Here We Are

Photos by Even Keel Imagery

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”

— Maya Angelou

Hello, Dressember. We have arrived.

Every year the women of MHT band together to use our feminine power and fashionable prowess to raise awareness and funds for the Dressember Foundation and for issues impacting the inherent dignity of women, specifically, women vulnerable to sexual exploitation and trafficking. This year we decided to expand our impact and our fundraising goal. We wanted to dig even deeper; to utilize our creative energy, personal stories and style, to inspire you, educate you, and possibly move you to give.

Given that this has been both a difficult and empowering year for women, we wanted to use our creativity, presence, and voice to continue to challenge the boundaries of how women are defined. Enter MHT's Women Are campaign. In December, as we are raising money for the Dressember Foundation, you will hear from each our clinicians on just what they think WOMEN ARE.

In addition, our team has upped our fundraising goal to $6000. I'm sweating just thinking about it. But then again, with this group of mighty women, what's to fear? Follow along and help us smash our goals!

Why?

Because the issue of human and sex trafficking is both a pervasive and deeply local issue. California and specifically, Los Angeles County, houses the largest foster care system in the US. In 2012, studies estimate that between 50 and 80 percent of commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) in California are or were formally involved with the child welfare system. 58% of 72 sexually trafficked girls in Los Angeles County’s STARS Court in 2012 were foster care kids. This is an issue deeply personal to me as adoptive parent, as a foster/adoption professional, and as a female business owner in Los Angeles. I'm grateful to be teaming with the strong-minded women of MHT to do something about it.

Here's how you can participate:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. Of course, we will be documenting our fierce fashion choices but our deepest intention is to empower and educate. We will be resurrecting our #badasswomenofhistory series on Instagram. We are also starting a new series called “Women Are” where you will hear from some of our therapists who participated in a photo shoot embodying the statement "Women Are...". Personally, I found this to be such a deeply intimate and inspiring project to work on with my team. We really hope you enjoy.

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising campaign page.

Here’s to another year of fierce fashion and deep musings from badass women getting the job done. Let’s do this!

-Michelle

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Michelle Harwell, PsyD, LMFT is an expert trainer, respected speaker, and licensed therapist in trauma and attachment. She is noted for her specialization in areas of development, attachment, trauma, and neuroscience, and her ability to communicate complex topics with clarity and humor. 

Women of Style: Anais Nin

“It’s all right for a woman to be, above all, human. I am a woman first of all”

— Anaïs Nin

I have a complex relationship with my closet. It's a place that greets me each morning with the question, "Who will you be today?" It's a somber and celebratory catalogue of the many selves I have lived and hoped to live (maybe still secretly hope to return to). It's filled with greatest hits and one hit wonders alike. As women, I think our closet evokes a complex conversation with ourselves, a dialogue with the multitude of women that live inside.

This is what I like most about Anaïs Nin. Her writing gives you a front row seat to the fullness and complexity of the feminine internal life. While Nin published an array of fiction and poetry throughout her career, it is really the extensive diaries that she kept for over 40 years that best display her artistry.

Her diaries are complicated and controversial, even paradoxical which, to me, makes her all the more compelling and real. I think she was a woman determined to live her own life and to understand it as it emerges. I think it is a strong act to engage in the journey to know thyself and to lend that journey to others to witness and be inspired by. Now that’s style.

“I don’t really want to become normal, average, standard. I want merely to gain in strength, in the courage to live out my life more fully, enjoy more, experience more. I want to develop even more original and more unconventional traits.”

— Anaïs Nin

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Dr. Michelle Harwell, PsyD, LMFT is an expert trainer, respected speaker, and licensed therapist in trauma and attachment. She is noted for her specialization in areas of development, attachment, trauma, and neuroscience, and her ability to communicate complex topics with clarity and humor. Michelle completed her PhD in Psychoanalysis from The Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. She received her BA in English Literature from University of Oklahoma, MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology.

Women of Style: My Grandmother

“It wasn’t about owning the best but presenting your best.”

My grandmother’s sense of style represented her consistency and strength. She was always well put together, rarely casual and never disheveled.  For my grandmother, being well-groomed was a matter of respect for self and others - it wasn't about owning the best but presenting your best. Presentation included etiquette - be timely, understand which fork to use, and how to make a proper cup of tea. She was gracious and kind - not pretentious or flashy. 

My grandmother had classic taste and chose quality items to be enjoyed for several years.  Her wardrobe reflected her belief of valuing and caring for what you own. Instead of accumulating, she tailored, mended, and accessorized. When I see pictures of my grandmother from the forties, I am reminded that details and quality matter and that simple, elegant clothing with clean, feminine lines can be both beautiful and powerful. I am also reminded to sit up straight and that everything is better with a cup of tea!

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Laura MacRae-Serpa, LMFT, CCLS has special interests in supporting children and families navigating adoption and the challenges of chronic illness.

Women of Style: My Aunt Mia

Who: Maternal Aunt - Mia Evans

Wear: Style - Eclectic 70's; mix of the androgyny of Annie Hall, the glamour of Bianca Jagger, and the all-american classic of Lauren Hutton.

Why: My aunt Mia: a woman both of and before her time. A forward thinking feminist, classically trained harpist, ambitious lawyer, loving aunt and mother of Pugs. She is the kind of person that has always sparked my curiosity - so transparent and direct, yet full of quirks, stories, and talents that she alone could be the muse to spawn dozens of literary characters. To me, she is this shining example of how a modern woman can be so many things (and wear so many hats), while still maintaining her individuality and stand in it without pretense or explanation. 

Her clothes reflect this to a "T." She's always polished and put together, but in the kind of way you know it didn't take her more than 10 minutes to get ready because while she cares how she looks, vanity comes second to comfort and necessity. Pairing classic elements of style (like a beige trench coat or clean cotton blouse) with more distinctive and/or whimsical flare (à la red woven platform clogs and kitschy handmade jewelry she bought in some bizarre half way around the world), she always curates a balanced ensemble that at first glance feels chic, serious and sophisticated but upon a second inspection you realized it belies the humble levity of a woman that knows she has her shit together so she doesn't take herself too seriously. 

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Lauren Ziel, MSW is a Registered Associate Clinical Social Worker, ASW #76483, working under the supervision of Vanessa Spooner, PsyD. Through the use of movement and mindfulness, Lauren develops specialized treatment for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, challenges in life-stage transitions, relational difficulties, and identity/intrapersonal development.

Women of Style: Frida Kahlo

“Kahlo remained curious about herself; often magically constructing her life with a brush”

Frida Kahlo is an icon. For me, she’s the embodiment of a powerful, fearless woman. Her unique self-portraits and works that depicted national struggle in Mexico have captivated audiences across the world. She was unafraid to mix fantasy and reality – and to express her vulnerability as a human being through her art.

Kahlo has profoundly affected so many threads of my life, including my own artistic expression and understanding of personal struggle. When I was a teenager, Kahlo’s surrealist style first spoke to me. I was enthralled by the paintings of her dreams, and I imagined how much courage it took for her to bring the unconscious to the surface. To this day, I am inspired by her open stance toward a full range of emotional experience.

Kahlo has also influenced my ideas about what it means to be a woman. She personified confidence and sensuality - not with nudity; rather by her strength and state of being “in between” femininity and masculinity. She modeled how one could live authentically and not conform to societal pressures.

As a “Woman of Style,” Kahlo often wore European and indigenous Mexican dresses, the details of which appeared in her artwork. The cultural dualism running through her own life experience is what made her an unforgettable artist.

Finally, Kahlo remained curious about herself; often magically constructing her life with a brush. As a Latina art therapist, I have learned how powerful it can be to stay in the metaphor of life and self expression through color, texture, fantasy, and culture. And I have learned that pain is a subjective reality in us all. She is my muse in so many ways – inspiring me to push the boundaries of self identity in a culturally dynamic and colorful way.

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Maria Elena Marquez, MA, is a bilingual Spanish-English Marriage and Family Therapist Intern, IMF #103470, working under the supervision of Michelle Harwell, PsyD, LMFT.  As an art therapist, Maria is passionate about helping clients unravel complex cultural beliefs and family pressures through the use of expressive art.

Women of Style: Frida Kahlo

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.”

— Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was a woman who endured - physical pain, gender discrimination, heartache, family dysfunction, and civil war. She is perhaps most known for her evocative self-portraits and tumultuous marriage to Diego Rivera, but it is her fierce spirit that connected me to her years ago. As a fellow woman who has endured, I found deep strength in Frida's story. 

It is said that for Frida's first exhibition in Mexico she was ordered by her doctor to stay in bed due to severe illness. She was devastated at the prospect of missing the first show in her home country, so she had herself driven to her exhibition in an ambulance and carried in on her signature bed. As someone who has experienced limitations, it is easy to succumb to barriers and setbacks, but Frida reminds me to transcend my limitations and to engage my pain and allow it to radically change me. 

Frida's story is not one with a happy ending, nor is it a blue print for emotion regulation and containment, but rather it reveals an authentically messy human who fought for her dreams. Frida was unabashedly Frida, and her fierce endurance serves as a reminder to me to courageously persevere. 

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Abigail (Abby) Wambaugh, M.S., is a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern, IMF #94231, working under the professional supervision of Michelle Harwell, Psy.D., MFT 50732. She specializes in treating relationship difficulties, trauma, and sexual issues.

Women of Style: Two Fridas

Frida Kahlo has made a significant impact on both Abby Wambaugh and Maria Elena Marquez, two of our therapists here at MHT. So, we thought: Why not have two Fridas, as in her famous painting, in our Women of Style series!? 

The whole team at MHT was not only floored by the photographic results but inspired by the conversation and collaboration that emerged from these two women coming together to celebrate a very special Woman of Style.  

Each therapist has their own take on why Frida Kahlo is inspiring in style and in spirit. Check out Abby's piece here and Maria Elena's here. 

The Two Fridas/Las dos Fridas (1939) by Frida Kahlo

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Dr. Michelle Harwell, PsyD, LMFT is an expert trainer, respected speaker, and licensed therapist in trauma and attachment. She is noted for her specialization in areas of development, attachment, trauma, and neuroscience, and her ability to communicate complex topics with clarity and humor. Michelle completed her PhD in Psychoanalysis from The Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. She received her BA in English Literature from University of Oklahoma, MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology.

Women of Style: Louise Brooks

“A well dressed woman, even though her purse is painfully empty, can conquer the world.”

— Louise Brooks

I can’t exactly recall when I developed my penchant for all things 1920s, but I know that falling in love with silent movies in my late teens sealed the deal. A big part of the charm was Louise Brooks. I adored her look - bobbed haircut (also described as a black helmet), enigmatic expressions, dark eyes, and elegant dresses. And like any good fan, I wanted to know everything about her. What I found (and rediscovered in embodying her for this project) was a multifaceted woman and a feminist ahead of her time.

Never really considered a major star in her day, Brooks is now most famous for her lead roles in Pandora’s Box (1929) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929). In these films, Brooks epitomized the flapper style on screen. This style was emblematic of the “New Woman” of the 1920s that pushed gender roles and shed the restrictive laces, corsets, and hoops that dominated women’s fashion at the time. 

Not only was Brooks radical in dress, but she was unafraid to cross powerful men in Hollywood - turning down deals with major studios to live and work in Germany. Moreover, her acting approach and choice of projects marked a trailblazer spirit. Brooks was a pioneer of naturalistic acting, predating Marlon Brando and James Dean by decades. Her portrayal of female sexuality on screen also pushed boundaries. In Pandora’s Box, she played one of cinema’s first bisexual characters. Off-screen, she had multiple romances with directors and co-stars, Charlie Chaplin and supposedly Greta Garbo included. 

By the time Brooks was in her mid-twenties, her movie career was already over. Despite her youth while active in front of the camera, she defied the stereotype of the naïve ingenue. Rather, she was noted for her fierce intelligence, which I so respect. She reportedly read the work of Schopenhauer on set (this tidbit gets me chuckling). Her 1982 memoir Lulu in Hollywood also revealed a mind and voice that could understand and articulate the language of film on par with the most celebrated critics.

I thoroughly admire her different-ness and complicated nature. A trailblazer. An underdog. A sex symbol. An intellectual. A style icon. A woman comprised of many parts - both messily human and otherworldly in her own way. Henri Langlois, one of the founders of the La Cinémathèque française, famously said, "There is no Garbo, there is no Dietrich, there is only Louise Brooks.” I couldn’t agree more.

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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN DRESSEMBER WITH US:

Give! Visit our Dressember page and make a donation. It's that simple and no sum is too small. Truly.

Follow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and our blog throughout the month of December. 

Share!  Help us spread the word. You can do this by sharing our social media posts or links to our Dressember fundraising page.

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Taz Morgan, MA, is a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern, IMF #99714, working under the supervision of Vanessa Spooner, PsyD. She has trained in Depth-oriented psychotherapy and works with adolescents, adults, and couples. 

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