position at SVC-CAMFT to give back to the Community that has provided so much support to her. While developing her private practice with a focus on coaxing creative thinking from her clients, that integrates the intuitive and symbolic language of emotions and the critical, questioning language of reason, she hopes she has gained enough wit to fulfill this position to benefit the Sacramento therapist community.

Treasurer

Candidate - Merrett Sheridan, LMFT

Licensed in 2010 I have worked predominantly in residential and acute care settings. I am passionate about improving the lives of those struggling with mental illness and complex trauma. I re-located from the Bay Area to Sacramento in Jan. 2017 and currently serve members as Behavioral Health Liaison for Aetna Better Health of CA, a Medi-Cal program. I also have a strong interest in Positive Psychology and the study of Happiness. I have developed a menu of experiential activities that I offer through the innovative concept of Happiness Parties (think Pampered Chef for the soul!). Finally, psychology is a second career for me, I have a background in accounting and continue to provide bookkeeping services to therapists. I enjoy the dovetailing of my two professions and this is also why I believe I am a good fit for the Treasurer position at SVC-CAMFT. I served as CFO for Santa Clara Valley CAMFT for almost 3 years and enjoyed that role very much. Being new to Sacramento, I opened my private practice last Spring and enjoy working with couples and individuals with a strengths-based approach.