Attendee Links

Innovations in Psychotherapy 2024

The Premier Trauma Therapy Conference

October 3-6 | Live in Anaheim, CA, and Online
Sponsored by:
Nadine Burke Harris

Nadine Burke Harris

Founder of Center for Youth Wellness & Former Surgeon General of California

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is an award-winning physician, researcher and public health leader who has spent her career on the front lines of some of our world’s most pressing public health challenges. As California’s first-ever Surgeon General, she helped guide the state’s COVID response, co-chairing the committee to recommend vaccine allocation and helping California achieve the lowest cumulative mortality of any large state. Amid the throes of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Burke Harris successfully launched a first-in-the-nation statewide effort to train over 20,000 primary care providers on how to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and respond with trauma-informed care.

Dr. Burke Harris’ career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable communities and combating the root causes of health disparities. After completing her MPH at Harvard and residency at Stanford, she founded a clinic in one of San Francisco’s most underserved communities, Bayview Hunters Point. It was there that Burke Harris identified Adverse Childhood Experiences as a major risk factor affecting the health of her patients and applied research from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente to develop a novel clinical screening protocol.

Bessel van der Kolk

Bessel van der Kolk

New York Times Bestselling Author of The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

Dr. van der Kolk and his various collaborators have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on such diverse topics as neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, Developmental Trauma, yoga, theater, and EMDR. 

He is founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and President of the Trauma Research Foundation, which promotes clinical, scientific, and educational projects. 

His 2014 #1 New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma, transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, somatically based therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, play, yoga, and other therapies.

Dr. van der Kolk is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. He regularly teaches at conferences, universities, and hospitals around the world.

Steven Hayes

Steven Hayes

Developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), best-selling author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life and Nevada Foundation Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and has developed ACT as a way of correcting these processes. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

His popular book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Timemagazine among several other major media outlets, and for a time was the number one best-selling self-help book in the United States.

Janina Fisher

Janina Fisher

World-Renowned Trauma Trainer and Expert

Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, a Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation, and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School. She’s the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma SurvivorsTransforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, and the Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart. 

Gabor Maté

Gabor Maté

Award-winning author, world-renowned trauma and addictions expert

Gabor Maté, M.D., C.M., is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of five books published in nearly 40 languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. For his ground-breaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. His most recent book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture is a New York Times and international bestseller.

Ramani Durvasula

Ramani Durvasula

The World's Most Highly Recognized Narcissism Expert

Dr. Ramani Durvasula the New York Times Best Selling Author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, CA, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and the Founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training & Consulting, a company focused on educating individuals, clinicians and businesses/institutions on the impact of narcissistic personality styles. She received her BA from the University of Connecticut, and her MA and Ph.D. from UCLA, and completed her clinical training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.  She is also the author of two other books focused on narcissism: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship with a Narcissist, and “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”: How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. Dr. Durvasula is a faculty member for the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, and a consulting editor for the journal Behavioral Medicine, and her academic research was focused on the impact of personality and personality disorders on health and behavior. She has spoken widely on the impact of narcissism on mental health, relationships and the workplace. She also operates a popular YouTube channel and podcast (Navigating Narcissism). Dr. Durvasula has also developed an educational and certification program for clinicians working with clients experiencing the fallout of narcissistic relationships.

Laurel Parnell

Laurel Parnell

Director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR

Laurel Parnell, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR. One of the world’s leading experts on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she is the originator of the EMDR-related therapies Attachment-Focused EMDR and Resource Tapping. Dr. Parnell has served on the faculty of the California Institute for Integral Studies and John F. Kennedy University. She is the author of several books and videos on EMDR, including, Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma, Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment, A Therapist’s Guide to EMDR and Tapping In. Dr. Parnell keynotes conferences, trains clinicians in EMDR, and teaches workshops internationally on Attachment-Focused EMDR, Rewiring the Addicted Brain and Resource Tapping. Learn more about Dr. Parnell at www.parnellemdr.com.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell maintains a private practice and is the director of the Parnell Institute, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Parnell receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell has no relevant non-financial relationships.

David Kessler

David Kessler

One of the World’s Foremost Experts on Grief

David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE, is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief. He’s the founder of Grief.com and author of six books, including Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He’s coauthored books with Elisabeth Kubler Ross and Louise Hay and leads grief certification programs for professionals and online groups for those in grief.    

Ruth Lanius

Ruth Lanius

World-leading Trauma Researcher and Instructor

Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Professor of Psychiatry, is the director of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research unit at the University of Western Ontario. She established the Traumatic Stress Service and the Traumatic Stress Service Workplace Program, services that specialize in the treatment and research of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related comorbid disorders. She currently holds the Harris-Woodman Chair in Mind-Body Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.

Her research interests focus on studying the neurobiology of PTSD and treatment outcome research examining various pharmacological and psychotherapeutic methods. She has authored more than 100 published papers and chapters in the field of traumatic stress and is currently funded by several federal funding agencies. She regularly lectures on the topic of PTSD nationally and internationally. She has recently published a book The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease with Eric Vermetten and Clare Pain.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius has employment relationships with Western University of Canada, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Health Care, University of Western Ontario, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, London Health Sciences Centre, Robarts Research Institute, and the Lawson Health Research Institute. She receives grants from the National Defence (Canada), the Academica Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario, the Trauma Research Foundation, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Dr. Lanius receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius is a fellow with the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a member of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. She is a journal reviewer for several publications, to see a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

Deb Dana

Deb Dana

Leading Polyvagal Informed Therapy Innovator

Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician, consultant, and author who’s well known for translating Polyvagal Theory into a language and application that’s both understandable and accessible. Her publications include The Polyvagal Theory in TherapyPolyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection, and Anchored. 

 Diane Poole Heller

 Diane Poole Heller

Trauma Resolution and Attachment Expert

Diane Poole Heller, PhD, is an internationally-recognized speaker, author, and expert in the field of attachment theory and trauma resolution. She developed a signature series on adult attachment called DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience), that facilitates more fulfilling adult relationships.

In 1989, she began working with Dr. Peter Levine, teaching for 25 years for SEI.

She’s authored 3 books: Crash Course, on auto accident trauma; Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep and Lasting Relationships; and The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships. Her film, “Surviving Columbine,” supported community healing after the Columbine High School shootings.


Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Diane Poole Heller has an employment relationship with Trauma Solutions. She is a published author and receives royalties. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Diane Poole has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Resmaa Menakem

Resmaa Menakem

Trainer, Speaker, and Bestselling Author of "My Grandmother’s Hands"

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP, is a Senior Fellow at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare where he has built an intensive training curriculum for staff on cultural somatics and racialized trauma.

He has served as director of counseling services for the Tubman Family Alliance; as behavioral health director for African American Family Services in Minneapolis; as a domestic violence counselor for Wilder Foundation; as a certified Military and Family Life Consultant for the US Armed Forces; as a trauma consultant for the Minneapolis Public Schools; and as a Cultural Somatics consultant for the Minneapolis Police Department.

As a Community Care Counselor, he managed the wellness and counseling services for civilians on fifty-three US military bases in Afghanistan.

Resmaa studied and trained at Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, as well as with Dr. David Schnarch (author of the bestselling Passionate Marriage).

He currently teaches workshops on Cultural Somatics for audiences of African Americans, European Americans, and police officers.

He is also a therapist in private practice.

Here's your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to master skills and access cutting-edge insight directly from the world's premier trauma experts

As a therapist on the frontlines of trauma healing, you’re always on the lookout for the next therapy breakthrough to free your clients from intense suffering.

That’s exactly why this conference was developed — to connect you with the world’s leading innovators, researchers, and clinicians who will equip you with today’s most effective skills to revolutionize your trauma treatment results.

Join us in beautiful Anaheim, CA, or online for four days of world-class instruction that provides the perfect blend of inspiring education with rest and rejuvenation!

You’ll master skills from the field’s most powerful approaches, including IFS Therapy, DBT, EMDR, ACT, Polyvagal-Informed Therapy, and more — in an intimate environment that’s perfect for learning and restoration.

Here’s just a sample of the incredible, rarely offered sessions you’ll experience at Innovations 2024:

  • Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General, on how ACEs screening has revolutionized trauma-informed care 
  • Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, on innovative treatments to transform trauma
  • Steven Hayes, co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, on healing suffering through the ACT approach
  • Gabor Maté, author of The Myth of Normal, on compassionate care for trauma and addiction survivors

Plus, groundbreaking workshops from Ramani Durvasula, David Kessler, Janina Fisher, Laurel Parnell, Resmaa Menakem, and dozens more of today’s leading trauma innovators!

Whether you’re looking for step-by-step guidance on exactly what to do and say in your next client session … or desperately looking to be refreshed and reconnected with your work …

Innovations 2024 is the place for you!

2024 Innovations in Psychotherapy

The Premier Trauma Therapy Conference

October 3-6, 2024

PLUS EARN UP TO A YEAR'S WORTH OF CE CREDITS (INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF REGISTRATION)

Join Live In Anaheim, CA

$859.99
$839.99 
USD
Includes:
  • 4-day live all-access pass
  • Meet face-to-face with the field's experts
  • Full access to the virtual platform
  • Earn Up to 20 CE hours with full conference pass and lunch event upgrades

Join Live Virtually

$499.99
$399.99 
USD
Includes:
  • 4-day live all-access pass
  • State-of-the-art online platform
  • Live interaction with the field's experts
  • Earn Up to 20 CE hours with full conference pass and lunch event upgrades
Can't Attend Live?
Click here for the complete conference recording package which include Self-Study CE!
Plus, your registration is 100% risk-free!
Cancel anytime, for any reason, and get a complete refund

2024 Featured Diamond Sponsor

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsors:
With a heavy heart, we're sharing that keynote speaker Sue Johnson passed away after a three-year battle with cancer. Sue was the developer of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples and Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), a longtime trainer for PESI and Psychotherapy Networker, and a dear friend to many on our staff. We are deeply saddened by her loss and grateful for all the opportunities we had to partner together.
2024 EXPERT FACULTY
Nadine Burke Harris
Founder of Center for Youth Wellness & Former Surgeon General of California
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Nadine Burke Harris

Founder of Center for Youth Wellness & Former Surgeon General of California

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is an award-winning physician, researcher and public health leader who has spent her career on the front lines of some of our world’s most pressing public health challenges. As California’s first-ever Surgeon General, she helped guide the state’s COVID response, co-chairing the committee to recommend vaccine allocation and helping California achieve the lowest cumulative mortality of any large state. Amid the throes of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Burke Harris successfully launched a first-in-the-nation statewide effort to train over 20,000 primary care providers on how to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and respond with trauma-informed care.

Dr. Burke Harris’ career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable communities and combating the root causes of health disparities. After completing her MPH at Harvard and residency at Stanford, she founded a clinic in one of San Francisco’s most underserved communities, Bayview Hunters Point. It was there that Burke Harris identified Adverse Childhood Experiences as a major risk factor affecting the health of her patients and applied research from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente to develop a novel clinical screening protocol.

Bessel van der Kolk
New York Times Bestselling Author of The Body Keeps the Score
More Information

Bessel van der Kolk

New York Times Bestselling Author of The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

Dr. van der Kolk and his various collaborators have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on such diverse topics as neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, Developmental Trauma, yoga, theater, and EMDR. 

He is founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and President of the Trauma Research Foundation, which promotes clinical, scientific, and educational projects. 

His 2014 #1 New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma, transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, somatically based therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, play, yoga, and other therapies.

Dr. van der Kolk is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. He regularly teaches at conferences, universities, and hospitals around the world.

Steven Hayes
Developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
More Information

Steven Hayes

Developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), best-selling author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life and Nevada Foundation Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and has developed ACT as a way of correcting these processes. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

His popular book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Timemagazine among several other major media outlets, and for a time was the number one best-selling self-help book in the United States.

Janina Fisher
World-Renowned Trauma Trainer and Expert
More Information

Janina Fisher

World-Renowned Trauma Trainer and Expert

Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, a Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation, and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School. She’s the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma SurvivorsTransforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, and the Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart. 

Gabor Maté
Award-winning author, world-renowned trauma and addictions expert
More Information

Gabor Maté

Award-winning author, world-renowned trauma and addictions expert

Gabor Maté, M.D., C.M., is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of five books published in nearly 40 languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. For his ground-breaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. His most recent book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture is a New York Times and international bestseller.

Ramani Durvasula
The World's Most Highly Recognized Narcissism Expert
More Information

Ramani Durvasula

The World's Most Highly Recognized Narcissism Expert

Dr. Ramani Durvasula the New York Times Best Selling Author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, CA, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and the Founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training & Consulting, a company focused on educating individuals, clinicians and businesses/institutions on the impact of narcissistic personality styles. She received her BA from the University of Connecticut, and her MA and Ph.D. from UCLA, and completed her clinical training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.  She is also the author of two other books focused on narcissism: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship with a Narcissist, and “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”: How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. Dr. Durvasula is a faculty member for the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, and a consulting editor for the journal Behavioral Medicine, and her academic research was focused on the impact of personality and personality disorders on health and behavior. She has spoken widely on the impact of narcissism on mental health, relationships and the workplace. She also operates a popular YouTube channel and podcast (Navigating Narcissism). Dr. Durvasula has also developed an educational and certification program for clinicians working with clients experiencing the fallout of narcissistic relationships.

Laurel Parnell
Director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR
More Information

Laurel Parnell

Director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR

Laurel Parnell, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR. One of the world’s leading experts on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she is the originator of the EMDR-related therapies Attachment-Focused EMDR and Resource Tapping. Dr. Parnell has served on the faculty of the California Institute for Integral Studies and John F. Kennedy University. She is the author of several books and videos on EMDR, including, Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma, Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment, A Therapist’s Guide to EMDR and Tapping In. Dr. Parnell keynotes conferences, trains clinicians in EMDR, and teaches workshops internationally on Attachment-Focused EMDR, Rewiring the Addicted Brain and Resource Tapping. Learn more about Dr. Parnell at www.parnellemdr.com.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell maintains a private practice and is the director of the Parnell Institute, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Parnell receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell has no relevant non-financial relationships.

David Kessler
One of the World’s Foremost Experts on Grief
More Information

David Kessler

One of the World’s Foremost Experts on Grief

David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE, is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief. He’s the founder of Grief.com and author of six books, including Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He’s coauthored books with Elisabeth Kubler Ross and Louise Hay and leads grief certification programs for professionals and online groups for those in grief.    

Alexandra Solomon
Couples, Dating, and Relationship expert
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Alexandra Solomon

Couples, Dating, and Relationship expert

Alexandra H. Solomon, PhD, is staff clinical psychologist, member of the teaching faculty in the marriage and family therapy graduate program, and clinical assistant professor of psychology at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. In addition to her clinical work with couples and individuals, Solomon teaches graduate and undergraduate students. One of her courses is Northwestern University’s internationally renowned “Building Loving and Lasting Relationships: Marriage 101,” which combines traditional and experiential learning to educate students about key relational issues like intimacy, sex, conflict, acceptance, and forgiveness. Solomon’s work has been widely cited, and her articles on love and marriage have appeared in The Handbook of Clinical Psychology, The Handbook of Couple Therapy, Family Process, Psychotherapy Networker, and other top publications in psychology. Her work also appears in O Magazine and The Huffington Post, and she is a frequent interviewee and contributor for the Oprah Winfrey Network, Yahoo! Health, The Atlantic, CBS Early Show, NPR, Psychology Today, and WGN Morning News. She is a sought-after speaker for corporate, collegiate, and professional audiences on topics related to modern love. Solomon lives in Highland Park, IL, with her husband, Todd, and their two children, Brian and Courtney.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Alexandra Solomon maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Northwestern University. She receives royalties as a published author and is the podcast host of Reimaging Love. Dr. Solomon receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Alexandra Solomon is a thought leader for Heleo, a founding expert for the Mine’d app, and an ambassador for The Relationship School. She is an ad hoc for several peer review journals, for a complete list contact PESI, Inc. Dr. Solomon is a member of the American Psychological Association, and the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

Ruth Lanius
World-leading Trauma Researcher and Instructor
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Ruth Lanius

World-leading Trauma Researcher and Instructor

Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Professor of Psychiatry, is the director of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research unit at the University of Western Ontario. She established the Traumatic Stress Service and the Traumatic Stress Service Workplace Program, services that specialize in the treatment and research of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related comorbid disorders. She currently holds the Harris-Woodman Chair in Mind-Body Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.

Her research interests focus on studying the neurobiology of PTSD and treatment outcome research examining various pharmacological and psychotherapeutic methods. She has authored more than 100 published papers and chapters in the field of traumatic stress and is currently funded by several federal funding agencies. She regularly lectures on the topic of PTSD nationally and internationally. She has recently published a book The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease with Eric Vermetten and Clare Pain.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius has employment relationships with Western University of Canada, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Health Care, University of Western Ontario, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, London Health Sciences Centre, Robarts Research Institute, and the Lawson Health Research Institute. She receives grants from the National Defence (Canada), the Academica Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario, the Trauma Research Foundation, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Dr. Lanius receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius is a fellow with the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a member of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. She is a journal reviewer for several publications, to see a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

Deb Dana
Leading Polyvagal Informed Therapy Innovator
More Information

Deb Dana

Leading Polyvagal Informed Therapy Innovator

Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician, consultant, and author who’s well known for translating Polyvagal Theory into a language and application that’s both understandable and accessible. Her publications include The Polyvagal Theory in TherapyPolyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection, and Anchored. 

 Diane Poole Heller
Trauma Resolution and Attachment Expert
More Information

 Diane Poole Heller

Trauma Resolution and Attachment Expert

Diane Poole Heller, PhD, is an internationally-recognized speaker, author, and expert in the field of attachment theory and trauma resolution. She developed a signature series on adult attachment called DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience), that facilitates more fulfilling adult relationships.

In 1989, she began working with Dr. Peter Levine, teaching for 25 years for SEI.

She’s authored 3 books: Crash Course, on auto accident trauma; Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep and Lasting Relationships; and The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships. Her film, “Surviving Columbine,” supported community healing after the Columbine High School shootings.


Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Diane Poole Heller has an employment relationship with Trauma Solutions. She is a published author and receives royalties. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Diane Poole has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Tammy Nelson
Founder of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute
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Tammy Nelson

Founder of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute

Tammy Nelson, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed psychotherapist, Board Certified Sexologist, Certified Sex Therapist, and Certified Imago Relationship Therapist. She has been a therapist for almost 30 years and is the executive director of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute. She started the institute to develop courses for psychotherapists as the need grew for certified, integrated postgraduate sex and couple’s therapists in a growing field of mental health consumers who need more complex interventions for their relationship needs.

Dr. Tammy is a TEDx speaker, Psychotherapy Networker Symposium speaker and the author of several books, including Getting the Sex You Want: Shed Your Inhibitions and Reach New Heights of Passion Together (Quiver, 2008) and the best-selling The New Monogamy: Redefining Your Relationship After Infidelity (New Harbinger, 2013), as well as When You’re the One Who Cheats: Ten Things You Need to Know (RL Publishing Corp., 2019) and Integrative Sex and Couples Therapy (PESI, 2020).

She has been a featured expert in New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Rolling Stone magazine, TIME Magazine, Redbook, Glamour, The Sun, and The London Times. She is the host of a popular podcast on iTunes, “The Trouble with Sex”, and writes for the Huffington Post, YourTango, ThriveGlobal, and medium.com. Dr. Tammy can be followed on her blog, www.drtammynelson.com/blog.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Tammy Nelson maintains a private practice and is executive director and primary faculty at Integrated Sex Therapy Training Institute (ISTI) and has an employment relationship with Daybreak University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc., and she additionally receives royalties from New Harbinger and Sounds True. She is a paid consultant for Evergreen Certifications. Dr. Nelson has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Tammy Nelson serves on the board of advisors for the World Association of Sex Coaches. She is a member of the American Art Therapy Association, American Association of Sex Educators, Sex Counselors, and Sex Therapists (AASECT), American Comprehensive Energy Psychology Association (ACEP), American Counseling Association, American Family Therapy Academy, American Family Therapy Association (AFTA), American Psychological, Association (APA), Big Tent Ketamine group (BTK), Connecticut Counselors, Imago Relationships International Association of Professional and Certified Therapists, International Board of Sexologists, International Institute for Sexuality and Human Development, Nonfiction Authors Association, Society Scientific Study Sexuality (SSSS), and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR).

Tasha Oswald
Neurodiversity-affirming expert, IFS Level 3 Therapist
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Tasha Oswald

Neurodiversity-affirming expert, IFS Level 3 Therapist

Tasha Oswald, PhD (she/her), is a neurodiversity-affirming licensed psychologist and clinical consultant, IFS Level 3 trained and polyvagal-informed. She identifies as a neurodivergent, Caucasian, cisgender female. Dr. Oswald is passionate about addressing the gap in mental health services for autistic adults and youth. For this reason, she founded the adult autism specialty practice, Open Doors Therapy, based in California. She specializes in working with autistic women, autistic working professionals, gifted and neurodivergent individuals, emerging adults on the spectrum, and adults receiving a later life ASD diagnosis. Seeing the transformative power of group therapy for autistic adults, group work is a cornerstone of her practice. Being in the field for nearly 20 years, Dr. Oswald has received extensive training in autism. After completing her PhD in psychology with an autism emphasis, she was awarded an NIH-Funded Autism Research Training Program (ARTP) post-doctoral fellowship. Through this fellowship program, she engaged in interdisciplinary training and research at the world-renowned UC Davis MIND Institute. While at the MIND Institute, she developed and established a therapy group program for young adults on the autism spectrum called the ACCESS Program. She has published autism research in preeminent research journals. Today, Dr. Oswald is an active blogger and contributor to global media outlets as an autism expert. As a speaker and advocate, she has presented at numerous research and autism conferences, universities, community groups, and companies to raise awareness of mental health topics related to autism in adulthood.

Abi Blakeslee
Somatic therapy expert clinician and trainer
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Abi Blakeslee

Somatic therapy expert clinician and trainer

Abi Blakeslee, PhD, is founder of Implicit Psychotherapy and cofounder of Relationship Repair. She’s also a senior faculty member at Somatic Experiencing International and legacy faculty for Peter Levine’s Ergos Institute for Somatic Education.

Leslie Korn
Renowned Integrative Medicine Clinician and Educator
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Leslie Korn

Renowned Integrative Medicine Clinician and Educator

Leslie Korn, PhD, MPH, LMHC, ACS, FNTP, BCTMB, is a renowned integrative medicine clinician and educator specializing in the use of nutritional, herbal and culinary medicine for the treatment of trauma and emotional and chronic physical illness. She is known for her dynamism and humor providing clients effective alternatives to psychotropics. She completed her graduate education in the department of psychiatry and public health at Harvard Medical School and her life training in the jungle of Mexico where she lived and worked alongside local healers for over 25 years. She directed a naturopathic medicine and training clinic facilitating health, culinary and fitness retreats. She is licensed and certified in nutritional therapy, mental health counseling, and bodywork (Polarity and Cranial Sacral and medical massage therapies) and is an approved clinical supervisor. She introduced somatic therapies for complex trauma patients in outpatient psychiatry at Harvard Medical school in 1985 and served Acupuncture and faculty at National College of Naturopathic Medicine.

She is the author of the seminal book on the body and complex trauma: Rhythms of Recovery: Integrative Medicine for PTSD and Complex Trauma, 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2012, 2023); The Brainbow Blueprint: A Clinical Guide to Integrative Medicine and Nutrition for Mental Well Being (PESI, 2023), Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health (W.W. Norton, 2016), Eat Right Feel Right: Over 80 Recipes and Tips to Improve Mood, Sleep, Attention & Focus (PESI, 2017); Multicultural Counseling Workbook: Exercises, Worksheets & Games to Build Rapport with Diverse Clients (PESI, 2015); The Good Mood Kitchen (W.W. Norton, 2017); and Natural Woman: Herbal Remedies for Radiant Health at Every Age and Stage of Life (Shambhala, 2019). She was a founder of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, a Fullbright scholar in Herbal Medicine and an NIH-funded scientist, in mind/body medicine. She is an approved clinical supervisor and is the research director at the Center for World Indigenous Studies where she designs culinary and herbal medicine programs with tribal communities engaged in developing integrative medicine programs.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Leslie Korn maintains a private practice and is the Director of Research at the Center for World Indigenous Studies. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. and additionally receives publishing royalties from Norton, Shambhala, and Routledge. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Leslie Korn is a member of the Nutritional Therapy Association and Integrative Medicine for the Underserved.

Lewis Engel
EMDR and Flash Technique Expert
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Lewis Engel

EMDR and Flash Technique Expert

Lewis Engel, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Rafael, California, and consults with both group of therapists and individual therapists mastering EMDR and Flash Technique. Dr. Engel is a former associate professor of psychology at Lone Mountain College, San Francisco. He co-authored Imaginary Crimes: Why We Punish Ourselves and How To Stop, with Tom Ferguson, MD, which has been translated and published internationally. Dr. Engel collaborates with Dr. Phil Manfield, in researching and disseminating the Flash technique.


Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Lewis Engel maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. He receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Lewis Engel is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association.

Phil Manfield
Flash Technique Developer
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Phil Manfield

Flash Technique Developer

Philip Manfield, PhD, developed the Flash Technique, which he teaches nationally and internationally. He has practiced psychotherapy in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1975. Dr. Manfield has authored or edited four books about psychotherapy and EMDR, including EMDR Up Close: Subtleties of Trauma Processing, and EMDR Casebook. He is committed to research-based practice and has been lead author on two papers concerning Flash in the Journal of EMDR Practice and research and principal investigator of and collaborator/consultant on ongoing studies supporting the efficacy and safety of Flash Technique.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Philip Manfield maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with John F. Kennedy University. He receives a speaking honorarium as a national EMDR trainer and consultant. Dr. Manfield is a published author and receives royalties. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Pesi, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Philip Manfield has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Talisa Beasley
Ethics, Leadership, and Family Counseling Expert Instructor
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Talisa Beasley

Ethics, Leadership, and Family Counseling Expert Instructor

Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Gottman certified facilitator. With over 25 years of experience working in the area of crisis management in public health as well as extensive training in the area of family violence intervention, substance abuse, and suicide prevention, Talisa specializes in helping clients overcome their struggle with depression and anxiety. Talisa is the owner of a busy private practice in the Atlanta area and teaches as an adjunct professor in the human services department at Shorter College. She also consults for nationwide businesses in the area of Leadership.

Talisa Beasley, LPC, received a Master of Arts Degree in professional counseling and certificate in marriage & family from Argosy University, as well as receiving her Bachelors of Administration with a business management specialty from Mercer University. Talisa is a standing member of Chi-Sigma Iota and is a well sought after speaker on women’s issues. Talisa has co-authored two books in this area.

Katelyn Baxter-Musser
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (C-DBT) Expert Trainer
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Katelyn Baxter-Musser

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (C-DBT) Expert Trainer

Katelyn Baxter-Musser, LCSW, C-DBT, is an accomplished therapist whose trainings have helped tens of thousands of therapists incorporate mindfulness-based techniques into their work. Certified in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (C-DBT) through Evergreen Certifications and extensively trained in mindfulness techniques, she seamlessly integrates these practices into her work with adults and adolescents presenting with a variety of concerns.

With a focus on cultivating self-awareness, emotional regulation and personal growth, Ms. Baxter-Musser empowers her clients to develop healthier coping strategies, process traumas, and transform destructive emotions. Ms. Baxter-Musser is also trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is an EMDRIA-approved consultant. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and the National Center for Crisis Management.

She previously sat on the EMDRIA Standards and Training Committee and was the co-regional coordinator for the EMDRIA Southern Maine Regional Network. She works in private practice where her areas of expertise include the treatment of trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief and relationship issues.

PESI and Katelyn Baxter-Musser are not affiliated or associated with Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, or her organizations.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Katelyn Baxter-Musser is the owner, operator, trainer of Inner Awakening Counseling & Consulting. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Katelyn Baxter-Musser is a member of EMDRIA, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, the National Center for Crisis Management, and the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.

Robin Bilazarian
Author and Master EFT & Tapping Trainer
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Robin Bilazarian

Author and Master EFT & Tapping Trainer

Robin Bilazarian, LCSW, DCSW, DCEP (Diplomate in Energy Psychology), and International Certified Master EFT trainer, is a brief therapy expert, author and speaker who uses passion and humor to share a wealth of knowledge and her twenty years of experience integrating EFT into mainstream mental health treatment. She is the author of the Amazon best-seller Tapping the Mighty Mind: Simple Solutions for Stress, Conflict, and Pain. Her passion is to bring these rapid, thorough and gentle meridian and cognitive-based techniques into mainstream clinical mental health treatment.

EFT is a well-researched, comprehensive, mind-body treatment that rapidly desensitizes unwanted thoughts, emotions and connected physical reactions. EFT goes beyond supportive counseling and is actual treatment. It’s surprising how quickly turmoil dissipates; clients are usually better in one session -even if the issue is long standing.

Robin obtained her MSW degree from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill and interned at Duke Medical Outpatient Psychiatry. Her more than thirty years of clinical practice includes employment in all levels of mental health treatment, including private practice and using EFT in a community mental health center and with medical staff. She was recruited and worked for fourteen years as an internal Employee Assistance Program counselor, bringing these highly effective, short-term techniques to medical staff and students in a regional trauma hospital. Her trainees also included police, fire fighters, first responders, educators, city workers and others. She ran numerous internal and external EFT workshops, including psychiatric rounds and community conferences. She speaks nationally and internationally on this topic and presents frequently for NASW and Rutgers University. She is a sought-after expert in working with anxiety spectrum disorders.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Robin Bilazarian maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Cooper University Hospital. She receives royalties as a published author. Robin Bilazarian receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Robin Bilazarian has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Daphne Fatter
Certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist and Consultant
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Daphne Fatter

Certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist and Consultant

Daphne Fatter, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist, and clinical IFS consultant. She is also certified in EMDR and has completed advanced training in cognitive processing therapy. She was awarded her doctorate in counseling psychology from Pennsylvania State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the Trauma Center, an affiliate of the Boston University School of Medicine, under the direct supervision of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. She is the former military sexual trauma coordinator at the Fort Worth Veteran Affairs Outpatient Clinic. She speaks to mental health clinicians internationally providing engaging continuing education on nuances on trauma treatment from her seasoned clinical experience treating PTSD and complex trauma. She is in private practice in Dallas, Texas.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Daphne Fatter maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Daphne Fatter is a member of the American Psychological Association, the EMDR International Association, and the Texas Psychological Association.

Lambers Fisher
Trauma-Informed Culturally Competency Trainer
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Lambers Fisher

Trauma-Informed Culturally Competency Trainer

Lambers Fisher, MS, LMFT, MDiv, is a marriage and family therapist who has counseled individuals, couples, and families from a variety of cultural backgrounds, in private practice, non-profit organizations, as well as ministry environments. He has a strong desire to help counseling professionals in various fields feel more comfortable, competent and confident in their ability to meet the needs of whomever they have the opportunity to serve. Lambers’ training experience includes facilitating workshops, guest lecturing, as well as being an adjunct instructor at Crown College on various aspects of diversity in counseling.

Lambers is the author of the award-winning book, Diversity in Clinical Practice: A Practical & Shame-Free Guide to Reducing Cultural Offenses & Repairing Cross-Cultural Relationships.

Currently, Lambers is a therapist in private practice where he effectively balances personal and professional experiences to provide unique and practical perspectives on a variety of culturally sensitive topics. Lambers supervises aspiring therapists as a board-approved supervisor for the Minnesota Board of Marriage & Family Therapists as well as the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health. He obtained a Master of Science in Marriage & Family Therapy as well as a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Lambers Fisher maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Christian Heart Counseling. He is an adjunct instructor at Crown College. Lambers Fisher receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, recording royalties, and a consulting fee from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Lambers Fisher is a member of the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy and the Minnesota Association for Marriage & Family Therapy.

Erica Sirrine
Expert Instructor on Grief, Death, and Bereavement
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Erica Sirrine

Expert Instructor on Grief, Death, and Bereavement

Dr. Erica Sirrine is a licensed clinical social worker with over 22 years of experience in the field of death, dying, and bereavement. She earned a PhD in social work and has been awarded the distinction of Fellow in Thanatology by the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Dr. Sirrine has conducted and published research on grief and bereavement, including a study on college student experiences of loss amid the COVID-19 pandemic that was published in OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying and featured in TIME magazine. She maintains a blog on grief and is the author of Sammy’s Story, an anticipatory grief counseling book for young children experiencing the serious illness of a parent.

Dr. Sirrine has extensive expertise providing individual and group therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and families experiencing illness and loss. She has implemented numerous interventions and programs aimed at improving the emotional health of clients and currently serves as the director of social work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Sirrine frequently presents seminars on bereavement and loss throughout the United States and is known for her interactive and engaging workshops.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Erica Sirrine has employment relationships with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Southeastern University. She receives royalties as a published author. Erica Sirrine receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Erica Sirrine is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers, the National Alliance for Children’s Grief, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare.

Schedule at a Glance

Click on the days below to see times of each event
  • Thursday, October 3

    • 8:30 AM - NoonWorkshops
    • Noon - 1:00 PMBreak
    • 1:00 PM – 3:00 PMWorkshops Continued
    • 3:00 PM – 6:30 PMExhibit Hall Grand Opening
    Laurel Parnell
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    105: Attachment-Focused EMDR

    Resourcing & Developmental Repair
    More Information

    Laurel Parnell

    Director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    105: Attachment-Focused EMDR

    Resourcing & Developmental Repair

    Dr. Laurel Parnell, developer of Attachment-Focused EMDR and EMDR expert, author and trainer, will teach you the basics of how to tap in resources to support resilience, help with emotional regulation and heal developmental deficits. Dr. Parnell will demonstrate exactly how you can use attachment-focused EMDR and its four foundational resources to help guide your clients toward increased resilience, emotional regulation, and developmental repair. Take away skills drawn from EMDR to tap in resources, the four foundational resources and ways to use resource figures, such as an ideal mother, to repair damage from early childhood, abuse, neglect and rejection.

    Laurel Parnell, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR. One of the world’s leading experts on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she is the originator of the EMDR-related therapies Attachment-Focused EMDR and Resource Tapping. Dr. Parnell has served on the faculty of the California Institute for Integral Studies and John F. Kennedy University. She is the author of several books and videos on EMDR, including, Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma, Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment, A Therapist’s Guide to EMDR and Tapping In. Dr. Parnell keynotes conferences, trains clinicians in EMDR, and teaches workshops internationally on Attachment-Focused EMDR, Rewiring the Addicted Brain and Resource Tapping. Learn more about Dr. Parnell at www.parnellemdr.com.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell maintains a private practice and is the director of the Parnell Institute, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Parnell receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell has no relevant non-financial relationships.

    Tasha Oswald
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    104: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach to Treat “Autistic Trauma”

    How to Heal from the Shame & Rejection of Not Fitting the Norm
    More Information

    Tasha Oswald

    Neurodiversity-affirming expert, IFS Level 3 Therapist
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    104: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach to Treat “Autistic Trauma”

    How to Heal from the Shame & Rejection of Not Fitting the Norm

    Have you ever wondered if your client is neurodivergent or autistic? Do you worry if you’re doing effective work with this population? You may have clients who have difficulty reading social cues, fearing they’ll say or do the wrong thing or be called “weird”. They face neurotypical biases and discrimination every day. Constantly feeling the threat of being found out as “different”, they try to mask who they are to avoid humiliation and social rejection. These experiences and their emotional toll are what we call “autistic trauma”. Autistic trauma often goes unrecognized and untreated. In this workshop, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to work more effectively with autistic trauma.

    Tasha Oswald, PhD (she/her), is a neurodiversity-affirming licensed psychologist and clinical consultant, IFS Level 3 trained and polyvagal-informed. She identifies as a neurodivergent, Caucasian, cisgender female. Dr. Oswald is passionate about addressing the gap in mental health services for autistic adults and youth. For this reason, she founded the adult autism specialty practice, Open Doors Therapy, based in California. She specializes in working with autistic women, autistic working professionals, gifted and neurodivergent individuals, emerging adults on the spectrum, and adults receiving a later life ASD diagnosis. Seeing the transformative power of group therapy for autistic adults, group work is a cornerstone of her practice. Being in the field for nearly 20 years, Dr. Oswald has received extensive training in autism. After completing her PhD in psychology with an autism emphasis, she was awarded an NIH-Funded Autism Research Training Program (ARTP) post-doctoral fellowship. Through this fellowship program, she engaged in interdisciplinary training and research at the world-renowned UC Davis MIND Institute. While at the MIND Institute, she developed and established a therapy group program for young adults on the autism spectrum called the ACCESS Program. She has published autism research in preeminent research journals. Today, Dr. Oswald is an active blogger and contributor to global media outlets as an autism expert. As a speaker and advocate, she has presented at numerous research and autism conferences, universities, community groups, and companies to raise awareness of mental health topics related to autism in adulthood.

    Leslie Korn
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    102: Nutrition & Integrative Methods for Trauma

    Enhance Mood, Sleep, and Well-Being
    More Information

    Leslie Korn

    Renowned Integrative Medicine Clinician and Educator
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    102: Nutrition & Integrative Methods for Trauma

    Enhance Mood, Sleep, and Well-Being

    Evidence-based research suggests that there are significant limitations to pharmaceutical interventions for PTSD. Nutritional and integrative strategies for PTSD can be an effective addition. Yet how do we help clients understand the connections between their physical well-being and traumatic etiologies? What methods and interventions do we choose, at what stage of recovery, and who is a viable candidate? This workshop will explore the latest research and clinical applications of culinary, nutritional, herbal, and psychedelic medicine. You’ll discover how to ethically incorporate these methods into your practice and learn reliable tools to help your clients improve their well-being.

    Leslie Korn, PhD, MPH, LMHC, ACS, FNTP, BCTMB, is a renowned integrative medicine clinician and educator specializing in the use of nutritional, herbal and culinary medicine for the treatment of trauma and emotional and chronic physical illness. She is known for her dynamism and humor providing clients effective alternatives to psychotropics. She completed her graduate education in the department of psychiatry and public health at Harvard Medical School and her life training in the jungle of Mexico where she lived and worked alongside local healers for over 25 years. She directed a naturopathic medicine and training clinic facilitating health, culinary and fitness retreats. She is licensed and certified in nutritional therapy, mental health counseling, and bodywork (Polarity and Cranial Sacral and medical massage therapies) and is an approved clinical supervisor. She introduced somatic therapies for complex trauma patients in outpatient psychiatry at Harvard Medical school in 1985 and served Acupuncture and faculty at National College of Naturopathic Medicine.

    She is the author of the seminal book on the body and complex trauma: Rhythms of Recovery: Integrative Medicine for PTSD and Complex Trauma, 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2012, 2023); The Brainbow Blueprint: A Clinical Guide to Integrative Medicine and Nutrition for Mental Well Being (PESI, 2023), Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health (W.W. Norton, 2016), Eat Right Feel Right: Over 80 Recipes and Tips to Improve Mood, Sleep, Attention & Focus (PESI, 2017); Multicultural Counseling Workbook: Exercises, Worksheets & Games to Build Rapport with Diverse Clients (PESI, 2015); The Good Mood Kitchen (W.W. Norton, 2017); and Natural Woman: Herbal Remedies for Radiant Health at Every Age and Stage of Life (Shambhala, 2019). She was a founder of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, a Fullbright scholar in Herbal Medicine and an NIH-funded scientist, in mind/body medicine. She is an approved clinical supervisor and is the research director at the Center for World Indigenous Studies where she designs culinary and herbal medicine programs with tribal communities engaged in developing integrative medicine programs.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Leslie Korn maintains a private practice and is the Director of Research at the Center for World Indigenous Studies. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. and additionally receives publishing royalties from Norton, Shambhala, and Routledge. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Leslie Korn is a member of the Nutritional Therapy Association and Integrative Medicine for the Underserved.

    Talisa Beasley
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    103: Boundary Setting in Clinical Practice

    The Best Ethical Practices
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    Talisa Beasley

    Ethics, Leadership, and Family Counseling Expert Instructor
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    103: Boundary Setting in Clinical Practice

    The Best Ethical Practices

    Are you having trouble saying “No” to clients?
    Do you struggle with establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries?
    Do you avoid setting boundaries for fear of losing a client?

    As clinicians, we come face to face with “gray areas” on a daily basis and skate around potential issues that could put our businesses, clinical work, or clients in jeopardy. We struggle with setting boundaries personally and professionally and it ultimately has a negative impact on the clients we serve.

    Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, will use activities, vignettes, and practical business experience to discuss the boundary issues and dilemmas that exist (and are often overlooked and swept aside) that could impact your business, your bottom line, and your clients. Develop the confidence needed to address complex boundary issues in clinical practice.
    Earn up to 6 CE hours!

    Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Gottman certified facilitator. With over 25 years of experience working in the area of crisis management in public health as well as extensive training in the area of family violence intervention, substance abuse, and suicide prevention, Talisa specializes in helping clients overcome their struggle with depression and anxiety. Talisa is the owner of a busy private practice in the Atlanta area and teaches as an adjunct professor in the human services department at Shorter College. She also consults for nationwide businesses in the area of Leadership.

    Talisa Beasley, LPC, received a Master of Arts Degree in professional counseling and certificate in marriage & family from Argosy University, as well as receiving her Bachelors of Administration with a business management specialty from Mercer University. Talisa is a standing member of Chi-Sigma Iota and is a well sought after speaker on women’s issues. Talisa has co-authored two books in this area.

    Erica Sirrine
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 4:30PM

    101: The Ultimate Grief Treatment Toolbox Certification Course

    More Information

    Erica Sirrine

    Expert Instructor on Grief, Death, and Bereavement
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 4:30PM

    101: The Ultimate Grief Treatment Toolbox Certification Course

    Join Dr. Erica Sirrine, Ph.D., LCSW, FT, as she walks you through over 60 interventions that you can use to help your grieving clients find hope and heal. Drawing on her expertise as a bereavement counselor and educator, Dr. Sirrine blends remarkable case studies with creative intervention strategies for an engaging and unforgettable workshop that will arm you with the skills you need to be an effective therapist for grieving clients. 

    Whether your client is experiencing feelings of premature grief due to the anticipated death of a loved one, pain and loss following a divorce, or feelings of disbelief and shock following a traumatic death, this workshop will prepare you to skillfully intervene. 

    Attend this seminar and discover: 
    Over 60 interventions to help clients mourn, reconcile their losses & discover hope 
    Assessment & treatment techniques for children, adolescents & adults 
    Session topics & treatment approaches for individuals, groups & families 
    Strategies to treat clients dealing with anticipatory grief 
    Techniques & ideas for facilitating bereavement groups & grief camps 

    Best of all, upon completion of this training, you’ll be eligible to become a Certified Grief Informed Professional (CGP) through Evergreen Certifications. Certification lets colleagues, employers, and clients know that you’ve invested the extra time and effort necessary to understand the complexities of grief counseling. Professional standards apply. Visit www.evergreencertifications.com/CGP for details. 

    Dr. Erica Sirrine is a licensed clinical social worker with over 22 years of experience in the field of death, dying, and bereavement. She earned a PhD in social work and has been awarded the distinction of Fellow in Thanatology by the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Dr. Sirrine has conducted and published research on grief and bereavement, including a study on college student experiences of loss amid the COVID-19 pandemic that was published in OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying and featured in TIME magazine. She maintains a blog on grief and is the author of Sammy’s Story, an anticipatory grief counseling book for young children experiencing the serious illness of a parent.

    Dr. Sirrine has extensive expertise providing individual and group therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and families experiencing illness and loss. She has implemented numerous interventions and programs aimed at improving the emotional health of clients and currently serves as the director of social work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Sirrine frequently presents seminars on bereavement and loss throughout the United States and is known for her interactive and engaging workshops.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Erica Sirrine has employment relationships with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Southeastern University. She receives royalties as a published author. Erica Sirrine receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Erica Sirrine is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers, the National Alliance for Children’s Grief, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare.

  • Friday, October 4

    • 7:00 AM – 8:00 AMMorning Movement/Yoga
    • 9:00 AM – 10:45 AMWelcome & Keynote Address
    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PMMorning Workshops
    • 1:15 PM – 2:45 PMLuncheon Address & Exhibit Hall Happenings
    • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PMAfternoon Workshops
    • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PMInnovations Reception in the Exhibit Hall
    • 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Trauma Research Foundation Reception with Bessel van der Kolk
    • 8:00 PM – 11:00 PMInnovations Dance Party
    Friday
    6:30PM-8:00PM
    Keynote

    Trauma Research Foundation Reception

    with special guest Bessel van der Kolk, MD

    *Anaheim attendee exclusive event
    Enjoy an evening of networking with colleagues and learning about the exciting new research and developments happening from the Trauma Research Foundation, founded by Bessel van der Kolk and Licia Sky.
    Complimentary hors d’oeuvre and cash bar.
    Included with live conference pass – $79.99 value!

    Trauma Research Foundation Reception

    Friday
    6:30PM-8:00PM
    P
    Keynote

    Trauma Research Foundation Reception

    with special guest Bessel van der Kolk, MD

    *Anaheim attendee exclusive event
    Enjoy an evening of networking with colleagues and learning about the exciting new research and developments happening from the Trauma Research Foundation, founded by Bessel van der Kolk and Licia Sky.
    Complimentary hors d’oeuvre and cash bar.
    Included with live conference pass – $79.99 value!

    Friday
    1:15PM –2:45PM
    Keynote

    The Modern Abolitionist

    * This CE program includes a CATERED LUNCH. Upgrade your conference pass by adding this luncheon keynote to your registration!

    Somatic abolitionist. It’s how Resmaa Menakem, popular trainer, speaker, and bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands, defines himself. He’s managed military counseling services for more than 50 bases in war-torn Afghanistan, consulted on trauma and healing for large school districts and police departments, and trained with top trauma and somatic experts to refine and teach his particular healing path of Cultural Somatics: an embodied, antiracist way of living.

    For years, he’d watched as well-intentioned therapists tried reading, talking, and thinking their way past the intangible, living nature of racism in order to do good, culturally aware work. But white supremacy lives in the body, just as racial trauma does.

    In this talk, Menakem will be joined by Talisa Beasley, transformational leader, speaker and author, who will show us how intergenerational trauma comprises brutal experiences and realities, compounded over time, from which our ancestors couldn’t heal. They’ll offer a road map for learning how to slow down enough to discern, in ourselves and others, historical from personal pain, and the role we may be unwittingly playing in keeping the effects of racism alive in our bodies.

    Resmaa Menakem,& Talisa Beasley

    Trainer, Speaker, and Bestselling Author of "My Grandmother’s Hands"
    Friday
    1:15PM –2:45PM
    P
    Keynote

    The Modern Abolitionist

    * This CE program includes a CATERED LUNCH. Upgrade your conference pass by adding this luncheon keynote to your registration!

    Somatic abolitionist. It’s how Resmaa Menakem, popular trainer, speaker, and bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands, defines himself. He’s managed military counseling services for more than 50 bases in war-torn Afghanistan, consulted on trauma and healing for large school districts and police departments, and trained with top trauma and somatic experts to refine and teach his particular healing path of Cultural Somatics: an embodied, antiracist way of living.

    For years, he’d watched as well-intentioned therapists tried reading, talking, and thinking their way past the intangible, living nature of racism in order to do good, culturally aware work. But white supremacy lives in the body, just as racial trauma does.

    In this talk, Menakem will be joined by Talisa Beasley, transformational leader, speaker and author, who will show us how intergenerational trauma comprises brutal experiences and realities, compounded over time, from which our ancestors couldn’t heal. They’ll offer a road map for learning how to slow down enough to discern, in ourselves and others, historical from personal pain, and the role we may be unwittingly playing in keeping the effects of racism alive in our bodies.

    Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP, is a Senior Fellow at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare where he has built an intensive training curriculum for staff on cultural somatics and racialized trauma.

    He has served as director of counseling services for the Tubman Family Alliance; as behavioral health director for African American Family Services in Minneapolis; as a domestic violence counselor for Wilder Foundation; as a certified Military and Family Life Consultant for the US Armed Forces; as a trauma consultant for the Minneapolis Public Schools; and as a Cultural Somatics consultant for the Minneapolis Police Department.

    As a Community Care Counselor, he managed the wellness and counseling services for civilians on fifty-three US military bases in Afghanistan.

    Resmaa studied and trained at Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, as well as with Dr. David Schnarch (author of the bestselling Passionate Marriage).

    He currently teaches workshops on Cultural Somatics for audiences of African Americans, European Americans, and police officers.

    He is also a therapist in private practice.

    Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Gottman certified facilitator. With over 25 years of experience working in the area of crisis management in public health as well as extensive training in the area of family violence intervention, substance abuse, and suicide prevention, Talisa specializes in helping clients overcome their struggle with depression and anxiety. Talisa is the owner of a busy private practice in the Atlanta area and teaches as an adjunct professor in the human services department at Shorter College. She also consults for nationwide businesses in the area of Leadership.

    Talisa Beasley, LPC, received a Master of Arts Degree in professional counseling and certificate in marriage & family from Argosy University, as well as receiving her Bachelors of Administration with a business management specialty from Mercer University. Talisa is a standing member of Chi-Sigma Iota and is a well sought after speaker on women’s issues. Talisa has co-authored two books in this area.

    Friday
    9:30AM-10:30AM
    Keynote

    All Care Must Be Trauma-Informed Care

    Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General, award-winning physician, researcher and trauma expert, has put Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the map for a new generation. Good practitioners know that childhood trauma isn’t something that you just “get over’ as you grow up. That’s why understanding what constitutes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress is critical to successfully addressing the long-term mental and physical risks childhood trauma can pose. ACEs measure the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, parental addiction, mental illness, and divorce. Evidence shows ACEs have long-term, measurable effects on the development of the brain, immune system, hormonal systems, and genetic regulation through the mechanism of toxic stress. Renowned ACEs expert, Dr. Harris, will reveal the prevalence of ACEs, what science tells us about mitigating toxic stress, and how to ensure our care is trauma informed.

    Nadine Burke Harris

    Founder of Center for Youth Wellness & Former Surgeon General of California
    Friday
    9:30AM-10:30AM
    Keynote

    All Care Must Be Trauma-Informed Care

    Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General, award-winning physician, researcher and trauma expert, has put Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the map for a new generation. Good practitioners know that childhood trauma isn’t something that you just “get over’ as you grow up. That’s why understanding what constitutes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress is critical to successfully addressing the long-term mental and physical risks childhood trauma can pose. ACEs measure the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, parental addiction, mental illness, and divorce. Evidence shows ACEs have long-term, measurable effects on the development of the brain, immune system, hormonal systems, and genetic regulation through the mechanism of toxic stress. Renowned ACEs expert, Dr. Harris, will reveal the prevalence of ACEs, what science tells us about mitigating toxic stress, and how to ensure our care is trauma informed.

    Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is an award-winning physician, researcher and public health leader who has spent her career on the front lines of some of our world’s most pressing public health challenges. As California’s first-ever Surgeon General, she helped guide the state’s COVID response, co-chairing the committee to recommend vaccine allocation and helping California achieve the lowest cumulative mortality of any large state. Amid the throes of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Burke Harris successfully launched a first-in-the-nation statewide effort to train over 20,000 primary care providers on how to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and respond with trauma-informed care.

    Dr. Burke Harris’ career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable communities and combating the root causes of health disparities. After completing her MPH at Harvard and residency at Stanford, she founded a clinic in one of San Francisco’s most underserved communities, Bayview Hunters Point. It was there that Burke Harris identified Adverse Childhood Experiences as a major risk factor affecting the health of her patients and applied research from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente to develop a novel clinical screening protocol.

    Bessel van der Kolk
    Friday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    304: The Embodied Mind

    Neuromodulation, Psychedelics, & Sensory Integration
    More Information

    Bessel van der Kolk

    New York Times Bestselling Author of The Body Keeps the Score
    Friday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    304: The Embodied Mind

    Neuromodulation, Psychedelics, & Sensory Integration

    Dr. van der Kolk, world renowned trauma expert, author and research, will guide you through a deep exploration of the embodied mind, shedding light on how our bodies store and process experiences, trauma, and emotions.

    Drawing from his extensive research and clinical practice, Dr. van der Kolk will illuminate the latest findings on neuromodulation techniques, psychedelic-assisted therapy for trauma, and sensory integration approaches. He will share insights into the impact of these modalities on reshaping neural pathways, fostering resilience, and promoting holistic well-being.

    Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

    Dr. van der Kolk and his various collaborators have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on such diverse topics as neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, Developmental Trauma, yoga, theater, and EMDR. 

    He is founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and President of the Trauma Research Foundation, which promotes clinical, scientific, and educational projects. 

    His 2014 #1 New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma, transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, somatically based therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, play, yoga, and other therapies.

    Dr. van der Kolk is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. He regularly teaches at conferences, universities, and hospitals around the world.

    Ramani Durvasula
    Friday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    202: Treating Betrayal Trauma

    Help Clients Who Experience Narcissistic Abuse & Antagonistic Relational Stress
    More Information

    Ramani Durvasula

    The World's Most Highly Recognized Narcissism Expert
    Friday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    202: Treating Betrayal Trauma

    Help Clients Who Experience Narcissistic Abuse & Antagonistic Relational Stress

    Betrayal is a core dynamic of narcissistic relationships – breaches of trust, emotional abandonment, infidelity, chronic deceit, emotional abuse.  These chronic betrayals, occurring within a relationship that is meant to be predicated on trust, connection, and attachment, result not just in significant psychological fallout for our clients, but also a loss of trust in other people, the world at large, and themselves.  Understanding the framework of betrayal trauma theory, and the role of betrayal in narcissistic relationships is a KEY to successfully working with these clients.  It means expanding our definition of betrayal past just lying and cheating, but in not meeting the fundamental roles and responsibilities of a relationship.  This program will open up your understanding of Dr. Jennifer Freyd’s models of betrayal trauma theory and betrayal blindness and apply them to optimizing antagonism-informed work with clients experiencing the harmful impacts of narcissistic relationships.

    Dr. Ramani Durvasula the New York Times Best Selling Author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, CA, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and the Founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training & Consulting, a company focused on educating individuals, clinicians and businesses/institutions on the impact of narcissistic personality styles. She received her BA from the University of Connecticut, and her MA and Ph.D. from UCLA, and completed her clinical training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.  She is also the author of two other books focused on narcissism: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship with a Narcissist, and “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”: How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. Dr. Durvasula is a faculty member for the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, and a consulting editor for the journal Behavioral Medicine, and her academic research was focused on the impact of personality and personality disorders on health and behavior. She has spoken widely on the impact of narcissism on mental health, relationships and the workplace. She also operates a popular YouTube channel and podcast (Navigating Narcissism). Dr. Durvasula has also developed an educational and certification program for clinicians working with clients experiencing the fallout of narcissistic relationships.

    Alexandra Solomon
    Friday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    302: The Trauma of Endings

    Helping Clients Navigate Breakups & Divorce
    More Information

    Alexandra Solomon

    Couples, Dating, and Relationship expert
    Friday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    302: The Trauma of Endings

    Helping Clients Navigate Breakups & Divorce

    The data is clear: most of us will author more than one love story in our lifetime. We talk a lot about the skills and paradigms that individuals and couples need to create an intimate relationship. But we don’t talk nearly enough about the skills and paradigms that individuals and couples need in order to end an intimate relationship. Learning relational meta skills can help clients approach endings—and new beginnings—with more integrity and Relational Self-Awareness, reducing collateral damage to both self and others. In this workshop, discover an integrative approach for helping your clients better understand the thoughts, feelings, and common issues that arise during a breakup as well as integrating the loss and preparing to begin dating again.

    Alexandra H. Solomon, PhD, is staff clinical psychologist, member of the teaching faculty in the marriage and family therapy graduate program, and clinical assistant professor of psychology at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. In addition to her clinical work with couples and individuals, Solomon teaches graduate and undergraduate students. One of her courses is Northwestern University’s internationally renowned “Building Loving and Lasting Relationships: Marriage 101,” which combines traditional and experiential learning to educate students about key relational issues like intimacy, sex, conflict, acceptance, and forgiveness. Solomon’s work has been widely cited, and her articles on love and marriage have appeared in The Handbook of Clinical Psychology, The Handbook of Couple Therapy, Family Process, Psychotherapy Networker, and other top publications in psychology. Her work also appears in O Magazine and The Huffington Post, and she is a frequent interviewee and contributor for the Oprah Winfrey Network, Yahoo! Health, The Atlantic, CBS Early Show, NPR, Psychology Today, and WGN Morning News. She is a sought-after speaker for corporate, collegiate, and professional audiences on topics related to modern love. Solomon lives in Highland Park, IL, with her husband, Todd, and their two children, Brian and Courtney.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Alexandra Solomon maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Northwestern University. She receives royalties as a published author and is the podcast host of Reimaging Love. Dr. Solomon receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Alexandra Solomon is a thought leader for Heleo, a founding expert for the Mine’d app, and an ambassador for The Relationship School. She is an ad hoc for several peer review journals, for a complete list contact PESI, Inc. Dr. Solomon is a member of the American Psychological Association, and the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

    Abi Blakeslee
    Friday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    205: Trauma, The Body, & Implicit Memory Demystified

    Step-by-Step Somatic Interventions
    More Information

    Abi Blakeslee

    Somatic therapy expert clinician and trainer
    Friday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    205: Trauma, The Body, & Implicit Memory Demystified

    Step-by-Step Somatic Interventions

    In this workshop you will learn that healing trauma is not about thinking differently about what happens but about creating new opportunities for learning where traumatic memories are primarily encoded. The emerging science of Interoception, or conscious awareness of bodily sensation, and its relationship to survival physiology, emotion, and embodied cognition will help guide you to new breakthroughs with your clients. You will observe an in person live session demonstration with Dr. Abi Blakeslee, renowned international expert in somatic psychology and implicit memory. Dr. Blakeslee will simultaneously illuminate the moment-to-moment processing of trauma with a volunteer while deconstructing concepts and clinical skills. Watch clinical creativity and mastery unfold and learn how deep transformation can be achieved through skills-based practice.

    Abi Blakeslee, PhD, is founder of Implicit Psychotherapy and cofounder of Relationship Repair. She’s also a senior faculty member at Somatic Experiencing International and legacy faculty for Peter Levine’s Ergos Institute for Somatic Education.

    Daphne Fatter
    Friday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    204: Internal Family Systems Therapy for Trauma Treatment

    An Attachment-Based Model for Trauma Treatment
    More Information

    Daphne Fatter

    Certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist and Consultant
    Friday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    204: Internal Family Systems Therapy for Trauma Treatment

    An Attachment-Based Model for Trauma Treatment

    Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has become an increasingly popular non-pathologizing effective therapeutic modality. Developed over 40 years ago, IFS therapy is now an evidenced-based practice for depression, phobia, panic, generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In this workshop, Dr. Fatter, IFS therapy trainer and consultant, will review the conceptual framework of IFS therapy including foundational assumptions of IFS therapy , goals of the model, and research to date. Dr. Fatter will share a roadmap for steps in doing IFS therapy with specific interventions.

    Daphne Fatter, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist, and clinical IFS consultant. She is also certified in EMDR and has completed advanced training in cognitive processing therapy. She was awarded her doctorate in counseling psychology from Pennsylvania State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the Trauma Center, an affiliate of the Boston University School of Medicine, under the direct supervision of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. She is the former military sexual trauma coordinator at the Fort Worth Veteran Affairs Outpatient Clinic. She speaks to mental health clinicians internationally providing engaging continuing education on nuances on trauma treatment from her seasoned clinical experience treating PTSD and complex trauma. She is in private practice in Dallas, Texas.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Daphne Fatter maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Daphne Fatter is a member of the American Psychological Association, the EMDR International Association, and the Texas Psychological Association.

    Jonah Paquette
    Friday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    305: The Wow Factor

    Using Awe to Counter Depression, Stress, & Trauma
    More Information

    Jonah Paquette

    Author and Trainer on Well-Being and Happiness
    Friday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    305: The Wow Factor

    Using Awe to Counter Depression, Stress, & Trauma

    The experience of awe might sound nice, but can you do anything to harness it in therapy and create real change? The answer is yes! Researchers are learning new, exciting ways awe changes our brain chemistry and behaviors. And now, clinicians are learning practical ways to incorporate this experience into therapy to facilitate healing, anchor changes, and improve outcomes, regardless of the clinical problem or approach we use in our practice.

    Jonah Paquette, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, speaker and author. He is the author of Real Happiness (PESI Publishing, 2015), a research-based self-help book in which he distills the key findings in the fields of happiness and offers user-friendly tools to achieve lasting well-being. His second book, The Happiness Toolbox (PESI Publishing, 2018), offers readers an array of easy-to-use handouts and exercises designed to enhance happiness in a lasting way. His latest book, Awestruck, explores the psychological and health benefits of awe and wonder.

    Jonah is also the assistant regional training director for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, where he helps to manage a large mental health training program spanning over 20 medical centers. In addition to his clinical work and writing, Jonah offers training and consultation to therapists and organizations on the promotion of well-being and regularly conducts professional workshops around the country. He is also a frequent media contributor, having been featured in print, online, and radio outlets. He has a passion for imparting the key findings related to happiness and wellbeing with a broader audience, and he is honored to share these with you.

  • Saturday, October 5

    • 7:00 AM – 8:00 AMMorning Movement/Yoga
    • 9:00 AM – 10:45 AMKeynote Address
    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PMMorning Workshops
    • 1:15 PM – 2:45 PMLuncheon Address & Exhibit Hall Happenings
    • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PMAfternoon Workshops
    • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PMExhibit Hall Grand Finale
    • 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Evening Dinner Event
    Saturday
    1:15PM –2:45PM
    Keynote

    If It's Not You, Then Who Is It?"

    * This CE program includes a CATERED LUNCH. Upgrade your conference pass by adding this luncheon keynote to your registration!

    What’s wrong with me? How do I get it right? I feel like I am out of my mind.

    These are common musings of people in relationships characterized by gaslighting, invalidation, manipulation, betrayal, and a mix of good days and bad. We as therapists are encountering clients experiencing these dynamics in relationships with antagonistic/narcissistic partners and spouses, families, in workplaces, and friendships. It’s not as simple as “don’t engage” (though that helps), but what do we know, what don’t we know, and how do we as therapists participate in this conversation with clients, with each other, and with the world at large?

    This keynote features Dr. Ramani Durvasula in conversation with David Kessler as they discuss key topics from her international bestseller It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. “

    Note: this session replaces “The Future of Psychotherapy” that was originally planned to be led by Sue Johnson. 

    Ramani Durvasula, PhD, LCP & David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE

    The World's Most Highly Recognized Narcissism Expert
    Saturday
    1:15PM –2:45PM
    Keynote

    If It's Not You, Then Who Is It?"

    * This CE program includes a CATERED LUNCH. Upgrade your conference pass by adding this luncheon keynote to your registration!

    What’s wrong with me? How do I get it right? I feel like I am out of my mind.

    These are common musings of people in relationships characterized by gaslighting, invalidation, manipulation, betrayal, and a mix of good days and bad. We as therapists are encountering clients experiencing these dynamics in relationships with antagonistic/narcissistic partners and spouses, families, in workplaces, and friendships. It’s not as simple as “don’t engage” (though that helps), but what do we know, what don’t we know, and how do we as therapists participate in this conversation with clients, with each other, and with the world at large?

    This keynote features Dr. Ramani Durvasula in conversation with David Kessler as they discuss key topics from her international bestseller It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. “

    Note: this session replaces “The Future of Psychotherapy” that was originally planned to be led by Sue Johnson. 

    Dr. Ramani Durvasula the New York Times Best Selling Author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, CA, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and the Founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training & Consulting, a company focused on educating individuals, clinicians and businesses/institutions on the impact of narcissistic personality styles. She received her BA from the University of Connecticut, and her MA and Ph.D. from UCLA, and completed her clinical training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.  She is also the author two other books focused on narcissism: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship with a Narcissist, and “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”: How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. Dr. Durvasula is a faculty member for the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, and a consulting editor for the journal Behavioral Medicine, and her academic research was focused on the impact of personality and personality disorders on health and behavior. She has spoken widely on the impact of narcissism on mental health, relationships and the workplace. She also operates a popular YouTube channel and podcast (Navigating Narcissism). Dr. Durvasula has also developed an educational and certification program for clinicians working with clients experiencing the fallout of narcissistic relationships.

    David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE, is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief. He’s the founder of Grief.com and author of six books, including Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He’s coauthored books with Elisabeth Kubler Ross and Louise Hay and leads grief certification programs for professionals and online groups for those in grief.  

    Saturday
    6:30 PM-8:00PM
    Keynote

    The Moment that Changed Me As a Therapist

    Saturday Evening Storytelling * This Anaheim exclusive catered dinner event will sell out - Upgrade your conference pass by adding it to your registration!

    *Anaheim attendee exclusive event *This catered dinner event will SELL OUT. Upgrade your conference pass by adding it to your registration! Relax and unwind after a day of engaged learning at this intimate dinner with live music and storytelling. Grief expert David Kessler and sex, relationship expert Tammy Nelson, and Paul Denniston will share surprising, heartfelt tales about a session, a client, or a therapeutic moment they – and you – will never forget.

    Tammy Nelson, David Kessler, and Paul Denniston

    Saturday
    6:30 PM-8:00PM
    P
    Keynote

    The Moment that Changed Me As a Therapist

    Saturday Evening Storytelling * This Anaheim exclusive catered dinner event will sell out - Upgrade your conference pass by adding it to your registration!

    *Anaheim attendee exclusive event *This catered dinner event will SELL OUT. Upgrade your conference pass by adding it to your registration! Relax and unwind after a day of engaged learning at this intimate dinner with live music and storytelling. Grief expert David Kessler and sex, relationship expert Tammy Nelson, and Paul Denniston will share surprising, heartfelt tales about a session, a client, or a therapeutic moment they – and you – will never forget.

    Tammy Nelson, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed psychotherapist, Board Certified Sexologist, Certified Sex Therapist, and Certified Imago Relationship Therapist. She has been a therapist for almost 30 years and is the executive director of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute. She started the institute to develop courses for psychotherapists as the need grew for certified, integrated postgraduate sex and couple’s therapists in a growing field of mental health consumers who need more complex interventions for their relationship needs.

    Dr. Tammy is a TEDx speaker, Psychotherapy Networker Symposium speaker and the author of several books, including Getting the Sex You Want: Shed Your Inhibitions and Reach New Heights of Passion Together (Quiver, 2008) and the best-selling The New Monogamy: Redefining Your Relationship After Infidelity (New Harbinger, 2013), as well as When You’re the One Who Cheats: Ten Things You Need to Know (RL Publishing Corp., 2019) and the upcoming Integrative Sex and Couples Therapy (PESI, 2020).

    She has been a featured expert in New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Rolling Stone magazine, TIME Magazine, Redbook, Glamour, The Sun, and The London Times. She is the host of a popular podcast on iTunes, “The Trouble with Sex”, and writes for the Huffington Post, YourTango, ThriveGlobal, and medium.com. Dr. Tammy can be followed on her blog, www.drtammynelson.com/blog.

    David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE, is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief. He’s the founder of Grief.com and author of six books, including Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He’s coauthored books with Elisabeth Kubler Ross and Louise Hay and leads grief certification programs for professionals and online groups for those in grief.    

    Paul Denniston, RYT 500, is the founder of Grief Yoga®, which uses yoga, movement, breath, and sound to release pain and suffering to connect to empowerment and love. Paul is certified in Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Kundalini Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Laughter Yoga, and Let Your Yoga Dance. He has also taught movement at the Stella Adler Academy in Hollywood.

    Paul has taught and trained this practice to thousands of therapists, counselors and health care professionals around the world and teaches workshops around the US. He teaches addiction groups, bereavement groups, cancer support centers, and workshops on healing after a breakup, divorce, or betrayal.

    He is the author of Healing Through Yoga: Transform Loss into Empowerment.

    Saturday
    9:00AM – 10:45AM
    Keynote

    The Myth of Normal

    Pathways to Healing in a Toxic Culture

    World-renowned trauma and addictions specialist, physician, and author of five bestsellers, including his latest, The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté will delve into how our work with clients is being undercut by relentless stressors in a social environment that’s determined by class, gender, economic status and race; and that enjoins us to become integrators of the personal and societal in sessions. 

    Our western culture may separate mind from body, but our emotions and relationships, class, and race and gender, have a greater effect on health and longevity. Dr. Maté will discuss how a society dedicated to material pursuits rather than genuine human needs and spiritual values stresses its members, undermines healthy child development and dooms many to illness.  He shares a shift in focus that will support a healthier population. 

    Gabor Maté

    Award-winning author, world-renowned trauma and addictions expert
    Saturday
    9:00AM – 10:45AM
    Keynote

    The Myth of Normal

    Pathways to Healing in a Toxic Culture

    World-renowned trauma and addictions specialist, physician, and author of five bestsellers, including his latest, The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté will delve into how our work with clients is being undercut by relentless stressors in a social environment that’s determined by class, gender, economic status and race; and that enjoins us to become integrators of the personal and societal in sessions. 

    Our western culture may separate mind from body, but our emotions and relationships, class, and race and gender, have a greater effect on health and longevity. Dr. Maté will discuss how a society dedicated to material pursuits rather than genuine human needs and spiritual values stresses its members, undermines healthy child development and dooms many to illness.  He shares a shift in focus that will support a healthier population. 

    Gabor Maté, M.D., C.M., is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of five books published in nearly 40 languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. For his ground-breaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. His most recent book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture is a New York Times and international bestseller.

    David Kessler & Paul Denniston
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    401: Transform Grief to Peace

    Support Post-Traumatic Growth for Your Grieving Clients
    More Information

    David Kessler & Paul Denniston

    One of the World’s Foremost Experts on Grief
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    401: Transform Grief to Peace

    Support Post-Traumatic Growth for Your Grieving Clients

    While most therapists are experienced in exploring the pain and trauma of grief, their clients may be asking for a clear direction out of their pain to peace. Clients commonly look to their therapist with questions like when will this pain end?when will I feel like myself again?, etc

    David Kessler, one of the world’s foremost experts on healing and loss, will share insights at how death shapes our grief and explore appropriate interventions and talking points to use in-session with your grieving clients seeking peace.  

    Join David for a short demonstration of grief in the body will be Paul Dennison, creator of Grief Yoga. He will share strategies on how to engage the pain through the mind and body connection. You’ll help clients experientially learn breathing, movement, sound, and yoga techniques that anyone can do for your grieving clients. These adaptable body-based interventions can bring relief, comfort, and light into the lives of your clients. 

    David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE, is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief. He’s the founder of Grief.com and author of six books, including Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. He’s coauthored books with Elisabeth Kubler Ross and Louise Hay and leads grief certification programs for professionals and online groups for those in grief.  

    Paul Denniston, RYT 500, is the developer of Grief Yoga®, which uses grief as fuel for healing and combines many forms of yoga to help release sadness and anger and bring people to greater peace and happiness.  Paul dedicated himself to studying grief and trauma with some of the top leaders on loss, including, William Worden, Bessel van der Kolk and Peter Levine.  He also worked and studied with yoga masters Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa and Seane Corn.  Paul has taught the techniques and exercises of Grief Yoga® to more than 4,000 therapists, counselors, and healthcare professionals to use with their patients in the United States, England, and Australia.  Paul has volunteered with one of the largest hospices in Los Angeles, offering Heart Touch massage to the dying.  He also taught movement in the Stella Adler Academy in Hollywood and currently teaches at CorePower Yoga in Los Angeles.

    Ruth Lanius
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    402: Whole Again

    Reconnecting Brain & Body after Trauma
    More Information

    Ruth Lanius

    World-leading Trauma Researcher and Instructor
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    402: Whole Again

    Reconnecting Brain & Body after Trauma

    Join Dr. Ruth Lanius, trauma expert and researcher, for this workshop delving into the aftermath of trauma, focusing on the disconnect between the brain and body, and exploring groundbreaking methods to mend this division.

    Ruth examines neuroscience, brain-mind-body correlations, and the underlying five dimensions of consciousness (time, thought, body, emotion, and intersubjectivity) to explore a new perspective on healing trauma related to attachment and childhood. Engage with unique clinical case examples that draw on integrative body, brain & mind techniques and walk away with a deepened understanding of what it means to “restore the Self.”

    Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Professor of Psychiatry, is the director of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research unit at the University of Western Ontario. She established the Traumatic Stress Service and the Traumatic Stress Service Workplace Program, services that specialize in the treatment and research of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related comorbid disorders. She currently holds the Harris-Woodman Chair in Mind-Body Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.

    Her research interests focus on studying the neurobiology of PTSD and treatment outcome research examining various pharmacological and psychotherapeutic methods. She has authored more than 100 published papers and chapters in the field of traumatic stress and is currently funded by several federal funding agencies. She regularly lectures on the topic of PTSD nationally and internationally. She has recently published a book The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease with Eric Vermetten and Clare Pain.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius has employment relationships with Western University of Canada, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Health Care, University of Western Ontario, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, London Health Sciences Centre, Robarts Research Institute, and the Lawson Health Research Institute. She receives grants from the National Defence (Canada), the Academica Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario, the Trauma Research Foundation, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Dr. Lanius receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius is a fellow with the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a member of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. She is a journal reviewer for several publications, to see a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

    Tammy Nelson
    Saturday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    504: Healing from Sexual Trauma

    An Integrative Relationship Therapy Approach
    More Information

    Tammy Nelson

    Founder of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute
    Saturday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    504: Healing from Sexual Trauma

    An Integrative Relationship Therapy Approach

    Healing from sexual trauma takes a systemic approach, and even with various treatment models, therapists can feel unsure about their treatment. Sex and relationship expert, Dr. Tammy Nelson will explore sexual trauma and how the roles of victim, perpetrator, and rescuer can get played out in treatment, entrenching both client and therapist in dysfunction and prevent growth. She will share interventions and techniques to apply integrative relationship therapy, working with both individuals and couples, to create insight, awareness, and change. The three stages of treatment will be covered– 1) investigating the narrative, 2) experiencing the grief process and 3) creating a new vision for healthy sexuality. Dr. Nelson will explain activation versus automatic triggers and methods to help clients manage and learn from them. Lastly, she will share a new sexual paradigm focused on pleasure rather than dysfunction and pathology and how you can move clients toward more permanent erotic recovery.

    Tammy Nelson, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed psychotherapist, Board Certified Sexologist, Certified Sex Therapist, and Certified Imago Relationship Therapist. She has been a therapist for almost 30 years and is the executive director of the Integrative Sex Therapy Institute. She started the institute to develop courses for psychotherapists as the need grew for certified, integrated postgraduate sex and couple’s therapists in a growing field of mental health consumers who need more complex interventions for their relationship needs.

    Dr. Tammy is a TEDx speaker, Psychotherapy Networker Symposium speaker and the author of several books, including Getting the Sex You Want: Shed Your Inhibitions and Reach New Heights of Passion Together (Quiver, 2008) and the best-selling The New Monogamy: Redefining Your Relationship After Infidelity (New Harbinger, 2013), as well as When You’re the One Who Cheats: Ten Things You Need to Know (RL Publishing Corp., 2019) and Integrative Sex and Couples Therapy (PESI, 2020).

    She has been a featured expert in New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Rolling Stone magazine, TIME Magazine, Redbook, Glamour, The Sun, and The London Times. She is the host of a popular podcast on iTunes, “The Trouble with Sex”, and writes for the Huffington Post, YourTango, ThriveGlobal, and medium.com. Dr. Tammy can be followed on her blog, www.drtammynelson.com/blog.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Tammy Nelson maintains a private practice and is executive director and primary faculty at Integrated Sex Therapy Training Institute (ISTI) and has an employment relationship with Daybreak University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc., and she additionally receives royalties from New Harbinger and Sounds True. She is a paid consultant for Evergreen Certifications. Dr. Nelson has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Tammy Nelson serves on the board of advisors for the World Association of Sex Coaches. She is a member of the American Art Therapy Association, American Association of Sex Educators, Sex Counselors, and Sex Therapists (AASECT), American Comprehensive Energy Psychology Association (ACEP), American Counseling Association, American Family Therapy Academy, American Family Therapy Association (AFTA), American Psychological, Association (APA), Big Tent Ketamine group (BTK), Connecticut Counselors, Imago Relationships International Association of Professional and Certified Therapists, International Board of Sexologists, International Institute for Sexuality and Human Development, Nonfiction Authors Association, Society Scientific Study Sexuality (SSSS), and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR).

    Janina Fisher
    Saturday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    505: Undoing Shame - The Key to Trauma Healing

    Challenging the Exposure Approach to Trauma
    More Information

    Janina Fisher

    World-Renowned Trauma Trainer and Expert
    Saturday
    3:00PM – 5:00PM

    505: Undoing Shame - The Key to Trauma Healing

    Challenging the Exposure Approach to Trauma

    More than any other obstacle, shame can block the joy and peace traumatized clients seek in therapy. Feelings of worthlessness prevent them from metabolizing positive experiences. Rather than seeing their accomplishments and strengths as accurate reflections of who they are, shame sabotages their progress. Paradoxically, as clients get better in treatment, standing up for themselves more and reaching their goals, these shifts can evoke other forms of shame, like self-doubt and self-judgement. In this workshop, you’ll explore. You’ll explore how to:

    • Understand and accept the role of shame in surviving traumatic events
    • Undo negative beliefs rooted in traumatic events that fuel feelings of inferiority and unworthiness
    • Connect with and move through feelings of shame to make space for more pride and self-love

    Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, a Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation, and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School. She’s the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors, Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, and the Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart.

    Robin Bilazarian
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    403: Emotional Freedom Techniques & Tapping

    Beyond Talk Therapy to Restore Emotional Regulation in Traumatized Clients
    More Information

    Robin Bilazarian

    Author and Master EFT & Tapping Trainer
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    403: Emotional Freedom Techniques & Tapping

    Beyond Talk Therapy to Restore Emotional Regulation in Traumatized Clients

    Go beyond talk therapies to reach the essence and actual reason clients seek treatment – which is their discomfort. Heavily researched Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and tapping have the power to quickly alleviate the traumatic residuals of emotional dysregulation including fear, worry, rage, terror, agitation, and more. Surprisingly, the often-ignored physical dysregulation of a pounding heart, tight throat, queasy stomach, pain, tight jaw, or other body discomfort also collapses with EFT & tapping. With simple tools clients can use to self-regulate and manage their emotional well-being, tapping is an accessible therapeutic approach that puts the power of healing directly in your clients own hands. Incorporate EFT and tapping with other common trauma treatment modalities to help with resistant problems and memory reconsolidation. Best of all, this practical and experiential workshop includes a live demonstration for you to see this skill in action.

    Robin Bilazarian, LCSW, DCSW, DCEP (Diplomate in Energy Psychology), and International Certified Master EFT trainer, is a brief therapy expert, author and speaker who uses passion and humor to share a wealth of knowledge and her twenty years of experience integrating EFT into mainstream mental health treatment. She is the author of the Amazon best-seller Tapping the Mighty Mind: Simple Solutions for Stress, Conflict, and Pain. Her passion is to bring these rapid, thorough and gentle meridian and cognitive-based techniques into mainstream clinical mental health treatment.

    EFT is a well-researched, comprehensive, mind-body treatment that rapidly desensitizes unwanted thoughts, emotions and connected physical reactions. EFT goes beyond supportive counseling and is actual treatment. It’s surprising how quickly turmoil dissipates; clients are usually better in one session -even if the issue is long standing.

    Robin obtained her MSW degree from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill and interned at Duke Medical Outpatient Psychiatry. Her more than thirty years of clinical practice includes employment in all levels of mental health treatment, including private practice and using EFT in a community mental health center and with medical staff. She was recruited and worked for fourteen years as an internal Employee Assistance Program counselor, bringing these highly effective, short-term techniques to medical staff and students in a regional trauma hospital. Her trainees also included police, fire fighters, first responders, educators, city workers and others. She ran numerous internal and external EFT workshops, including psychiatric rounds and community conferences. She speaks nationally and internationally on this topic and presents frequently for NASW and Rutgers University. She is a sought-after expert in working with anxiety spectrum disorders.
     

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Robin Bilazarian maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Cooper University Hospital. She receives royalties as a published author. Robin Bilazarian receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Robin Bilazarian has no relevant non-financial relationships.

    Lambers Fisher
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM

    404: Trauma-Informed Culturally Competent Care

    Ethical Considerations for Treatment
    More Information

    Lambers Fisher

    Trauma-Informed Culturally Competency Trainer
    Saturday
    11:00AM-1:00PM
    P

    404: Trauma-Informed Culturally Competent Care

    Ethical Considerations for Treatment

    A common barrier to effectively meeting the ever-increasing need for trauma-informed care is a lack of awareness of the potential role culture plays in trauma origins, symptoms, and treatment strategies. Unfortunately, lack of consideration of the influence of culture on trauma needs can lead to unintentionally unethical negligent therapeutic efforts. This training will help reduce the likelihood of unethical care by providing cultural considerations for professionals to consider when endeavoring to implement trauma treatment strategies. This positive and encouraging training will provide practical strategies that can help reduce professional fears, strengthen cross-cultural relationships, and increase the likelihood of ethical trauma-informed culturally competent care.

    Includes up to 2 cultural competency CE hours! 

    Lambers Fisher, MS, LMFT, MDiv, is a marriage and family therapist who has counseled individuals, couples, and families from a variety of cultural backgrounds, in private practice, non-profit organizations, as well as ministry environments. He has a strong desire to help counseling professionals in various fields feel more comfortable, competent and confident in their ability to meet the needs of whomever they have the opportunity to serve. Lambers’ training experience includes facilitating workshops, guest lecturing, as well as being an adjunct instructor at Crown College on various aspects of diversity in counseling.

    Lambers is the author of the award-winning book, Diversity in Clinical Practice: A Practical & Shame-Free Guide to Reducing Cultural Offenses & Repairing Cross-Cultural Relationships.

    Currently, Lambers is a therapist in private practice where he effectively balances personal and professional experiences to provide unique and practical perspectives on a variety of culturally sensitive topics. Lambers supervises aspiring therapists as a board-approved supervisor for the Minnesota Board of Marriage & Family Therapists as well as the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health. He obtained a Master of Science in Marriage & Family Therapy as well as a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Lambers Fisher maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Christian Heart Counseling. He is an adjunct instructor at Crown College. Lambers Fisher receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, recording royalties, and a consulting fee from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Lambers Fisher is a member of the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy and the Minnesota Association for Marriage & Family Therapy.

  • Sunday, October 6

    • 8:30 AM – 9:45 AMKeynote Address
    • 10:00 AM – NoonFinal Workshops
    Sunday
    8:30AM – 9:45AM
    Keynote

    How Behavioral Science Has Failed Us

    A Roadmap Towards a Practical Science of Psychotherapy

    Steven C. Hayes is the developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and the codeveloper of Process-Based Therapy. The author of nearly 50 books, including the #1 bestselling Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life as well as A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters, he’s a popular speaker and blogger whose Ted Talks and blogs have nearly three million views and reads. A former president of multiple psychology and behavioral science associations, his many professional honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from ABCT. He is among the most cited psychologists in the world.

    In this talk, Hayes will explain why he believes that behavioral science has failed practitioners with its focus on latent diseases and diagnoses, and what can be done about it. But what can be done about all this labeling when practitioners work in a world structured by DSM and reimbursement protocols? Using his own popular Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as an example, Dr. Hayes will introduce a new approach to case-conceptualization that can redefine evidence-based therapy to be far more relevant to the actual world of clinical practice—and fairer to the people we hope to serve.

    Steven Hayes

    Developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
    Sunday
    8:30AM – 9:45AM
    Keynote

    How Behavioral Science Has Failed Us

    A Roadmap Towards a Practical Science of Psychotherapy

    Steven C. Hayes is the developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and the codeveloper of Process-Based Therapy. The author of nearly 50 books, including the #1 bestselling Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life as well as A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters, he’s a popular speaker and blogger whose Ted Talks and blogs have nearly three million views and reads. A former president of multiple psychology and behavioral science associations, his many professional honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from ABCT. He is among the most cited psychologists in the world.

    In this talk, Hayes will explain why he believes that behavioral science has failed practitioners with its focus on latent diseases and diagnoses, and what can be done about it. But what can be done about all this labeling when practitioners work in a world structured by DSM and reimbursement protocols? Using his own popular Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as an example, Dr. Hayes will introduce a new approach to case-conceptualization that can redefine evidence-based therapy to be far more relevant to the actual world of clinical practice—and fairer to the people we hope to serve.

    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    601: Creating the Flexible Client

    Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a Processes of Change

    Evidence-based therapy is changing. Where once treatment favored protocols for certain syndromes, now, in a new era of process-based therapy, the focus has turned to the needs, strengths, and cultural background of clients—and the processes that result in an uplifting relationship between them and their practitioner. When therapists can identify these processes, or underlying mechanisms, they’re better equipped to help clients successfully reach their goals.

    Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), best-selling author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life and Nevada Foundation Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and has developed ACT as a way of correcting these processes. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

    His popular book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Timemagazine among several other major media outlets, and for a time was the number one best-selling self-help book in the United States.

    Steven Hayes
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    601: Creating the Flexible Client

    Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a Processes of Change
    More Information

    Steven Hayes

    Developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
    Sunday
    8:30AM – 9:45AM
    Keynote

    How Behavioral Science Has Failed Us

    A Roadmap Towards a Practical Science of Psychotherapy

    Steven C. Hayes is the developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and the codeveloper of Process-Based Therapy. The author of nearly 50 books, including the #1 bestselling Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life as well as A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters, he’s a popular speaker and blogger whose Ted Talks and blogs have nearly three million views and reads. A former president of multiple psychology and behavioral science associations, his many professional honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from ABCT. He is among the most cited psychologists in the world.

    In this talk, Hayes will explain why he believes that behavioral science has failed practitioners with its focus on latent diseases and diagnoses, and what can be done about it. But what can be done about all this labeling when practitioners work in a world structured by DSM and reimbursement protocols? Using his own popular Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as an example, Dr. Hayes will introduce a new approach to case-conceptualization that can redefine evidence-based therapy to be far more relevant to the actual world of clinical practice—and fairer to the people we hope to serve.

    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    601: Creating the Flexible Client

    Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a Processes of Change

    Evidence-based therapy is changing. Where once treatment favored protocols for certain syndromes, now, in a new era of process-based therapy, the focus has turned to the needs, strengths, and cultural background of clients—and the processes that result in an uplifting relationship between them and their practitioner. When therapists can identify these processes, or underlying mechanisms, they’re better equipped to help clients successfully reach their goals.

    Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), best-selling author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life and Nevada Foundation Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and has developed ACT as a way of correcting these processes. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

    His popular book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Timemagazine among several other major media outlets, and for a time was the number one best-selling self-help book in the United States.

    Janina Fisher
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    603: Avoidance & Intellectualization in the Treatment of Trauma

    Unlocking Inner Resources for Healing, Resilience, & Self-Compassion
    More Information

    Janina Fisher

    World-Renowned Trauma Trainer and Expert
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    603: Avoidance & Intellectualization in the Treatment of Trauma

    Unlocking Inner Resources for Healing, Resilience, & Self-Compassion

    Abusers capitalize on their victims’ vulnerability. Without the power to escape or fight back, children are helpless in an unsafe world. It isn’t safe to cry, look frightened, or voice any emotional need for fear of punishment. Because they have no other choice than to appear “fine”, the brain and body instinctively develop habits that prevent showing emotion. These strategies are adaptive in a threatening unsafe environment, but they become impediments in treatment. Years later, traumatized clients come find themselves in therapy, but their phobias of emotion and vulnerability pose obstacles for the therapist.

    Fortunately, modern trauma treatment affords us many ways to help survivors, including those who can’t “go there”. In this workshop, Dr. Janina Fisher, trauma expert, author, and researcher, will share strategies for how to develop a strong therapeutic alliance with intellectualized and avoidant clients and she’ll share how to better manage our own needs for them to be vulnerable.

    Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, a Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation, and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School. She’s the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma SurvivorsTransforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, and the Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart. 

    Deb Dana
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    605: Finding a New Rhythm

    A Polyvagal Guided Approach to Life After Loss
    More Information

    Deb Dana

    Leading Polyvagal Informed Therapy Innovator
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    605: Finding a New Rhythm

    A Polyvagal Guided Approach to Life After Loss

    Clients experience a loss and suddenly the rhythms of their lives are changed. It’s as if they have left home without a map and find themselves in a foreign land. Their bodies activate survival strategies to protect them from being overwhelmed with suffering and their brains create stories to try and make sense of what has happened. Polyvagal Theory offers a guide to finding their way. By listening to our autonomic nervous system and honoring its wisdom, we can learn to navigate the world differently and embody a new rhythm.

    In this experiential workshop Deb Dana, Polyvagal Theory expert trainer and author, will show how biology shapes the experience of loss and ways to partner with the nervous system to move forward. She uses the principles of Polyvagal Theory to look at loss, explore ways to follow autonomic responses after a loss, and learn how to engage the power of ventral energy to remember a loss while creating rhythms that nourish new patterns. Deb will do a live demonstration that shows Polyvagal Theory in action in exploring an autonomic story of loss.

    Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician, consultant, and author who’s well known for translating Polyvagal Theory into a language and application that’s both understandable and accessible. Her publications include The Polyvagal Theory in TherapyPolyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection, and Anchored. 

    Katelyn Baxter-Musser
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    602: Healing Trauma from Narcissistic Abuse Using a DBT Approach

    Building Boundaries, Rebuilding Lives
    More Information

    Katelyn Baxter-Musser

    Dialectical Behavior Therapy (C-DBT) Expert Trainer
    Sunday
    10:00AM – 12:00PM

    602: Healing Trauma from Narcissistic Abuse Using a DBT Approach

    Building Boundaries, Rebuilding Lives

    Narcissistic abuse leaves no aspect of one’s life untouched. From fractured self-esteem to shattered trust, the impact is profound and far-reaching. The therapeutic process is often long and at times clinicians may find themselves navigating complex emotional landscapes, confronting unforeseen challenges, or feeling emotionally drained by the intensity of the work. Despite your dedication, traditional therapeutic methods may feel insufficient in addressing the depth of your client’s wounds. This is where Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) shines as an innovative approach. DBT offers a unique blend of validation and skill-building making it particularly adept at addressing the intricate layers of trauma resulting from narcissistic abuse.

    DBT’s emphasis on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness equips therapists with a toolkit tailored to the unique challenges posed by narcissistic abuse. This innovative approach provides concrete strategies for clients to manage overwhelming emotions and triggers, learn to trust oneself in relationships, set healthy boundaries and cultivate a deeper sense of self-compassion. By integrating these skills into therapy, clinicians can empower clients not just to cope, but to actively reclaim their lives and build resilience in the face of narcissistic abuse. 

    Katelyn Baxter-Musser, LCSW, C-DBT, is an accomplished therapist whose trainings have helped tens of thousands of therapists incorporate mindfulness-based techniques into their work. Certified in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (C-DBT) through Evergreen Certifications and extensively trained in mindfulness techniques, she seamlessly integrates these practices into her work with adults and adolescents presenting with a variety of concerns.

    With a focus on cultivating self-awareness, emotional regulation and personal growth, Ms. Baxter-Musser empowers her clients to develop healthier coping strategies, process traumas, and transform destructive emotions. Ms. Baxter-Musser is also trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is an EMDRIA-approved consultant. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and the National Center for Crisis Management.

    She previously sat on the EMDRIA Standards and Training Committee and was the co-regional coordinator for the EMDRIA Southern Maine Regional Network. She works in private practice where her areas of expertise include the treatment of trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, grief and relationship issues.

    PESI and Katelyn Baxter-Musser are not affiliated or associated with Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, or her organizations.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Katelyn Baxter-Musser is the owner, operator, trainer of Inner Awakening Counseling & Consulting. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Katelyn Baxter-Musser is a member of EMDRIA, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, the National Center for Crisis Management, and the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.

    Diane Poole Heller, PhD
    Sunday
    10:00AM-12:00PM

    604: Break the Cycle of Intergenerational Trauma

    Clinical Strategies for Healing Attachment Wounds
    More Information

    Diane Poole Heller, PhD

    Sunday
    10:00AM-12:00PM

    604: Break the Cycle of Intergenerational Trauma

    Clinical Strategies for Healing Attachment Wounds

    Intergenerational trauma persists as a profound challenge within psychotherapy, often eluding conventional treatment methods. This session will illuminate symptoms associated with inherited trauma patterns and introduce effective techniques to address role reversal and heal these deep-rooted issues.

    See true clinical transformation take place in a real client session, where intergenerational wounds are not just explored, but actively healed. By addressing generational boundary ruptures, and approaching parental wounds with compassion, learn how to move your clients from feelings of tension, friction, and unresolved pain and grief to a sense of lightness, peace, and a newfound connection to their ancestral lineage.

    Dr. Heller will also facilitate an interactive group activity. You will experience the potential of the imaginal realm for addressing negative merging and troubled family histories to break the cycle of intergenerational suffering.

    Diane Poole Heller, PhD, is an internationally-recognized speaker, author, and expert in the field of attachment theory and trauma resolution. She developed a signature series on adult attachment called DARe (Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning experience), that facilitates more fulfilling adult relationships.

    In 1989, she began working with Dr. Peter Levine, teaching for 25 years for SEI.

    She’s authored 3 books: Crash Course, on auto accident trauma; Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep and Lasting Relationships; and The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships. Her film, “Surviving Columbine,” supported community healing after the Columbine High School shootings.

Plus over 32 of the field's leading innovators!

Schedule at a Glance

Click on the days below to see times of each event
  • Thursday, October 3

    • 8:30 AM - NoonWorkshops
    • Noon - 1:00 PMBreak
    • 1:00 PM – 3:00 PMWorkshops Continued
    • 3:00 PM – 6:30 PMExhibit Hall Grand Opening
  • Friday, October 4

    • 7:00 AM – 8:00 AMMorning Movement/Yoga
    • 9:00 AM – 10:45 AMWelcome & Keynote Address
    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PMMorning Workshops
    • 1:15 PM – 2:45 PMLuncheon Address & Exhibit Hall Happenings
    • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PMAfternoon Workshops
    • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PMInnovations Reception in the Exhibit Hall
    • 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Trauma Research Foundation Reception with Bessel van der Kolk
    • 8:00 PM – 11:00 PMInnovations Dance Party
  • Saturday, October 5

    • 7:00 AM – 8:00 AMMorning Movement/Yoga
    • 9:00 AM – 10:45 AMKeynote Address
    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PMMorning Workshops
    • 1:15 PM – 2:45 PMLuncheon Address & Exhibit Hall Happenings
    • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PMAfternoon Workshops
    • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PMExhibit Hall Grand Finale
    • 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Evening Dinner Event
  • Sunday, October 6

    • 8:30 AM – 9:45 AMKeynote Address
    • 10:00 AM – NoonFinal Workshops

Schedule at a Glance

Click on the days below to see times of each event
Please note the times are listed in PDT
  • Thursday, October 3

    • 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM PDTWorkshops
    • 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM PDTBreak
    • 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM PDTWorkshops Continued
    • 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM PDTExhibit Hall Grand Opening
    Erica Sirrine
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 4:30PM

    101: The Ultimate Grief Treatment Toolbox Certification Course

    More Information

    Erica Sirrine

    Expert Instructor on Grief, Death, and Bereavement
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 4:30PM

    101: The Ultimate Grief Treatment Toolbox Certification Course

    Join Dr. Erica Sirrine, Ph.D., LCSW, FT, as she walks you through over 60 interventions that you can use to help your grieving clients find hope and heal. Drawing on her expertise as a bereavement counselor and educator, Dr. Sirrine blends remarkable case studies with creative intervention strategies for an engaging and unforgettable workshop that will arm you with the skills you need to be an effective therapist for grieving clients. 

    Whether your client is experiencing feelings of premature grief due to the anticipated death of a loved one, pain and loss following a divorce, or feelings of disbelief and shock following a traumatic death, this workshop will prepare you to skillfully intervene. 

    Attend this seminar and discover: 
    Over 60 interventions to help clients mourn, reconcile their losses & discover hope 
    Assessment & treatment techniques for children, adolescents & adults 
    Session topics & treatment approaches for individuals, groups & families 
    Strategies to treat clients dealing with anticipatory grief 
    Techniques & ideas for facilitating bereavement groups & grief camps 

    Best of all, upon completion of this training, you’ll be eligible to become a Certified Grief Informed Professional (CGP) through Evergreen Certifications. Certification lets colleagues, employers, and clients know that you’ve invested the extra time and effort necessary to understand the complexities of grief counseling. Professional standards apply. Visit www.evergreencertifications.com/CGP for details. 

    Dr. Erica Sirrine is a licensed clinical social worker with over 22 years of experience in the field of death, dying, and bereavement. She earned a PhD in social work and has been awarded the distinction of Fellow in Thanatology by the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Dr. Sirrine has conducted and published research on grief and bereavement, including a study on college student experiences of loss amid the COVID-19 pandemic that was published in OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying and featured in TIME magazine. She maintains a blog on grief and is the author of Sammy’s Story, an anticipatory grief counseling book for young children experiencing the serious illness of a parent.

    Dr. Sirrine has extensive expertise providing individual and group therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and families experiencing illness and loss. She has implemented numerous interventions and programs aimed at improving the emotional health of clients and currently serves as the director of social work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Sirrine frequently presents seminars on bereavement and loss throughout the United States and is known for her interactive and engaging workshops.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Erica Sirrine has employment relationships with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Southeastern University. She receives royalties as a published author. Erica Sirrine receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Erica Sirrine is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers, the National Alliance for Children’s Grief, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare.

    Leslie Korn
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    102: Nutrition & Integrative Methods for Trauma

    Enhance Mood, Sleep, and Well-Being
    More Information

    Leslie Korn

    Renowned Integrative Medicine Clinician and Educator
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    102: Nutrition & Integrative Methods for Trauma

    Enhance Mood, Sleep, and Well-Being

    Evidence-based research suggests that there are significant limitations to pharmaceutical interventions for PTSD. Nutritional and integrative strategies for PTSD can be an effective addition. Yet how do we help clients understand the connections between their physical well-being and traumatic etiologies? What methods and interventions do we choose, at what stage of recovery, and who is a viable candidate? This workshop will explore the latest research and clinical applications of culinary, nutritional, herbal, and psychedelic medicine. You’ll discover how to ethically incorporate these methods into your practice and learn reliable tools to help your clients improve their well-being.

    Leslie Korn, PhD, MPH, LMHC, ACS, FNTP, BCTMB, is a renowned integrative medicine clinician and educator specializing in the use of nutritional, herbal and culinary medicine for the treatment of trauma and emotional and chronic physical illness. She is known for her dynamism and humor providing clients effective alternatives to psychotropics. She completed her graduate education in the department of psychiatry and public health at Harvard Medical School and her life training in the jungle of Mexico where she lived and worked alongside local healers for over 25 years. She directed a naturopathic medicine and training clinic facilitating health, culinary and fitness retreats. She is licensed and certified in nutritional therapy, mental health counseling, and bodywork (Polarity and Cranial Sacral and medical massage therapies) and is an approved clinical supervisor. She introduced somatic therapies for complex trauma patients in outpatient psychiatry at Harvard Medical school in 1985 and served Acupuncture and faculty at National College of Naturopathic Medicine.

    She is the author of the seminal book on the body and complex trauma: Rhythms of Recovery: Integrative Medicine for PTSD and Complex Trauma, 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2012, 2023); The Brainbow Blueprint: A Clinical Guide to Integrative Medicine and Nutrition for Mental Well Being (PESI, 2023), Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health (W.W. Norton, 2016), Eat Right Feel Right: Over 80 Recipes and Tips to Improve Mood, Sleep, Attention & Focus (PESI, 2017); Multicultural Counseling Workbook: Exercises, Worksheets & Games to Build Rapport with Diverse Clients (PESI, 2015); The Good Mood Kitchen (W.W. Norton, 2017); and Natural Woman: Herbal Remedies for Radiant Health at Every Age and Stage of Life (Shambhala, 2019). She was a founder of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, a Fullbright scholar in Herbal Medicine and an NIH-funded scientist, in mind/body medicine. She is an approved clinical supervisor and is the research director at the Center for World Indigenous Studies where she designs culinary and herbal medicine programs with tribal communities engaged in developing integrative medicine programs.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Leslie Korn maintains a private practice and is the Director of Research at the Center for World Indigenous Studies. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. and additionally receives publishing royalties from Norton, Shambhala, and Routledge. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Leslie Korn is a member of the Nutritional Therapy Association and Integrative Medicine for the Underserved.

    Talisa Beasley
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    103: Boundary Setting in Clinical Practice

    The Best Ethical Practices
    More Information

    Talisa Beasley

    Ethics, Leadership, and Family Counseling Expert Instructor
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    103: Boundary Setting in Clinical Practice

    The Best Ethical Practices

    Are you having trouble saying “No” to clients?
    Do you struggle with establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries?
    Do you avoid setting boundaries for fear of losing a client?

    As clinicians, we come face to face with “gray areas” on a daily basis and skate around potential issues that could put our businesses, clinical work, or clients in jeopardy. We struggle with setting boundaries personally and professionally and it ultimately has a negative impact on the clients we serve.

    Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, will use activities, vignettes, and practical business experience to discuss the boundary issues and dilemmas that exist (and are often overlooked and swept aside) that could impact your business, your bottom line, and your clients. Develop the confidence needed to address complex boundary issues in clinical practice.
    Earn up to 6 CE hours!

    Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Gottman certified facilitator. With over 25 years of experience working in the area of crisis management in public health as well as extensive training in the area of family violence intervention, substance abuse, and suicide prevention, Talisa specializes in helping clients overcome their struggle with depression and anxiety. Talisa is the owner of a busy private practice in the Atlanta area and teaches as an adjunct professor in the human services department at Shorter College. She also consults for nationwide businesses in the area of Leadership.

    Talisa Beasley, LPC, received a Master of Arts Degree in professional counseling and certificate in marriage & family from Argosy University, as well as receiving her Bachelors of Administration with a business management specialty from Mercer University. Talisa is a standing member of Chi-Sigma Iota and is a well sought after speaker on women’s issues. Talisa has co-authored two books in this area.

    Tasha Oswald
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    104: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach to Treat “Autistic Trauma”

    How to Heal from the Shame & Rejection of Not Fitting the Norm
    More Information

    Tasha Oswald

    Neurodiversity-affirming expert, IFS Level 3 Therapist
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    104: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach to Treat “Autistic Trauma”

    How to Heal from the Shame & Rejection of Not Fitting the Norm

    Have you ever wondered if your client is neurodivergent or autistic? Do you worry if you’re doing effective work with this population? You may have clients who have difficulty reading social cues, fearing they’ll say or do the wrong thing or be called “weird”. They face neurotypical biases and discrimination every day. Constantly feeling the threat of being found out as “different”, they try to mask who they are to avoid humiliation and social rejection. These experiences and their emotional toll are what we call “autistic trauma”. Autistic trauma often goes unrecognized and untreated. In this workshop, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to work more effectively with autistic trauma.

    Tasha Oswald, PhD (she/her), is a neurodiversity-affirming licensed psychologist and clinical consultant, IFS Level 3 trained and polyvagal-informed. She identifies as a neurodivergent, Caucasian, cisgender female. Dr. Oswald is passionate about addressing the gap in mental health services for autistic adults and youth. For this reason, she founded the adult autism specialty practice, Open Doors Therapy, based in California. She specializes in working with autistic women, autistic working professionals, gifted and neurodivergent individuals, emerging adults on the spectrum, and adults receiving a later life ASD diagnosis. Seeing the transformative power of group therapy for autistic adults, group work is a cornerstone of her practice. Being in the field for nearly 20 years, Dr. Oswald has received extensive training in autism. After completing her PhD in psychology with an autism emphasis, she was awarded an NIH-Funded Autism Research Training Program (ARTP) post-doctoral fellowship. Through this fellowship program, she engaged in interdisciplinary training and research at the world-renowned UC Davis MIND Institute. While at the MIND Institute, she developed and established a therapy group program for young adults on the autism spectrum called the ACCESS Program. She has published autism research in preeminent research journals. Today, Dr. Oswald is an active blogger and contributor to global media outlets as an autism expert. As a speaker and advocate, she has presented at numerous research and autism conferences, universities, community groups, and companies to raise awareness of mental health topics related to autism in adulthood.

    Laurel Parnell
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    105: Attachment-Focused EMDR

    Resourcing & Developmental Repair
    More Information

    Laurel Parnell

    Director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR
    Thursday
    8:30AM – 3:00PM

    105: Attachment-Focused EMDR

    Resourcing & Developmental Repair

    Dr. Laurel Parnell, developer of Attachment-Focused EMDR and EMDR expert, author and trainer, will teach you the basics of how to tap in resources to support resilience, help with emotional regulation and heal developmental deficits. Dr. Parnell will demonstrate exactly how you can use attachment-focused EMDR and its four foundational resources to help guide your clients toward increased resilience, emotional regulation, and developmental repair. Take away skills drawn from EMDR to tap in resources, the four foundational resources and ways to use resource figures, such as an ideal mother, to repair damage from early childhood, abuse, neglect and rejection.

    Laurel Parnell, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR. One of the world’s leading experts on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she is the originator of the EMDR-related therapies Attachment-Focused EMDR and Resource Tapping. Dr. Parnell has served on the faculty of the California Institute for Integral Studies and John F. Kennedy University. She is the author of several books and videos on EMDR, including, Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma, Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment, A Therapist’s Guide to EMDR and Tapping In. Dr. Parnell keynotes conferences, trains clinicians in EMDR, and teaches workshops internationally on Attachment-Focused EMDR, Rewiring the Addicted Brain and Resource Tapping. Learn more about Dr. Parnell at www.parnellemdr.com.

    Speaker Disclosures:
    Financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell maintains a private practice and is the director of the Parnell Institute, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Parnell receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
    Non-financial: Dr. Laurel Parnell has no relevant non-financial relationships.

  • Friday, October 4

    • 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM PDTMorning Movement/Yoga
    • 9:00 AM – 10:45 AM PDTWelcome & Keynote Address
    • 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM PDTMorning Workshops
    • 1:15 PM – 2:45 PM PDTLuncheon Address & Exhibit Hall Happenings
    • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM PDTAfternoon Workshops
    • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM PDTInnovations Reception in the Exhibit Hall
    • 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM PDTTrauma Research Foundation Reception with Bessel van der Kolk
    • 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM PDTInnovations Dance Party
    Friday
    9:30AM-10:30AM
    Keynote

    All Care Must Be Trauma-Informed Care

    Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General, award-winning physician, researcher and trauma expert, has put Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the map for a new generation. Good practitioners know that childhood trauma isn’t something that you just “get over’ as you grow up. That’s why understanding what constitutes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress is critical to successfully addressing the long-term mental and physical risks childhood trauma can pose. ACEs measure the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, parental addiction, mental illness, and divorce. Evidence shows ACEs have long-term, measurable effects on the development of the brain, immune system, hormonal systems, and genetic regulation through the mechanism of toxic stress. Renowned ACEs expert, Dr. Harris, will reveal the prevalence of ACEs, what science tells us about mitigating toxic stress, and how to ensure our care is trauma informed.

    Nadine Burke Harris

    Founder of Center for Youth Wellness & Former Surgeon General of California
    Friday
    9:30AM-10:30AM
    Keynote

    All Care Must Be Trauma-Informed Care

    Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first-ever Surgeon General, award-winning physician, researcher and trauma expert, has put Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the map for a new generation. Good practitioners know that childhood trauma isn’t something that you just “get over’ as you grow up. That’s why understanding what constitutes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress is critical to successfully addressing the long-term mental and physical risks childhood trauma can pose. ACEs measure the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, parental addiction, mental illness, and divorce. Evidence shows ACEs have long-term, measurable effects on the development of the brain, immune system, hormonal systems, and genetic regulation through the mechanism of toxic stress. Renowned ACEs expert, Dr. Harris, will reveal the prevalence of ACEs, what science tells us about mitigating toxic stress, and how to ensure our care is trauma informed.

    Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is an award-winning physician, researcher and public health leader who has spent her career on the front lines of some of our world’s most pressing public health challenges. As California’s first-ever Surgeon General, she helped guide the state’s COVID response, co-chairing the committee to recommend vaccine allocation and helping California achieve the lowest cumulative mortality of any large state. Amid the throes of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Burke Harris successfully launched a first-in-the-nation statewide effort to train over 20,000 primary care providers on how to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and respond with trauma-informed care.

    Dr. Burke Harris’ career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable communities and combating the root causes of health disparities. After completing her MPH at Harvard and residency at Stanford, she founded a clinic in one of San Francisco’s most underserved communities, Bayview Hunters Point. It was there that Burke Harris identified Adverse Childhood Experiences as a major risk factor affecting the health of her patients and applied research from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente to develop a novel clinical screening protocol.

    Friday
    1:15PM –2:45PM
    Keynote

    The Modern Abolitionist

    * This CE program includes a CATERED LUNCH. Upgrade your conference pass by adding this luncheon keynote to your registration!

    Somatic abolitionist. It’s how Resmaa Menakem, popular trainer, speaker, and bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands, defines himself. He’s managed military counseling services for more than 50 bases in war-torn Afghanistan, consulted on trauma and healing for large school districts and police departments, and trained with top trauma and somatic experts to refine and teach his particular healing path of Cultural Somatics: an embodied, antiracist way of living.

    For years, he’d watched as well-intentioned therapists tried reading, talking, and thinking their way past the intangible, living nature of racism in order to do good, culturally aware work. But white supremacy lives in the body, just as racial trauma does.

    In this talk, Menakem will be joined by Talisa Beasley, transformational leader, speaker and author, who will show us how intergenerational trauma comprises brutal experiences and realities, compounded over time, from which our ancestors couldn’t heal. They’ll offer a road map for learning how to slow down enough to discern, in ourselves and others, historical from personal pain, and the role we may be unwittingly playing in keeping the effects of racism alive in our bodies.

    Resmaa Menakem,& Talisa Beasley

    Trainer, Speaker, and Bestselling Author of "My Grandmother’s Hands"
    Friday
    1:15PM –2:45PM
    P
    Keynote

    The Modern Abolitionist

    * This CE program includes a CATERED LUNCH. Upgrade your conference pass by adding this luncheon keynote to your registration!

    Somatic abolitionist. It’s how Resmaa Menakem, popular trainer, speaker, and bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands, defines himself. He’s managed military counseling services for more than 50 bases in war-torn Afghanistan, consulted on trauma and healing for large school districts and police departments, and trained with top trauma and somatic experts to refine and teach his particular healing path of Cultural Somatics: an embodied, antiracist way of living.

    For years, he’d watched as well-intentioned therapists tried reading, talking, and thinking their way past the intangible, living nature of racism in order to do good, culturally aware work. But white supremacy lives in the body, just as racial trauma does.

    In this talk, Menakem will be joined by Talisa Beasley, transformational leader, speaker and author, who will show us how intergenerational trauma comprises brutal experiences and realities, compounded over time, from which our ancestors couldn’t heal. They’ll offer a road map for learning how to slow down enough to discern, in ourselves and others, historical from personal pain, and the role we may be unwittingly playing in keeping the effects of racism alive in our bodies.

    Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP, is a Senior Fellow at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare where he has built an intensive training curriculum for staff on cultural somatics and racialized trauma.

    He has served as director of counseling services for the Tubman Family Alliance; as behavioral health director for African American Family Services in Minneapolis; as a domestic violence counselor for Wilder Foundation; as a certified Military and Family Life Consultant for the US Armed Forces; as a trauma consultant for the Minneapolis Public Schools; and as a Cultural Somatics consultant for the Minneapolis Police Department.

    As a Community Care Counselor, he managed the wellness and counseling services for civilians on fifty-three US military bases in Afghanistan.

    Resmaa studied and trained at Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, as well as with Dr. David Schnarch (author of the bestselling Passionate Marriage).

    He currently teaches workshops on Cultural Somatics for audiences of African Americans, European Americans, and police officers.

    He is also a therapist in private practice.

    Talisa Beasley, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Gottman certified facilitator. With over 25 years of experience working in the area of crisis management in public health as well as extensive training in the area of family violence intervention, substance abuse, and suicide prevention, Talisa specializes in helping clients overcome their struggle with depression and anxiety. Talisa is the owner of a busy private practice in the Atlanta area and teaches as an adjunct professor in the human services department at Shorter College. She also consults for nationwide businesses in the area of Leadership.

    Talisa Beasley, LPC, received a Master of Arts Degree in professional counseling and certificate in marriage & family from Argosy University, as well as receiving her Bachelors of Administration with a business management specialty from Mercer University. Talisa is a standing member of Chi-Sigma Iota and is a well sought after speaker on women’s issues. Talisa has co-authored two books in this area.