Tara Brach, Ph.D.

Tara Brach is a founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington D.C. A clinical psychologist and leading Western teacher of Buddhism, Brach is nationally known for her skill at integrating psychotherapy with a range of meditative and mindfulness practices. Her books include Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha and, most recently, True Refuge: Three Gateways to a Fearless Heart. To learn more about Tara Brach, visit www.tarabrach.com.

 

Speaker Disclosure:

Financial: Tara Brach is the found of Insight Meditation Community of Washington. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial:  Tara Brach has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Daniel Siegel, MD

Mindsight Institute

Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics and child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry. He is currently a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, founding co-director of UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center, founding co-investigator at the UCLA Center for Culture, Brain and Development, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational center devoted to promoting insight, compassion, and empathy in individuals, families, institutions, and communities.

Dr. Siegel's psychotherapy practice spans thirty years, and he has published extensively for the professional audience. He serves as the Founding Editor for the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, which includes over 70 textbooks. Dr. Siegle's books include his five New York Times bestsellers: Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence; Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, and two books with Tina Payne Bryson, PhD, The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline. His other books include: The Power of Showing Up, also with Tina Payne Bryson, PhD, The Developing Mind, The Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology, Mindsight, The Mindful Brain, The Mindful Therapist, Parenting from the Inside Out (with Mary Hartzell, MEd), and The Yes Brain (also with Tina Payne Bryson, PhD). He has been invited to lecture for the King of Thailand, Pope John Paul II, his Holiness the Dalai Lama, Google University, and TEDx.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Daniel Siegel is the clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, the medical director of Lifespan Learning Institute, the executive director of Center for Human Development and Mindsight Institute, and the founding editor of Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Daniel Siegel receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Daniel Siegel serves on the advisory board for Gloo and Convergence in Washington, D.C.

Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD

Trauma Research Foundation

Bessel van der Kolk, MD, has spent his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of potentially effective treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults.

In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to the study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood.

Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide.

He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH-funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns.

His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center, that consist of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applies treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studies the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel.

Dr. van der Kolk is the author of the NY Times best-selling book The Body Keeps The Score.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, the Director of the Trauma Center, and the National Complex Trauma Network. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. van der Kolk receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has no relevant non-financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Peter Levine, PhD

Peter A. Levine, PhD, holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. The developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a body-awareness approach to healing trauma, and founder of the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, which conducts trainings in this work throughout the world and in various indigenous cultures, with 26 faculty members and over five thousand students. Dr. Levine was a stress consultant for NASA on the development of the space shuttle project and was a member of the Institute of World Affairs Task Force of Psychologists for Social Responsibility in developing responses to large-scale disasters and ethno-political warfare. Levine’s international best seller, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, has been translated into 22 languages. His recent interests include the prevention of trauma in children, and he has co-written two books, with Maggie Kline, in this area: Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes and Trauma-Proofing Your Kids. His most recent book: In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, was recently released to rave reviews. Levine’s original contribution to the field of Body-Psychotherapy was honored in 2010 when he received the LifeTime Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP).

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Peter Levine is the founder and president of the Ergos Institute of Somatic Education, the president and editorial director of Ergos Institute Press, and receives a consulting fee from the Meadows Addiction Center. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Levine receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Peter Levine is a senior clinical fellow and advisor to the Meadows Addiction Treatment Center. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Humanistic Psychological Association, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Esther Perel, MA, LMFT

Private Practice

Esther Perel is a Belgian psychotherapist of Polish-Jewish descent who has explored the tension between the need for security (love, belonging, and closeness) and the need for freedom (erotic desire, adventure, and distance) in human relationships.

Perel promoted the concept of “erotic intelligence” in her book Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence, which has been translated into 24 languages. After publishing the book, she became an international advisor on sex and relationships. She gave a TED talk in February 2013 called “The secret to desire in a long-term relationship,” and another in March 2015 called “Rethinking infidelity… a talk for anyone who has ever loved.”

Perel is the host of the podcast “Where Should We Begin?”, which is based inside her therapist’s office as she sees anonymous couples in search of insight into topics such as infidelity, sexlessness and grief.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Esther Perel maintains a private practice. She has employment relationships with Columbia University, Ackerman Institute for the Family, Norwegian Institute for the Expressive Arts Therapies, and 92nd Street Y. She receives royalties as a published author. Esther Perel receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Esther Perel is a member of the American Family Therapy Academy and the American Association for Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists.

Janina Fisher, PhD

Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and former instructor at The Trauma Center, a research and treatment center founded by Bessel van der Kolk. Known as an expert on the treatment of trauma, Dr. Fisher has also been treating individuals, couples, and families since 1980.

She is the past president of the New England Society for the Treatment of Trauma and Dissociation, an EMDR International Association Credit Provider, Assistant Educational Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and a former Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fisher lectures and teaches nationally and internationally on topics related to the integration of the neurobiological research and newer trauma treatment paradigms into traditional therapeutic modalities.

She is co-author with Pat Ogden of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Attachment and Trauma (2015) and author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation (2017) and the forthcoming book, Working with the Neurobiological Legacy of Trauma (in press).

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Janina Fisher has an employment relationship with the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. She is a consultant for Khiron House Clinics and the Massachusetts Department of MH Restraint and Seclusion Initiative. Dr. Fisher receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. Dr. Fisher has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Janina Fisher is on the advisory board for the Trauma Research Foundation. She is a patron of the Bowlby Center.

Susan Johnson, EdD

Dr. Sue Johnson is an author, clinical psychologist, researcher, professor, popular presenter and speaker and a leading innovator in the field of couple therapy and adult attachment. Sue is the primary developer of Emotionally Focused Couples and Family Therapy (EFT), which has demonstrated its effectiveness in over 30 years of peer-reviewed clinical research.

Sue Johnson is founding Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) and Distinguished Research Professor at Alliant University in San Diego, California, and Professor, Clinical Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, Canada, as well as Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychology, at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous books and articles including Attachment Theory in Practice: EFT with Individuals, Couples and Families (2019) The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection (3rd edition, 2019), and Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors (2002).

Sue trains behavioral health providers in EFT worldwide and consults to over 75 international institutes and affiliated centers who practice EFT. She also consults to Veterans Affairs and the U.S. and Canadian militaries.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Sue Johnson has employment relationships with University of British Columbia, Campbell & Fairweather Psychology Group, Alliant International, University Ottawa, Couple and Family Institute, and the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Johnson receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Sue Johnson serves on the editorial board for the American Journal of Family Therapy (AJFT) and the journal Couple and Family Psychology: Research & Practice.

Gabor Maté, MD

Gabor Maté, MD, is a renowned speaker and bestselling author. Dr. Maté is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics including addiction, stress and childhood development.

His Compassionate Inquiry approach draws from his professional work as a physician as well as his personal experience, having suffered trauma as an infant in Nazi-occupied Hungary, and his adult struggles with behavioral addictions, depression, and an ADHD diagnosis.

As an author, Dr. Maté has written several bestselling books published in more than 20 languages on five continents, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction; When the Body Says No: Exploring The Stress/Disease Connection; and his newest book, The Myth of Normal.

Among other honors, Dr. Maté has received the Hubert Evans Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Simon Fraser University, and the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction.

"Trauma is not what happens to us. It’s what happens inside of us as a result of what happens to us.”

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Gabor Maté receives compensation as a presenter. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Gabor Maté has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD

IFS Institute

Richard Schwartz began his career as a family therapist and an academic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There he discovered that family therapy alone did not achieve full symptom relief, and in asking patients why, he learned that they were plagued by what they called "parts." These patients became his teachers as they described how their parts formed networks of inner relationship that resembled the families he had been working with. He also found that as they focused on and, thereby, separated from their parts, they would shift into a state characterized by qualities like curiosity, calm, confidence and compassion. He called that inner essence the Self and was amazed to find it even in severely diagnosed and traumatized patients. From these explorations, the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model was born in the early 1980s.

IFS is now evidence-based and has become a widely-used form of psychotherapy, particularly with trauma. It provides a non-pathologizing, optimistic, and empowering perspective and a practical and effective set of techniques for working with individuals, couples, families, and more recently, corporations and classrooms.

In 2013, Schwartz left the Chicago area and now lives in Brookline, MA where he is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Richard Schwartz is the Founder and President of the IFS Institute. He maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Harvard Medical School. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Schwartz receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Richard Schwartz is a fellow of Meadows Behavioral Healthcare and is a member of the American Family Therapy Academy and the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy. He is a contributing editor for Family Therapy Networker. Dr. Schwartz serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, the Contemporary Family Therapy, the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, and the Family Therapy Collections.

John M. Gottman, PhD

John Gottman, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Washington, where he established “The Love Lab” and conducted much of his award-winning research on couple interaction and treatment. Dr. Gottman has studied marriage, couples, and parent relationships for nearly four decades. He has authored or co-authored over 200 published articles and more than 40 books, including: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, The Relationship Cure, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting, and The Man’s Guide to Women.

World renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction, Dr. Gottman’s research has earned him numerous national awards, including: Four five-year-long National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Awards; The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Distinguished Research Scientist Award; The American Psychological Association Division of Family Psychology Presidential Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Research Contribution; The National Council of Family Relations 1994 Burgess Award for Outstanding Career in Theory and Research.

Dr. Gottman, together with his wife Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, is the co-founder of The Gottman Institute, which provides clinical training, workshops, services, and educational materials for mental health professionals, couples, and families. He is also the co-founder and Executive Director of the Relationship Research Institute which has created treatments for couples transitioning to parenthood and couples suffering from minor domestic violence.

Dr. Gottman has presented hundreds of invited keynote addresses, workshops, and scientific presentations to avid audiences around the world including Switzerland, Italy, France, England, Israel, Turkey, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Norway. A wonderful storyteller and expert, Dr. Gottman has also appeared on many TV shows, including Good Morning America, Today, CBS Morning News, and Oprah, and he has been featured in numerous print articles, including Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Glamour, Woman’s Day, Men’s Health, People, Self, Reader’s Digest, and Psychology Today.


Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. John Gottman is the co-founder and chief scientist of Gottman Inc. and has an employment relationship with the Relationship Research Institute. He receives a grant from the Administration for Children and Family and the Kirlin Foundation. Dr. Gottman receives royalties as a published author. He receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Dr. John Gottman is a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Society National.

Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD

The Gottman Institute

Julie Schwartz Gottman, Ph.D., is the co-founder and President of The Gottman Institute, and Clinical Supervisor for the Couples Together Against Violence study. A highly respected clinical psychologist, she is sought internationally by media and organizations as an expert advisor on marriage, sexual harassment and rape, domestic violence, gay and lesbian adoption, same-sex marriage, and parenting issues. Creator of the immensely popular The Art and Science of Love weekend workshops for couples, she also designed and leads the national certification program in Gottman Method Couples Therapy for clinicians. Her other achievements include: Washington State Psychologist of the Year; Author/co-author of five books, including, Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage, And Baby Makes Three, The Marriage Clinical Casebook, 10 Principles for Doing Effective Couples Therapy, and The Man’s Guide to Women; Wide recognition for her clinical psychotherapy treatment, with specialization in distressed couples, abuse and trauma survivors, substance abusers and their partners, and cancer patients and their families.

Inspiring, empowering, respectful, and kind, Julie’s leadership of The Gottman Institute has made it possible to identify and integrate the expertise of her staff, therapists, and the wider research and therapeutic community. Her commitment to excellence and integrity assures that as The Gottman Institute grows, it continues to maintain the highest ethical and scientific standards.

She is in private practice in the Seattle area, providing intensive marathon therapy sessions for couples. She specializes in working with distressed couples, abuse and trauma survivors, those with substance abuse problems and their partners, as well as cancer patients and their families.

Drs. John and Julie Gottman currently live on Orcas Island, near Seattle, Washington. They conduct weekly and intensive couples therapy sessions, provide small group retreats, teach workshops and clinical trainings, and give keynote presentations around the world.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman is the co-founder of the Gottman Institute and Affective Software, Inc. She is the clinical director of The Relationship Research Institute, and she maintains a private practice. Dr. Schwartz Gottman is the owner of Gottman Couples' Retreat. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Puget Sound and Seattle Community Colleges, and she receives compensation as an international speaker. She is a published author and receives royalties, and she receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman is a member of the American Psychological Association.

Deborah Dana, LCSW, LICSW

Deb Dana, LCSW, LICSW, is a clinician and consultant specializing in using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She developed the Rhythm of Regulation Clinical Training Series and lectures internationally on ways Polyvagal Theory informs clinical work. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute, clinical advisor Khiron Clinics, and an advisor to Unyte. Deb is the author of The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation (Norton, 2018), Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client-Centered Practices (Norton, 2020), Befriending Your Nervous System (Sounds True, 2020), Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory (forthcoming from Sounds True), co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018), and creator of the Polyvagal Flip Chart (Norton, 2020).

To learn more, visit rhythmofregulation.com or www.polyvagalinstitute.org

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Deborah Dana maintains a private practice, is an advisor with Unyte/iLS and is a consultant with the Veterans Association and Khiron Clinics. She receives a consulting fee and speaker honorarium from Sounds True. Deborah Dana receives a speaking honorarium from Life Architect and Embody Lab and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Deborah Dana has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Elliott Connie, MA, LPC

Elliott Connie, MA, LPC, is a Texas-based psychotherapist in private practice and the founder/director of The Solution-Focused University, an online learning community that trains and provides resources for professionals who want to master the Solution Focused approach in their work. Over the course of his 15-year clinical career, Elliott has successfully worked with thousands of individuals, couples, and families using a solution-focused model to help them achieve their desired outcomes. He is an experienced speaker who has gained international recognition for training hundreds of practitioners throughout the United States, Australia, Europe and Asia on the solution-focused treatment model. Elliott is the author/co-author of four books, including Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Clients Managing Trauma (Oxford University Press, 2018), The Solution focused Marriage: 5 Simple Habits That Will Bring Out the Best in Your Relationship (The Connie Institute, 2012), Solution Building in Couples Therapy (Springer, 2012), and The Art of Solution Focused Therapy (Springer, 2009).

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Elliott Connie is the founder of The Solution Focused Universe and maintains a private practice. He receives royalties as a published author. Elliott Connie receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ellicott Connie is a member of the American Counselor Association and the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association.

Trudy Goodman, Ph.D.

Trudy Goodman, PhD, founder of Insight LA, is a psychotherapist and senior teacher in Zen and mindfulness traditions. She cofounded the nation’s first Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in Cambridge, MA, and teaches worldwide.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Trudy Goodman is director of InsightLA. She is an author for Guilford Press and receives royalties.
Non-financial: Trudy Goodman has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.