Jenner Bishop

Marriage & Family Therapist MFC 43846

AB1775 goes to California Supreme Court!

For those of you following the appeal of CA Assembly Bill 1775, all hope is not lost …

The California Supreme Court has granted review of the petition for yet another appeal regarding AB1775! This can only be good news, as the Supreme Court typically receives about 4,000 petitions per year and only grants about 60.

Lead attorney Mark Hardiman explained that the Supreme Court granting this petition means they will hear an appeal to the Court of Appeals’ decision on Mathews et al v. Kamala Harris. This typically means that the Supreme Court believes the Court of Appeals decided the case incorrectly, in whole or in part. Hardiman adds, “That does not, however, necessarily mean the Supreme Court agrees with our interpretation of the law.”

To check out the series of court documents, see specific links below. Countless hours have been spent researching, preparing, filing, appealing …

There have been significant fees and expenses in fighting AB1775. If you are so inclined or inspired, I know the folks who have committed their time and resources to this cause would immensely appreciate any contribution!

Please click here to contribute: GoFundMe/StopAB1775
(FYI: It’s possible to contribute anonymously)

I will report back with the outcome. Stay tuned!

LEGAL/COURT DOCUMENTS

  1. AB1775: Melendez. Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act: Sexual Abuse)
  2. Lawsuit filed against AB1775 (Don L Mathews et al v. Kamala Harris)
  3. Court of Appeals Decision
  4. California Judge Michael Stern’s Decision on the Demurrers
  5. Petition for Review to California Supreme Court

 

Nature, Nurture or Both?

familyhistorysexaddictIOP_225pxlsWe talk a lot in treatment about compulsive behaviors functioning as self-soothing mechanisms. In the 5-Day Intensive Outpatient Program, we often construct a genogram of each participant’s family history. Invariably, someone will say “Yeah, whatever. I don’t want to waste time blaming my parents for my being a sex addict.”

It’s always tough at this juncture. As clinicians, we want clients to accept responsibility for choices made. Yet we also want to present some explanations (not justifications and not excuses!) for how these coping mechanisms might have come into being: What emotionally dysregulating material is present, and how does sexually compulsive behavior obliterate those intolerable feelings?

Recent findings in epigenetics are fascinating to those of us working in the addiction field. [Read more…]

AB1775: Affected Client Speaks Out

StopSign_StopAB1775_500x500

Here’s an example of why AB1775 is a terrible and ill-conceived law. If you’re not worried about the erosion of client confidentiality, then you’re not paying attention.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am the client directly affected by AB1775. I’m terrified to write this letter, but hope maybe I can express the grave mistake and consequences of AB1775.

I was born in the early 1980s and hit my pre-teen years when the Internet was becoming a sensation. Before the internet, I discovered porn like most others at that time: through magazines hidden under my father’s bed and garbled cable-tv channels. For whatever reason—biological, environmental or both—I developed a compulsive need to view pornography as a means of soothing my unpleasant feelings.

Around 11 or 12 years old, when the new computer came home, it took almost no time for my brother and I to discover Internet chat rooms where people exchanged pornography. [Read more…]