Member Highlight — Shelley Horner, LMFT

Ella Armine Weiss, LMFT, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

When was the last time you got to know a colleague who is so caring and approachable that you can envision how her clients experience therapy? I had this delightful opportunity when I interviewed Ella Armine Weiss, LMFT, for our SFV-CAMFT Member Profile. Ella connects with people through her authentic interest in others. She has been licensed since 1989 so her experience as a therapist is substantial.

Ella currently works full-time at Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills and has a small part-time private practice (also in Woodland Hills). She has worked as psychotherapist at Kaiser for eighteen years. Last year (2017) Ella began studying EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and now uses it to help clients. She says that many clients at Kaiser have trauma so they can really benefit from EMDR. Ella mainly uses the movement of her fingers for bilateral stimulation of the brain and looks forward to mastering the pulsars that clients hold in their hands to provide a tactile bilateral stimulation. EMDR is one of the most effective somatic therapy techniques according the Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. (Author of the Body Keeps the Score and renowned psychiatrist at Boston College who studies trauma treatment).

Ella has an international background. She grew up in an Armenian family living in Kuwait because her father worked there as an engineer. Both her parents were from Beirut. When she was 16-years-old the family immigrated to the U.S. Ella attended boarding school where she became fluent in English. She later converted to Judaism.

After high school, Ella went to University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree and completed her Master of Arts degree at California Graduate Institute (now known as the Chicago School of Professional Psychology) in Westwood. During her internship she became a lifetime member of CAMFT (1986) and gained experience at group homes and San Fernando Valley County Mental Health. After earning her license, Ella worked for MHN (Managed Health Network) for many years before taking her current psychotherapist position at Kaiser Permanente.

Ella is also a lifetime member of SFV-CAMFT. She likes the people she meets at our events. She appreciates the workshops and gets ideas about working with clients. Ella also enjoys catching up with colleagues she doesn’t see too often.

As therapists, Ella says “It’s important to find your interests and pursue them.” She takes inspiration from the book Rising Strong by Brene Brown. Ella enjoys needlepoint, hiking, going out with friends and being part of a book club. Ella is also busy caring for her teenage daughter. Ella is an inspiration for all of us to work hard, keep learning, and take time to enjoy life!

If you would like to contact Ella Armine Weiss, LMFT, you can email, Ellaarmineweiss@gmail.com or call her at 818.675.0713.

Shelley Horner, LMFT enjoys writing the our Member Profile section since she likes getting to know her colleagues in depth. She is an actress, speaker and therapist.

Shelley has had a private practice for more than twenty years. She assists adults, children, and teens as well as facilitates parent groups in her office in Calabasas. She also does consultation and training of employees through Employee Assistance Programs at various organizations and colleges.