Does Understanding the Brain Make Us Wiser?

This morning’s keynote with Daniel Siegel, one of the leaders in integrating brain science with psychotherapy, was a fabulous way to end a weekend full of thinking about wisdom and its applications in the field of psychotherapy and in the larger world. He began his talk by talking about how, when he first began working in the field, there wasn’t a solid definition of the mind.
Read more

Body Wisdom, Lost and Found

Today’s luncheon address featuring Pat Ogden, a clinical leader on the forefront of incorporating bodywork into therapy, was fabulous. Throughout her address, she used video demonstrations to reflect her insights about integrating mind/body into therapy, which made everything she was saying feel both so present and so vivid. She also had us “try on” different gestures and postures to see how they feel.
Read more

Off to a Great Start

After Networker Editor Rich Simon’s lively and entertaining opening this morning, Andrew Weil’s keynote, Scott Miller’s luncheon address, and the celebratory 35th anniversary dinner event, it seems like Friday is off to a really great start. More and more conference attendees have arrived and the energy in the hotel is tangible.

We want to hear how your conference experience is going so far. How have your workshops been? What was most interesting or exciting to you about today or your conference experience so far?

Charting Your Path to Clinical Excellence

After hearing from Scott Miller, a pioneer in integrating the science of expertise with the realities of clinical practice, in our recent webcast series on excellence and an issue on the same topic last year, I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing from him in person. His research on what makes a top performer—and how to apply these lessons to gain mastery in the field of psychotherapy—is so intriguing. But seeing him in person today was really a treat.
Read more

A Vision of Integrative Mental Health

This morning’s keynote speaker, Andrew Weil, is the world’s leading proponent of integrative medicine—healthcare that ties together conventional and alternative medicine—and his work and ideas fit well into the theme of this year’s Symposium: “Creating a New Wisdom: The Art and Science of Optimal Well-Being.” 

Energizing, Inspiring, and Revitalizing

Creativity Day provides a wide variety of options to fit a range of interests—dancing, singing, writing, mindfulness training, and so much more. What a way to start off a professional, clinical conference! Whatever your goal is during Creativity Day—energize for the days (or year) ahead, try something new, get your creative juices flowing, take a day to just enjoy and take care of yourself—I hope you were able to meet your goals and more.
Read more

The Creativity Day Kickoff

Welcome to Symposium 2012! Here in Washington, DC, spring has arrived just in time for the annual Symposium, and it all feels just right: the cherry blossoms are thriving outside, and the spirit and energy inside the Omni Shoreham is already palpable as everyone is beginning to arrive.

Of course, I think many (myself included) were a little bit bleary-eyed as we greeted each other sleepily among the coffee and Danish at this early hour, some after arduous travels to get here in the first place. But as usual, Richard Gonzalez’s invigorating Creativity Day Kickoff was even better than caffeine to wake us up and get us excited about the day ahead and the conference in its entirety.

Although I knew what to expect in general from this welcoming event, it didn’t cease to astonish me, once again, how good it felt to get up from our seats and dance and move altogether—especially on a Thursday morning, when I’d usually be sitting in my desk at my office, working and sipping coffee. It made me feel like, yes, the Symposium has begun! And this is the start of an entirely different kind of day.

If you were able to participate, how did this Welcoming Event make you feel? Whether it’s your first time attending or your 35th, we want to know what you think about this first part of the conference and as we move through the conference experience together.

The Symposium promises to be very full of activity, learning, inspiration, and fun. Please just take a few minutes to let us know what you’re thinking and experiencing, here on the blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter, and just check out our Symposium Live page so you can constantly stay updated with what’s going on at the conference as it happens. We want to hear from you so we can all share our different experiences.

A Pathway to the Ultimate Experience.

The 2012 Networker Symposium will be my third time attending, and I can’t help but think back to my first conference experience. At the time, I was a student intern at the Networker, working part-time while finishing up my undergraduate career. Read more

Ever since I was not much older than a child myself, I’ve always been captivated by children and their enchanting ways of perceiving the world and behaving. It’s especially interesting to watch and try to understand family interactions in light of stark generational differences. I’m actually not a parent or a therapist myself, but I often work with young children in a range of situations, such as babysitting, tutoring, volunteering, and in the past, working as a camp counselor.

Read more

I just have to say “wow.” What an incredible session. I always love hearing Mary Jo present because she’s such an incredibly clear speaker and seems so down-to-earth. I have this overriding feeling of trust in her—she knows what she’s doing, based on both her experience and research, and although she’s confident in her work, she’s organized and meticulous about staying in the moment and being deliberate.

Read more

Over the last 35 years, one of the most noteworthy aspects of the Networker Symposium has been the depth and wisdom of the keynoters who address the conference. This year’s Symposium is no exception.

Opening the conference with a morning keynote on Friday is Andrew Weil, the world’s leading proponent of integrative medicine. He’ll be discussing the meaning of integrative mental health and how therapists can enrich their knowledge and understandings to help clients—and themselves—achieve optimal health. To learn more about integrative mental health, see the recent Networker article on his work here.

Next will be Scott Miller’s luncheon address on “Charting Your Path to Clinical Excellence,” a topic that’s been much discussed in the Networker community during this past year. He’ll share what research is showing us about how to achieve excellence, and how we can apply these understandings to gain mastery in the consulting room, as well as in our personal lives.

Mary Pipher has achieved national renown as the author of Reviving Ophelia, and she will be inspiring attendees as the Saturday morning keynote speaker. Her subject—“Facing the Challenge of 21st-Century Activism” is a compelling presentation of her vision of  the many ways therapists can influence the world-at-large and why doing so can make us feel more joyous, connected, and empowered.

Pat Ogden will be Saturday’s luncheon address speaker and she’ll cover her transforming, trailblazing work that incorporating bodywork in psychotherapy.

Later that day, Jane Fonda will be speaking with Networker Editor Rich Simon about her life, career, and beliefs about how to improve your life while growing older. Yes, that’s right… Jane Fonda will be at the Networker Symposium! You really won’t want to miss this conference and especially not this particular dinner event.

Finally, Sunday holds even more opportunities for discovery, as brain science pioneer Dan Siegel will be discussing whether our growing knowledge about brain science is making us wiser. If you’ve never heard Dan Siegel speak before—or even if you have—his presentations are always a treat.

For more information about the incredible lineup of Symposium 2012 speakers, click here. Make sure to check back for more Symposium blogs soon—this blog will continue to give you a detailed view of the people and events coming up at Symposium 2012. Whether or not you decide to travel to Washington, D.C. this spring, it’s definitely worth knowing about all the exciting features this year’s conference has to offer.

Especially during this time of year, in which many of us pause to reflect on the past year and think forward to the year ahead, we tend to consider what we’d like to strive to do less of and what we’d like to do more of. Common resolutions may include cutting back on calories and hitting the gym more often; spending more time with friends and family and less working overtime hours; spending less money on cute shoes and more on…well, nothing! Today, many of us work to spend less and less money and save more of it for the future.

At the Networker, this is the time of year in which we’re really looking forward to the upcoming annual Symposium in March. We’ve sent out the Symposium program and posted details on our website—and this year, for the first time, we’ve even produced a digital edition of the Symposium program, which you can see on our Symposium 2012 page.

Nearly every day, no matter what time of the year, I find myself enthusiastically talking (more like gushing) about the Symposium in some capacity—to some poor subscriber who calls to ask a magazine-related question, to a webcast participant who emails to ask about CE credits, to friends who are social work students, to a family member who’s a health nut (“Did you know Andrew Weil is coming to our conference next year?! And Jane Fonda?!”), and more. Those poor souls who have to hear me go on and on about much they’d love the conference and how it’s worth attending….

But for those of you who’ve never been to a Symposium—or for those of you who’ve been in the past—I wanted to let you know just a few reasons I think you should consider registering for Symposium 2012:
•    There’s no substitute for real-life, human interaction—in our increasingly virtual universe, where we can easily and instantly communicate and learn online, you may think, “Why should I travel to Washington, DC when I can learn in other ways?” Trust me, there’s just nothing like face-to-face learning, in this one-of-a-kind atmosphere of energy, positivity, openness, and inspiration.
•    The extraordinary featured speakers—Andrew Weil, Dan Siegel, Scott Miller, Mary Pipher, Pat Ogden, and special guest Jane Fonda—and more than 100 incredible presenters, like Mary Jo Barrett, Lynn Grodzki, William Doherty, and Harville Hendrix.
•    The wide variety of relevant topics—no matter your clinical interest, we’ve got something that’s sure to be interesting and provide you with a new, helpful perspective. We’ve got workshops on topics such as mindfulness, clinical mastery, communities of practice, professional development, the business of therapy, and much more.
•   The energetic atmosphere and ample opportunities for dialogue, adventure, and fun available when thousands of therapists are gathered in one place. 
•    It’s the best way to survey and reflect on the field—past, present, and future—with so many likeminded colleagues.
•    Come celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Networker Symposium with us!

If you’ve attended the Symposium in the past, it’s likely you’ve got your own list of reasons to attend this year. What do you think is the absolute best reason to join us in Washington, DC this March 22-25, 2012?

Welcome to “Diets and Our Demons,” a 4-week webinar series which will cover a variety of perspectives about helping our clients maintain mental and physical health. This series follows our January/February 2011 issue, which was also called “Diets and Our Demons,” which reported on research and case studies related to different ways of looking at dieting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you’re interested, check out that issue here.

In this first session with Judith Matz, the director of the Chicago Center for Overcoming Overeating, she will present some of the research that shows that dieting is actually counterproductive. Matz will discuss why the practices of attuned eating and weight acceptance can offer a more effective substitute to conventional dieting techniques.

After each webinar session, a Comment Board will be provided so that all of you can share reflections on what you’ve learned, or any questions you may have. We believe these forums create a sense of community of learning and help inspire each other. Please take a few moments to comment on what was most interesting or relevant to you, and we encourage you to include your name and hometown with your comments. Thank you for your participation.

If you're interested in additional information, check out Judith Matz's resource page here!

Welcome to the second session of The Great Attachment Debate. Today’s session with renowned developmental psychologist Jerome Kagan will discuss the scientific evidence that forms the foundation of Attachment Theory, and whether we’re “too attached” to using Attachment Theory as a basis for our clinical work.

He’ll go over the Strange Situation and what it measures, the roles of attachment and temperament in human development, and more.

After listening to today’s session, please comment on what you felt was most relevant or interesting. The Comment Boards are a platform for both questions and discussion, and to continue fostering a sense of community, we encourage you to include your name and hometown with your comments. We thank you for your participation in this significant webinar debate, and for your sharing your thoughts.

“Do you trust me?” What a question to propose to a significant other or a friend. Maybe they’ll respond with “Yes, of course,” but when it really comes down a situation that requires absolute trust, they won’t. John Gottman’s keynote speech, based on research published in his most recent book The Science of Trust, covered the scientific data behind trusting one another—something that’s vital to the success of a romantic relationship, and that impacts so much else in daily life.

“Trust is the number one issue with struggling couples,” Gottman said, “And trustworthiness is the number one most desirable trait.”

It was an honor to attend Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Eugene Robinson’s dinner presentation on race diversity in today’s America. His speech explored the research and insights that contributed to the creation of his recently published book Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America.

Robinson reflected on how he felt on the 2008 election night: “I knew it was happening, but like many other African-Americans, I didn’t really believe it was going to happen.” Once President Obama was elected, he said he called his parents to let them know that they’d lived to see the election of the first African-American president. So much had happened, he said, since he grew up, on the “tail end of the Jim Crowe era in South Carolina.”