WEDNESDAY – JULY 29, 2026

6pm – 8:15pm Sessions (with 15 min break)

Spirituality and Psychotherapy

Exploring Spirituality Within the Clinical Process
Rick Lawhon, LPC, LPC-S, NCAC
July 29, 2026 – 6:00pm – 8:15pm (2 Contact Hours)
Room: TBD

Nowadays, we hear quite a bit about spirituality. For example, the 12 step approach is clear about being a spiritual program. Also, how often do we hear “ I’m not into organized religion, but I am a spiritual person”? There are multiple shows about paranormal research, TV evangelist, and the list goes on and on.

As therapist, we are often in the middle of assisting clients as they engage the deeper, spiritual existential questions of life. This workshop will give a framework for addressing spiritual issues. This will be accomplished through  introducing a checklist for personal spiritual growth, a suggested list of best spiritual practices, and suggested readings on spirituality.

An outline of that evening is as follows:
–  A historical overview of spirituality
–  A personal spirituality/where do the participants stand?
–  The dark side of spirituality
–  Incorporating spirituality into the participants practice.

Additional Moving With Grief And The Body

An Experiential Session for Clinicians and Clients
Paul Denniston
July 29, 2026 – 6:00pm – 8:15pm (2 Contact Hours)
Room: TBD

Grief is not just an emotional or psychological experience—it is also deeply impacts us physically. When loss, heartbreak, or trauma remain unprocessed, grief can become held in the body, shaping posture, breath, tension, and overall vitality. Our body remembers. Over time, this embodied grief can affect how we feel, move, and experience the world.

In this experiential workshop, Paul Denniston, founder of Grief Yoga®, invites participants to explore grief through gentle, chair-based somatic practices designed to support the body’s natural capacity to process and release emotional pain. Through mindful movement, breath, and sound, participants will learn how grief manifests physically and how embodied practices can create space for expression, regulation, and relief.

Paul will demonstrate how Grief Yoga supports the safe, compassionate processing of grief by engaging the body directly—helping participants access emotions that may be difficult to reach through words alone. The session emphasizes listening to the body, cultivating presence, and allowing grief to move rather than remain stuck.

This workshop is suitable for therapists, practitioners, and individuals seeking a deeper understanding of how grief lives in the body and how movement-based practices can support healing, resilience, and self-awareness.

Autism And Mental Health

Key Strategies And Approaches To Treatment
Stephanie Turner, LMSW, MPH, BCBA
July 29, 2026 – 6:00pm – 8:15pm (2 Contact Hours)
Room: TBD

This pre-conference session equips mental health professionals with a practical, neuro-affirming understanding of autism and its intersection with mental health, emphasizing that effective care is both achievable and well within existing clinical skill sets. This session explores how an autism diagnosis impacts brain development and functioning, the prevalence of co-occurring conditions, and the risks of diagnostic overshadowing. Attendees will review evidence-based practices for autism treatment while learning how familiar therapeutic modalities can be thoughtfully adapted rather than replaced. The presentation focuses on normalizing autism within mental health settings by shifting from abstract concepts to concrete, skill-based strategies, incorporating visual, and modifying communication approaches to ensure accessibility for non-vocal individuals – empowering clinicians to confidently and competently serve autistic clients.