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REBECCA KUGA, LMFT, LPCCSeptember 4, 1961 - June 17, 2020
Retired - Youth Services Bureau Program Supervisor at San Rafael Police Department |
Rebecca Kuga dedicated her career to supporting young people and strengthening the connection between youth and law enforcement. Joining the San Rafael Police Department in 2006, she led the Youth Services Bureau for 13 years, providing counseling, diversion programs, and guidance for at-risk youth and their families. She also oversaw the training and supervision of countless interns as they pursued careers in counseling and social services.
Rebecca served on the Board of Directors of First Responders Support Network and volunteered her time and skills as a clinician to help traumatized first responders at retreats throughout the year.
Rebecca was perhaps best known for her leadership of Camp Chance, the department’s summer program that has offered more than 1,200 young people a safe, supportive, and transformative experience. Her commitment to the campers—along with her creativity, compassion, and steady presence—became the heart of the program and left a lasting imprint on generations of youth. Camp Chance was later renamed in Rebecca's honor to Camp Kuga.
A licensed marriage and family therapist, Rebecca brought deep empathy, humor, and authenticity to every relationship. She is remembered for her generosity, her unwavering advocacy for young people, and her ability to make everyone around her feel seen and supported. Her legacy continues through the many lives she touched and the program that now bears her name.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to Rebecca’s family, friends, colleagues, and all who were shaped by her remarkable spirit.
Rebecca served on the Board of Directors of First Responders Support Network and volunteered her time and skills as a clinician to help traumatized first responders at retreats throughout the year.
Rebecca was perhaps best known for her leadership of Camp Chance, the department’s summer program that has offered more than 1,200 young people a safe, supportive, and transformative experience. Her commitment to the campers—along with her creativity, compassion, and steady presence—became the heart of the program and left a lasting imprint on generations of youth. Camp Chance was later renamed in Rebecca's honor to Camp Kuga.
A licensed marriage and family therapist, Rebecca brought deep empathy, humor, and authenticity to every relationship. She is remembered for her generosity, her unwavering advocacy for young people, and her ability to make everyone around her feel seen and supported. Her legacy continues through the many lives she touched and the program that now bears her name.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to Rebecca’s family, friends, colleagues, and all who were shaped by her remarkable spirit.
Rebecca's Litany
"I am not my feelings. What I'm feeling will change. I am Beautiful, True and Divine. Sooooo, here's how it works: When a person, usually a young child, experiences a "Great Disappointment" i.e., not getting a need/want met in the moment, and are met with a "No', usually from a primary caregiver, the disappointment in not getting what he/she wants is internalized and creates the belief that "I must have done something really wrong to not get my need met, therefore I must be bad/broken/unloveable, etc...". This maladaptive epiphany messes with us. We experience feelings that we can't tolerate and we start to identify ourselves with those bad feelings. This is evidenced frequently by our language: "I AM sad", "I AM bad". The first step is healthy affect regulation is to teach the client to insert the word "feel" in those kinds of sentences. We're trying to create a distance between the person's feeling (sad, angry) from their true/essential self. "I am not my feelings." The next step is to teach the client that change is the only constant. Specifically, I may be feeling angry/sad in this moment, but come 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, 5 months, 5 years from now, I will feel differently. "What I am feeling will change". Duh... O.k., now for the third step. If I am not my feelings and what I'm feeling will change, then who am I? Well, in my psychospiritual belief system, we are all a part of the Divine creative force that organizes existence and experience. I am very clear: this is not a religious belief but a spiritual one and the client can define this Divine force in whatever way provided that they acknowledge and accept the fact that they are God. We all are. There is no externalized force running the show. We ALL have that force inside of us but we simply are unaware of its presence. Our job here on Earth-school is to reconnect with and become conscious of that presence. To that end, "I am Beautiful, True and Divine"."
"I am not my feelings. What I'm feeling will change. I am Beautiful, True and Divine. Sooooo, here's how it works: When a person, usually a young child, experiences a "Great Disappointment" i.e., not getting a need/want met in the moment, and are met with a "No', usually from a primary caregiver, the disappointment in not getting what he/she wants is internalized and creates the belief that "I must have done something really wrong to not get my need met, therefore I must be bad/broken/unloveable, etc...". This maladaptive epiphany messes with us. We experience feelings that we can't tolerate and we start to identify ourselves with those bad feelings. This is evidenced frequently by our language: "I AM sad", "I AM bad". The first step is healthy affect regulation is to teach the client to insert the word "feel" in those kinds of sentences. We're trying to create a distance between the person's feeling (sad, angry) from their true/essential self. "I am not my feelings." The next step is to teach the client that change is the only constant. Specifically, I may be feeling angry/sad in this moment, but come 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, 5 months, 5 years from now, I will feel differently. "What I am feeling will change". Duh... O.k., now for the third step. If I am not my feelings and what I'm feeling will change, then who am I? Well, in my psychospiritual belief system, we are all a part of the Divine creative force that organizes existence and experience. I am very clear: this is not a religious belief but a spiritual one and the client can define this Divine force in whatever way provided that they acknowledge and accept the fact that they are God. We all are. There is no externalized force running the show. We ALL have that force inside of us but we simply are unaware of its presence. Our job here on Earth-school is to reconnect with and become conscious of that presence. To that end, "I am Beautiful, True and Divine"."