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.

We’re less than 2 weeks away from Symposium 2012 and in the frenzy of last-minute conference planning—honing my introductory speeches, rehearsing my Opening Night song and dance, checking and double-checking to-do lists, and more. Read more

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