“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.”

Is gender a social construction, caused when parents dress infant daughters in pink and paint sons’ walls blue? Or when they encourage sons to try out for sports and their daughters to try ballet? I always thought that there are minimal biological differences between men and women—until I heard Louann Brizendine’s presentation today, “The Gendered Brain.” Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist who wrote the pathbreaking books The Female Brain and The Male Brain, took us on a tour of the male and female brains during each life stage, and pointed out the differences and similarities.

“The brains are more alike than different,” she said, “After all, we are the same species!” But from her extensive studies, it seems there are differences in the brains that really do make a difference. Some of it does have to do with society and culture, but some of it is biologically based.

The Symposium is a conference filled with many learning opportunities, events and programs that are fun, educational, thought-provoking, inspirational. . . and a little bit exhausting, too! On both Friday and Saturday night, psychologist and coach Lynda Klau is facilitating an event called Open Space, a method in which she is also trained, which will provide participants with whatever they want or need.

Klau said that typically, at conferences, the richest and most powerful times are actually at coffee breaks, or any unstructured times when people get together and share their various perspectives and understandings. So Open Space is a time when anyone who wants to gather can come and participate in activities—or not.

More than 1,200 attendees have already signed up--our largest registration ever! So this is a good time to see which Symposium topics are inspiring therapists the most.

Here are the five most popular sessions so far, in reverse order:

5. Paper Tiger Paranoia:  Transforming the Fearful Brain: Rick Hanson will demonstrate that, while evolution may have hard-wired us to overestimate threat--favoring chronic anxiety--we can use our own neuroplasticity to override this evolutionary heritage. Read more.

4. Treating PTSD and Complex PTSD: 101 Ways to Bolster Resilience: Amidst all the competing claims of different approaches, Donald Meichenbaum, one of the founders of psychotherapy’s “cognitive revolution,” will separate myth from reality in  the treatment of trauma. Read more.

3. The Therapist Under the Microscope: “In Treatment” and the Ethical Challenge of Practice: William Doherty will use clips from the popular HBO series to illustrate the ethical complexities of modern therapeutic practice. Read more.

2. The Attuned Couple: John Gottman, famous for his groundbreaking research on everyday couples interactions, will provide a practical roadmap through even the most densely overgrown marital jungle. Read more.

1. Creating a Beautiful Mind: Symposium keynoter and poet David Whyte will lead a journey through the uncharted challenges of 21st-century life. Read more.

Another workshop in particular that’s worth noting is the new The Hero’s Journey: A Special Two-Day Transformation Retreat. Come to the Symposium a day early for this newly created, two-day session. This popular workshop is filling up fast, as it'll be an unforgettable enrichment to your personal growth. Read more.

Of course, as more registrations come in, these Fabulous Five could find their stars eclipsed by yet newer wonders--after all, the Symposium season is young and we have 175 different events and workshops to choose from. Just click here to explore what workshops are likeliest to float your boat.

Let us know what inspires you the most about the upcoming Symposium.

Sincerely,

Rich Simon
Editor, Psychotherapy Networker