Live Stream Room 3- Emory Amphitheatre

Welcome & Keynote
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Keynote continued
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Lynnett Glass EMBA, MDiv, SHRM-CP

Keynote: Dr. Debbie Haskins PhD, LCPC, ACS, MAC, ICGC-II, CCGSO, BACC 

Finding Grace and Beauty in Brokenness: Healing Psychological and Spiritual Wounds from Adversity, Trauma and Loss for Practitioners, Clients, and Community Members

• to review unique challenges of the psychospiritual impacts of adversity, trauma, and loss among practitioners that may influence authentic, empowering spiritually integrated mental health services
• to identify 3 strategies to support “grace opportunities” as liberating psychospiritual healing tools for experiences of brokenness 
• to identify resources to support practitioners and community members for authentic psychospiritual healing and empowerment 

Room 1 - Hickory

Room 2 - Basswood

Live Stream
Room 3
Mountain Laurel 

Workshop Series II
10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Melissa Lemons
PhD Counselor Education and Supervision, LPCMH, NCC

Tapping: For the Client and Counselor's Well-being

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), commonly known as tapping, is an energy psychology treatment in which clients mirror the actions of counselors during a session, which reduces the risk of vicarious traumatization and healing for both parties. EFT/tapping is an integrative mind-body practice that simulates acupressure points to release "stuck" energy and information. Each session is unique and personalized to the client's understanding of meaning and purpose within the context of their personal history.

Learning Objectives:

• to demonstrate the basic tapping sequence
• to apply knowledge of the basic tapping sequence in the constricted breathing practice
• to utilize the Tearless Trauma technique
• to describe two studies that demonstrate the clinical efficacy of Emotional Freedom Techniques

Special Happenings

David S Thornton
LCPT #65 (Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapist) TN; D.Min, MA

Global Forgiveness

For many clients, the therapist is the person who assists in the movement toward forgiveness and healing. Providing practitioners with multiple alternative avenues to explore their own healing and to offer to clients is close to the heart of psycho-spiritual liberation.

Learning Objectives:

• to recognize the dynamics that can make forgiveness difficult to express
• to articulate how much the broader world has to offer all of us move toward inner and inter-relational healing and wholeness
• to demonstrate sensitivity required when you or your client are and are not ready for change

Room 1 - Hickory

Room 2 - Basswood

Live Stream
Room 3
Mountain Laurel 

Workshop Series III 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM

John A. King
Ph.D., M.Div., M.A., LPC, NCC, Ordained in the Brethren in Christ Church US

Kristy Ford
Ph.D., LMHC-QS (FL), NCC

Christian Worldview in Counselor Education

According to the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics, "Counselors are aware of—and avoid imposing—their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors" onto their clients (ACA, 2014, A.4.b). When practitioners can more clearly identify who they are and what they value and believe, they are better equipped to love and care for their parishioners, clients, and patients. 

Learning Objectives:

• to describe Christian Integration in psychotherapy
• to identify the four major themes of a Biblical worldview in the context of psychotherapy
• to articulate how the themes of a Biblical worldview impact professional identity development for the Christian professional counselor

Special Happenings

Melody A. Thompson
LPC

Living Fully: The Complexities of Authenticity in Christian Leaders and Their Families

This presentation connects with the topic of Psycho-spiritual Liberation: The Role of the Practitioner by providing education on the identity crisis experienced by Christian leaders and their families. This presentation will identify their identity crisis through a theoretical lens and discuss treatment methods that would benefit this population.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe identity crisis experiences of Christian leaders and their families as they navigate the tension between living authentic and inauthentic to conform to external expectations
• to determine how Christian leaders and their families perceive the balance between genuine self-expression and external pressures
• to demonstrate strategies Christian leaders and their families use to cultivate authenticity in their lives
• to describe therapeutic interventions designed to help Christian leaders and their families navigate this identity crisis

Room 1 – Hickory

Room 2 – Basswood

Live Stream
Room 3
Mountain Laurel 

Workshop Series IV
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM

John A. King
Ph.D., M.Div., M.A., LPC, NCC, Ordained in the Brethren in Christ Church US

Death, Life, and Ministry: Christian Theology and Practitioner Identity

A large percentage of counselors, therapists, psychologists, chaplains, and other practitioners self-identify as having Christian faith, yet many struggle with articulating a theological and personal narrative of tying their professional life with their theological beliefs and values.  In this session, participants will explore a theological foundation for caregiving from a Christian worldview coming from the biblical accounts of creation from Genesis.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe a broad theological definition of death as separation from Genesis 1-5
• to articulate how the five distinctions of death/separation tie into the American Counseling Association’s definition of counseling
• to demonstrate how to integrate their faith commitments into their professional work
• to articulate a personal narrative of how their backstory relates to their work in representing the healing and restorative work of Christ in the counseling profession in an ethically appropriate way

Rosalind Caldwell Stanley
MA in Counseling

Healing of the Soul Ministry - Rejection (HOSM - Rejection)

When people are healed of rejection, they are freed from all of the negatives that come along with it, such low self-worth, distorted perspectives, identity confusion, poor relationship management, etc. and enabled and empowered to pursue and fulfill their God-given purpose.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe Healing of the Soul Ministry through a brief introduction
• to articulate essential Ingredients for healing of the Soul in psychotherapy
• to identify any personal issues of rejection that can impact psychotherapy
• to determine how rejection modality components impact mental health
• to describe how the impact of rejection on the soul and inspired to be healed or help others receiving healing from rejection

Bridget Piggue ThD

Respecting Our Body Knowledge as a Healing and Liberative Practice

Our bodies are ALIVE!!! They hold significant knowledge, wisdom of ages past and the ability to inform itself.  As spiritual leaders it is important to understand that Healing and Liberation begins with our own Self-Literacy.  The relationship between having and knowing an embodied self can significantly inform the impact leaders have on others, as well as the state of their own physical and mental health. From an interdisciplinary approach, this workshop will explore the intersection of what select Neuro-scientific concepts, Psychology, and Indigenous Spirituality have to offer conversations on embodiment, healing and leadership practices. 

Learning Objectives:

• to cultivate awareness of the term Self-Literacy and the notion of one's body as living
• to become familiar with Self- Literacy and Self-Relationship as a means of understanding correlations between dis/embodied ways of relating and pronounced health outcomes
• to offer the practice of Self-Literacy and Self-Relationship as a means of healing the community within and thus, the community beyond the physical body

Room 1 - Hickory

Room 2 - Basswood

Live Stream
Room 3
Mountain Laurel 

Workshop Series IV
9:00 AM - 10:30AM

John A. King
Ph.D., M.Div., M.A., LPC, NCC, Ordained in the Brethren in Christ Church US

Help Me, I’m Stuck: Using the Conceptual Mapping Task as a Dynamic Counseling and Supervision Tool for Trainees and Seasoned Counselors

The Conceptual Mapping Task (CMT) is a dynamic counseling and supervision tool for both practitioners and parishioners.  It is a fun tool to use, and people have consistently found it a meaningful way to more deeply conceptualize pastoral counseling situations in supervision, counseling, and research.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe the rationale and research base for using the Conceptual Mapping Task (CMT) in clinical supervision, counseling, and qualitative research
• to articulate the four-phase protocol of the CMT used in supervision with trainees or counselors
• to identify how the CMT can be used in supervision as a strategy to promote counselor autonomy in case conceptualization
• to demonstrate how the CMT can be used to promote autonomy, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and fidelity with parishioners and clients

Special Happening Room

Douglas M. Thorpe
Ph.D. in Pastoral Theology, Licensed Professional Counselor in VA, Certified Gottman Therapist, ACPE Psychotherapist

Rebuilding the Sound Relationship House: Helping Couples Heal and Forgive After an Affair

Affairs often begin out of a desperate feeling of being trapped in a failing relationship.  While the affair can bring a thrilling sense of freedom, its discovery traps both partners in cycles of guilt, shame, betrayal and anger.  Practitioners need a robust theory of relationships that can describe the consequences of an affair in detail, help explain the vulnerabilities that led to the affair, and guide the healing of the relationship.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe how John Gottman’s model of the Sound Relationship House can be used as a tool for assessing couple relationships
• to use the SRH model to help both partners understand the relational damage from an affair and the path to healing
• to describe psychological, relational and spiritual resources for acknowledging harm, forgiving betrayal and restoring relationship in psychotherapy

Room 1 - Hickory

Room 2 - Basswood

Live Stream
Room 3
Mountain Laurel 

Workshop Series V
10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Elaina Taze Smith
D.Min, Pastoral Counseling

"Can You Walk with Me Some?": Offerings from Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy for Liberation-Based Care for People Experiencing Homelessness

The non-diagnosing lens of narrative therapy and/or pastoral counseling can provide space for unhoused people to vocalize existential concerns without fear of being shut down or redirected to other topics.  This topic draws from interventions that connect Paulo Freire, Michael White, Edward Wimberly, and Renita Weems, with space to point theologically to James Cone, Gustavo Gutierrez, and other liberation theologians if/as helpful for discussion.

Learning Objectives:

• to understand homelessness/housing social stigma and barriers, possible co-occurring needs, and places where spiritual or spiritually-integrated psychotherapy may take place
• to review types of care available/unavailable to the unhoused, and why/how chaplains, spiritually-integrated practitioners, and other faith leaders are uniquely positioned to offer care
• to form practical strategies to honor material needs of each care-seeker while emphasizing availability to offer spiritual, social, psychological, and emotional care; shifting from client-expressed immediate needs to client-expressed or alluded-to interior questions, hopes, needs, etc.
• a review how narrative therapy or re-narrating practices improve ability to accompany and to be collaborative with unhoused care-seekers
• to gain awareness of how non-diagnostic approaches may help deepen connection, build rapport, and help better understand co-occurring needs for everyone, especially for people who are unhoused
• to find that their own narratives related to how homelessness should be "treated" are emerging or even in conflict with their conscious goals to provide compassionate care; in the spirit of parallel process, all should leave with a sense of how it will be important to re-narrate some themes or beliefs of their own, as well as to have an opening sense of how their own narratives and the narratives of unhoused people are intertwined

Special Happening Room

Rebeca Brau Martinez MS

Epistemic Justice in Clinical Therapy

A practitioner who seeks to aid clients in their process of psycho-spiritual liberation, and who adopts a socially just stance, will invite the client's epistemic agency in the construction of their liberation. This approach empowers clients to source their liberation from their own cosmologies, ancestral wisdom, and inherent spiritual power. In this way, therapy not only becomes a collaborative journey of self-discovery but also a transformative practice that honors and elevates the client's unique psycho-spiritual context.

Learning Objectives:

• to articulate the Importance of Epistemic Justice
• to implement Decolonial Therapeutic Practices
• to explain how Relational Ethics are used in in Therapy
• to apply Psycho-Spiritual Liberation in Therapy
• to recognize Cultural Sensitivity and Responsiveness in Therapy

Room 1 - Hickory

Room 2 - Basswood

Live Stream
Room 3
Mountain Laurel 

Workshop Series VII
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM

Ryan Frasier Ph.D., PLLC

Collaborating with Clients to Facilitate
Psycho-Spiritual Liberation from Porn Addiction (Ethics)

Pornography is an epidemic in our society and world. Its highly addictive components holds
sufferers psycho-spiritually captive as it profoundly impacts their emotional wellbeing, interpersonal relationships, spiritual health, and sexual functioning. This presentation will explore clinical assessment/diagnostic considerations and various theologically creative and
spiritually integrated strategies to caringly collaborate with porn addicts to foster hope and facilitate healing through recovery.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe the ominous and profoundly painful impact of pornography upon addicted clients’ wellbeing.
• to explore psycho-spiritual dimensions of pornography addiction along with neuroscientific implications.
• to propose various, practical and holistic treatment approaches to pornography addiction diagnoses that facilitate empowerment, hope, growth, and liberation.

Maureen Jenci Shelton
MDIV, ACPE Certified Educator, CBCT Senior Instructor, CCSH Registered Instructor, Director of Education, Emory Spiritual Health and Director of CCSH

Drinking As You Pour: Utilizing CBCT* to Support the Wellbeing and Spirituality of the Practitioner through the Cultivation of Compassion

CBCT(R) is based on the premise that each of us has inner resources that we can call upon in the midst of a crisis or in moments of challenge. CBCT's (as well as CCSH's) approach taps into these resources to find relief in the present as well as to provide skills and enduring capabilities to better access such resources in the future.

Learning Objectives:

• to describe the rationale, insights, and practical approach of Emory University's CBCT (R) (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training),
  a contemplative program designed specifically to cultivate and sustain compassion in a way that is accessible to people of any-or-no-faith tradition
• to use CBCT's distinct reflective exercises, each of which is designed to build skills to support the professional and personal well-being of care responders
• to explain how compassion and wellbeing are skills that can be practiced and developed systematically, and understand the rationale for bringing these skills to care professionals in order to address personal and professional risks of burnout, depression,
  and anxiety
• to describe potential benefits of CCSH(TM), a collaborative program with Emory's Compassion Center and Spiritual Health at Emory to integrate the insights of CBCT into best practices of ACPE Spiritual Health Education

Live Stream Room- Mountain Laurel

Breakfast & Workshop
9:00 AM - Noon 

Natolie Gray Warren LPC

Harnessing Intuition in Clinical Practice: A Path to Psycho-Spiritual Liberation

The topic is intricately connected to the theme, emphasizing the practitioner's role in facilitating deeper healing and growth. By developing and trusting their intuitive abilities, practitioners can tap into a profound source of insight that transcends traditional analytical approaches. This intuitive awareness allows practitioners to connect with their clients on a deeper level, fostering a therapeutic environment where true healing can occur.

Learning Objectives:

• to define clinical intuition and its significance in the psycho-spiritual context -to strengthen client self-trust and intuitive skills
• to integrate intuition in assessments, diagnoses and treatment planning
• to demonstrate guided practices to enhance intuitive awareness and spiritual connection
• to use ethical boundaries in the use of intuition within clinical practice
• to learn to balance intuitive insights with evidence-based methods to ensure client safety and uphold professional integrity