Sara Kuburic, known by her 1.6 million Instagram followers as The Millennial Therapist, is an existential therapist, researcher, author and columnist for USA Today. She’s also the author of the new book It’s on me: Accept Hard Truths, Discover Yourself, and Change Your Life. Her modern perspective on existential therapy—one of the most long-standing, evidence-based therapeutic approaches–has led to features in popular publications such as Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, The Guardian, and ABC News.

With our field’s emphasis on acquiring skills, learning techniques, and absorbing old and new theories, it’s easy to forget the critical importance of who we are. In her keynote address, Kuburic will remind us of the ways our human Self—unique, authentic, genuine, and yes, vulnerable—is the most important tool we can bring into our sessions, particularly when clients trigger us. By genuinely showing up as our Self, and appropriately disclosing our clients’ impact on us, we reaffirm our humanity and the inherently existential nature of therapy.