Manuela Mischke-Reeds, MA, LMFT, CHT

Manuela Mischke-Reeds, MA, LMFT, CHT, is a somatic psychotherapist, international teacher of Somatic Psychology, author and consultant. She is the founder of Embodywise and co-director of Hakomi California. She trains and consults professionals in varied fields, including health professionals and business leaders. Her trainings in the United States, Australia, Germany, China and Israel bring together 25 years in-depth clinical practice and teaching. She integrates Hakomi Mindful somatic Psychotherapy, Somatic trauma therapies, embodied mindfulness practices and movement therapies.

Manuela is the founder of ISITTA trauma training. Her trauma teachings are grounded in an inside-out approach that utilizes the depth of the body’s innate healing capacity.

Manuela is the author of several books, including 125 Somatic Psychotherapy tools for Trauma and Stress (PESI 2018), 8 Keys to Practicing Mindfulness: Practical Strategies for Emotional Health and Well Being (W.W. Norton 2015). Visit Manuela’s website to find out more about her work: www.embodywise.com.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Manuela Mischke-Reeds is the founder of Embodywise and has an employment relationship with Embodylab. She receives compensation as a consultant and 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: Manuel Mischke-Reeds has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Monnica T. Williams, PhD. ABPP

Dr. Monnica T. Williams is a board-certified licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities. She is also the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic in Connecticut, where she provides supervision and training to clinicians for empirically supported treatments. Prior to her move to Canada, Dr. Williams was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School (2007-2011), the University of Louisville in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2011-2016), where she served as the Director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities, and the University of Connecticut (2016-2019) where she had appointments in both Psychological Science and Psychiatry. Dr. Williams’ research focuses on BIPOC mental health, culture, and psychopathology, and she has published over 150 scientific articles on these topics. Current projects include the assessment of race-based trauma, barriers to treatment in OCD, improving cultural competence in the delivery of mental health care services, and interventions to reduce racism. This includes her work as a PI in a multisite study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD for people of color. She also gives diversity trainings nationally for clinical psychology programs, scientific conferences, and community organizations. She has served as the African American SIG leader for Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and currently is Chair of their Academic Training Education Standards (ATES). She serves as an Associate Editor of Behavior Therapy. She also serves on the editorial board of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Canadian Psychology, International Journal of Mental Health, Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders and the Cognitive Behavioral Therapist. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation and co-founded their Diversity Council. Her work has been featured in several major media outlets, including NPR, CBS, Huffington Post and the New York Times.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Monnica Williams has employment relationships with Behavioral Wellness Clinic and the University of Ottawa. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Williams receives grant funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Marin Family Foundation, Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation, Source Research Foundation, Psychedelic Science Research Collaborative, Ontario Research Fund, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations. Non-financial: Dr. Monnica Williams is a member of the Canadian Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. She serves on the board of directors of Psychedelic Medicines and Therapies and the Source Research Foundation. Dr. Williams serves on the editorial board of several academic journals, for a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

Terry Real, LICSW

Private Practice

Terry Real, LICSW, is an Internationally Recognized Family Therapist, Speaker and Author. Terry founded the Relational Life Institute (RLI), offering workshops for couples, individuals and parents around the country along with a professional training program for clinicians wanting to learn his RLT (Relational Life Therapy) methodology.

A family therapist and teacher for more than 25 years, Terry is the best-selling author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression (Scribner), the straight-talking How Can I Get Through to You? Reconnecting Men and Women (Scribner), and most recently The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Make Love Work (Random House). Terry knows how to lead couples on a step-by-step journey to greater intimacy – and greater personal fulfillment.

A senior faculty member of the Family Institute of Cambridge in Massachusetts and a retired Clinical Fellow of the Meadows Institute in Arizona, Terry has worked with thousands of individuals, couples, and fellow therapists. Through his books, the Institute, and workshops around the country, Terry helps women and men, parents and non-parents to create the connection they desire in their relationships.

Terry’s work, with its rigorous commonsense approach, speaks to both men and women. His ideas on men’s issues and on couple’s therapy have been celebrated in venues from “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show” and “20/20,” to “Oprah” and The New York Times.

A proponent of “full-throttle marriage,” as described in The New Rules of Marriage, Terry has been called “the most innovative voice in thinking about and treating men and their relationships in the world today.”

The New York Times book review described Terry’s work as: “A critical contribution to feminist psychology (that) brings the Men’s movement a significant step forward.” Robert Bly hailed it as “moving onto new ground in both story and song. Exhilarating in its honesty.”

Terry’s Relational Life Institute grew out of his extensive and empathic experience. He teaches people how to make their relationships work by providing products and services designed to teach the principles of Relational Life™, so that everyone can enjoy full respect living and craft a healthy life legacy.​

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Terrence Real is the founder of Relational Life Institute. He receives royalties as a published author. Terry Real 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: Terrence Real has no relevant non-financial disclosures.

Juliane Taylor Shore, LMFT, LPC, SEP

Juliane Taylor Shore, LMFT, LPC, SEP, is a teacher of interpersonal neurobiology.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Juliane Taylor Shore is the founder and clinical director of IPNB Psychotherapy. She maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Juliane Taylor Shore is a member of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute.

Sabrina N'Diaye, PhD, LCSW-C, MDiv

Sabrina N’Diaye, PhD, LCSW-C, MDiv, is an integrative psychotherapist, storyteller, and peacebuilder based in Baltimore, MD. She recently completed her first book, The Laugh of Love.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sabrina N'Diaye is the founder and clinical director of The Heart Nest Center for Peace and Healing. She has employment relationships with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, The Ferentz Institute, Saybrook University, and the Maryland University of Integrative Health. Sabrina N'Diaye receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sabrina N'Diaye has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Stephen W Porges, PhD

Kinsey Institute, Indiana University and Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill

Stephen W. Porges, PhD, is a distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium within the Kinsey Institute. He holds the position of Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland and is a founder of the Polyvagal Institute. Dr. Porges served as president of both the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published approximately 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers across several disciplines including anesthesiology, biomedical engineering, critical care medicine, ergonomics, exercise physiology, gerontology, neurology, neuroscience, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, psychometrics, space medicine, and substance abuse. His research has been cited in more than 50,000 peer-review publications. In 1994, Dr. Porges proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior and emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders.

He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe (Norton, 2017), Polyvagal Safety (Norton, 2021), co-author with Seth Porges of Our Body Polyvagal World (Norton, 2023), and co-editor with Deb Dana of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). Dr. Porges is also the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol™, which currently is used by approximately 3,000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Stephen Porges has employment relationships with Indiana University Bloomington and the University of North Carolina. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Porges receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He receives royalties from Integrated Learning Systems/Unyte. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Dr. Stephen Porges is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Psychophysiological Research. He holds a patent on Televagal equipment. Dr. Porges is co-owner of Polyvagal Music, LLC launching in 2024.

Jennifer Sweeton, PsyD, MS, MA

Dr. Jennifer Sweeton is a licensed clinical psychologist, author, and internationally-recognized expert on trauma, anxiety and the neuroscience of mental health. Dr. Sweeton was trained in the use of EMDR as a treatment method during her time as a clinical psychologist with the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs where she worked with active service members and combat veterans with PTSD.

She has been practicing EMDR for nearly a decade and has treated a variety of populations using EMDR and other memory reconsolidation approaches, including combat veterans, individuals with PTSD and complex trauma, and those suffering from treatment-resistant anxiety.

She completed her doctoral training at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, and the National Center for PTSD. Additionally, she holds a master’s degree in affective neuroscience from Stanford University and studied behavioral genetics at Harvard University.

Dr. Sweeton resides in the greater Kansas City area, where she owns a group private practice, Kansas City Mental Health Associates. She is a past President of the Oklahoma Psychological Association, the President of the Greater Kansas City Psychological Association for 2019 and holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Dr. Sweeton offers psychological services to clients in Oklahoma, Kansas, and internationally, and is sought-after trauma and neuroscience expert who has trained thousands of mental health professionals in her workshops.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Jennifer Sweeton is in private practice. She has an employment relationship with the Oklahoma City VAMC. Dr. Sweeton receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.  She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Jennifer Sweeton has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.
 

Dafna Lender, LCSW

The Theraplay Institute

Dafna Lender, LCSW, is an international trainer and supervisor for practitioners who work with children and families. She is a certified trainer and supervisor/consultant in both Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and an EMDR therapist. Dafna’s expertise is drawn from 25 years of working with families with attachment in many settings: at-risk after school programs, therapeutic foster care, in-home crisis stabilization, residential care and private practice. Dafna’s style, whether as a therapist or teacher, is combining the light-hearted with the profound by bringing a playful, intense and passionate presence to every encounter. Dafna is the author of Integrative Attachment Family Therapy (2023) and co-author of Theraplay® - The Practitioner’s Guide (2020).

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dafna Lender maintains a private practice. 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: Dafna Lender is an author for Psychotherapy Networker.

Abi Blakeslee, PhD, MFT, CMT, SEP

Abi Blakeslee, PhD, MFT, CMT, SEP
I am a SE faculty and a marriage and family therapist. I have a master’s in counseling and Depth Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical and Somatic Psychology. My dissertation, with a committee that included Dr. Daniel Siegel, generated original research on the role of implicit memory in Somatic Experiencing. My clinical experience is with individuals, couples, children, and families treating a broad base of issues. I draw from over a decade and a half of experience with SEI, teach throughout the country and internationally, and consult worldwide. I am currently conducting evidence-based research on SE to promote its use in trauma informed statewide care initiatives. You can access several SE research publications I have written on my website. I reside in Bozeman, Montana (right outside of Yellowstone National Park), and currently specialize in providing SE individual and group consultations for SE students of all levels. I have faculty level online group case consultations a Saturday of most months. You can join by going to my website www.abiblakeslee.com. I focus on giving practical details in building SE skills and how to integrate various frameworks into your SE practice such as psychodynamic therapy, object/relations, the psychobiological principals of attachment, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, and SE touch skills. Please feel free to email at somatics4healing@yahoo.com, or sign up to receive information about trainings, lectures, and SE research at www.abiblakeslee.com.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Abi Blakeslee is the founder of Implicit Psychotherapy, maintains a private practice, and has employment relationships with Somatic Experiencing International and Ergos Institute for Somatic Education. She receives a speaking honorarium and product royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Abi Blakeslee is a member of the American Association for Marriage Family Therapists, the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy, the Women in Neuroscience, and the Society for Neuroscience.

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.