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Meet Our Board of Directors


PresidentJennifer Fang Brehm, LCMFT

Jennifer (she/her) was born in Southwestern China and grew up in central Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies with Honors at Pennsylvania State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Jennifer moved in 2008 for graduate school at University of Maryland’s Couple and Family Therapy program and was awarded Family Science Department Fellowships. After graduating, she worked at group practices in Baltimore County and Montgomery County and taught graduate courses in Human Development and Group Therapy in Washington, D.C. Currently, she is the Owner and Principal Psychotherapist at J. Fang Brehm and Associates in Silver Spring, MD.

Some of her areas of specialization include couple’s communication skills, conflict resolution, building trust, anxiety/depression, grief, intercultural couples, parenting, and facilitating life transitions. Jennifer is certified in play therapy as well as trauma narrative therapy. Her preferred therapeutic frameworks are CBT, DBT, EFT, and Solutions Focused therapy. She also intends on becoming certified in IFS. Jennifer speaks fluent Mandarin and offers therapy sessions in both Mandarin and English.

What Jennifer likes about licensure as an MFT is viewing problems and solutions through a contextual, pragmatic, multi-systems lens at the intersection of personal development, biology, interpersonal relationships, community, social structures/norms, and spirituality.

Jennifer’s favorite parts of her work are being able to witness and promote positive growth in individuals and family systems as well as professional development in her colleagues. She values learning from and working with a variety of people across ages, life stages, classes, family compositions, racial and gender identities, ethnicities, spiritual beliefs, and political ideologies.

Jennifer was an AAMFT Clinical Fellow from 2012-2017, then a Founding Member of Metro MFT. She served first as Treasurer from 2018-2019, and then as Vice President from 2020-2022.

Jennifer’s priorities in her term as President is to Advocate to state legislators for our MFT licensure portability with neighboring states. Expand MFT professional community by identifying and removing barriers to membership and highlighting and connecting to each others’ clinical specialties and expertise.

Fun Facts About Jennifer:

Her goal is to travel to all 7 continents. She has traveled to 5 continents so far for tourism, studying abroad, visiting extended family, and short term humanitarian work.

She would like to incorporate her and her husband’s love of ballroom dancing with couple’s therapy workshops.


If you need to reach Jennifer, you can find her here:

Website: http://www.jfbtherapy.com

LinkedIn: Jennifer Fang Brehm

E-mail: Jennifer@jfbtherapy.com


Vice President Martha Rackets, PhD, LMFT

Dr. Rackets (she/her) has experience providing therapy services to individuals, couples, and families across various levels of care and community settings, including couples therapy private practice, hospital settings, detox, residential, and intensive outpatient settings. She specializes in dual-diagnosis and trauma treatment, using evidence-based and trauma-informed practices.

Martha has worked in a variety of positions including Clinical Director and Executive Director of treatment programs. She is currently the Executive Director at Encore Outpatient Services located in Arlington, VA and also maintains a small couples therapy private practice with the Well Marriage Center.

She completed a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and her doctoral degree in Family Sciences at the University of Kentucky.

She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Virginia and Maryland, and is also a board-approved supervisor in both states. Martha has also completed the AAMFT Leadership Program.

Martha is excited to act as the Vice President of MetroMFT and her goal for her term is to expand the membership across Virginia and DC to better connect members of our profession across the entire region. She also aims to contribute to ongoing systems-focused continuing education and training opportunities for systems therapists in the area.

Fun facts about Martha:

She enjoys taking care of an ever-growing houseplant collection

She loves creating hygge (i.e. cozy) space and experiences in her home and with her family

If you need to reach Martha, you can find her here:

Email: mrackets@encorerecovery.com

Website: https://encorerecovery.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-rackets-phd-lmft/



 


Treasurer Lauren A. Messina, PhD, LCMFT, DipACLM

Lauren’s (she/her) career has always focused on improving relationship health. Currently, she works at Evergreen Child & Family Therapy, which she co-owns with Jessica (Metro MFT’s Advocacy Officer). Here, Lauren enjoys working with parents, families, kids and teens, couples and adults – basically anyone she feels like she can help! She seeks to improve relational resilience, approaches mental healthcare from a whole-person perspective, and works with folks to break unhealthy intergenerational patterns. Lauren is also particularly interested in mental health during the perinatal period and helping couples transition to parenthood. Lauren has been licensed since 2010 and provides therapy services to Maryland and Virginia residents.

Lauren is the past Director of Education at the Consortium for Health and Military Performance, where she still serves as a Senior Scientist. Here she uses her subject matter expertise in relational health, family well-being, social connection, and behavior change to contribute to military health education projects.

Dr. Messina is an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine and the College of Allied Health Sciences at the Uniformed Services University. She is a Diplomate with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and a certified Health and Well-being Coach by  Wellcoaches ®. Lauren is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she received her MS in Couple and Family Therapy and a PhD in Family Science from the School of Public Health.

As Treasurer, Lauren works to protect the fiscal health of MetroMFT and to ensure the organization is good stewards of its membership dues and events income.

Fun facts about Lauren:

After telling herself for about 30 years she ‘wasn’t a runner’ Lauren bought a treadmill and started running. She’s been going for 2 years strong now and can sometimes convince herself she is a runner now.

Lauren recently purchased a “Passport to the National Parks” book and set a goal with her 2 kids to visit a few parks a year.

To reach Lauren:

Email: Lauren@evergreenchildandfamilytherapy
Website: www.evergreenchildandfamilytherapy.com
www.laurenmessina.com


SecretaryLiann Seiter, LCMFT

Liann (she/her) grew up in Tempe, AZ. She graduated from the University of Maryland Couple and Family Therapy program in 2018. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in marriage, family, and human development and master’s degree in Sociology from Brigham Young University.

 
Liann works with children, adolescents, individuals, couples, and families in her private practice, Aligned Family Therapy. She enjoys teaching and mentoring the UMD Couple and Family Therapy graduate students as an adjunct faculty and AAMFT Approved Supervisor.

As Secretary, Liann’s main priority is to keep members informed. She documents key topics during monthly board meetings. Liann’s goal is to help the organization stay organized and be transparent with members.

Fun Facts about Liann:
• She has been trained and worked as a yoga teacher, massage therapist, and birth doula
• She loves playing complicated board games

If you need to reach Liann, you can find her here:
Email: mailto:liann@alignedfamilytherapy.com
Website: http://www.alignedfamilytherapy.com


Advocacy Officer – Jessica Brenneman, LCMFT

Jessica has worked in the mental health field since 2007, always with a focus on children and families. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 2010 with a degree in Couple and Family Therapy. Jessica has worked in a partial hospital program, clinics, in-homes, and in private practice both in person and virtually. She has been fully licensed since 2012 and has held licenses in Delaware and North Carolina. Jessica has a certificate from the University of Maryland in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and a certificate from Georgetown University in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. She is a board approved supervisor for master’s level therapists in Maryland. Jessica has attended trainings in Sandplay, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), Theraplay, Child Centered Play, Filial Therapy, and Structural Family Therapy. Jessica specializes in providing mental health support to young children. Jessica has extensive experience working with children who have intense behaviors, anxiety disorders, parenting troubles, and trauma.

As advocacy officer, Jessica is committed to working to advance the standing of MFTs in the mental health field. She is also interested in helping to keep our network informed regarding legislation that impacts the lives and wellness of our clients.

Fun facts about Jessica:

She really, really wanted to go to culinary school but chickened out! She instead uses her passion for cooking and food as a way to connect with friends and family.
After 20 years as a yoga student, Jessica recently obtained her 200 hour yoga teacher training!

If you need to reach Jessica, you can find her here:

Website: https://evergreenchildandfamilytherapy.com/

Email: Jessica@evergreenchildandfamilytherapy.com


Operations Officer – Currently vacant



Member-At-Large – Brian Livelsberger, LCMFT

I am one of those people who entered the field as a way to explore for truth and meaning in life. I intended my degree to be a tangential means of supporting a related career path, but I found my relationships with peers and clients so compelling that I never left. I received my MFT degree from the University of Maryland in 2006, then worked for two years at an outpatient mental health clinic. After that I spent nine years specializing in couples at a military treatment facility before moving to the private sector. With the pandemic, I started my own online practice, and haven’t looked back – working from home has allowed me to offer additional scheduling flexibility to clients, without sacrificing the ability to be with my own family between appointments. Along the way I added the credential of MFT supervisor, and have supervised off and on at my alma mater, an activity I continue to find incredibly rewarding whenever I have the bandwidth to fit it in.

Marriage and Family Therapy continues to serve as a container for my search for truth and meaning. I enjoy devoting my continuing education time to in-depth trainings, and have done multi-day trainings in EFT, the Gottman method, Grief and Loss, various trauma protocols, and more. In 2013, I was introduced to Mindfulness, and every exploration I have done in this direction has whetted my appetite, rather than satiating it. As a result, in the fall of 2024 I began a year-long certificate program offered through the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the Barre School for Buddhist Studies. I have found it to be a fruitful and joyful exploration, continuing the impact that Mindfulness has had on how I show up as a father, husband, and therapist.

As Board Member At-Large, I am responsible for all member communications and act as point person between the membership and the organization. My goal in this role is to support the growth of our profession and the value that our organization brings to its members.

Fun facts about Brian:

When I’m not pondering the meaning of life or working with clients, I enjoy tinkering, being in nature (especially with family!), and everything that goes along with heating a house with wood.

If you need to reach me, you may find me at:

Email: Brian@BrianLivelsberger.com

Website: https://www.brianlivelsberger.com/

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Silver Spring, MD 20910

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