How do you find community in the midst of physical distancing? However you can. In this clip from the 2020 Networker Virtual Symposium, trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk shares how he's maintaining social connections, offers a few tips, and explains what attachment and trauma research tells us about the importance of staying connected during times of crisis.

We have a biological need to be in connection with others that’s being challenged right now. Even if we’re staying at home with others—children, a partner, a mammalian pet—our nervous systems are asking to be cared for in a way that we're not used to doing.

By Janina Fisher - Given the way our lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic, a lot of our clients will exhibit signs of depression. Here are some simple Sensorimotor Psychotherapy interventions that can help those who are feeling depressed and alone—and that are easily worked into a video session.

Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing pioneer, shares a personal story about moving through trauma in this clip from the 2020 Networker Virtual Symposium. 

By Alicia Muñoz - In the last few weeks, as the specter of contagion has rapidly grown more ominous with each news cycle, an unthinkable professional reality has emerged for therapists, one that favors technophiles over technophobes. I’m a technophobe—through and through—and a therapist.

A therapist finds her client attractive and says their conversations sometimes border on flirtatious. She says she'd never act on these feelings, but worries about how it might affect their work together. She's also not sure whether to bring this up, how she might do so, and whether to refer him out. Five clinicians share how they'd handle the situation.

Perhaps now more than ever, maintaining strong relationships is crucial to our emotional well-being. In this video clip from the 2020 Virtual Symposium, EFT originator Sue Johnson explains the core tenets of attachment theory.

By Susan Pollak - I particularly like the suggestion to use the time we spend washing our hands during this pandemic to build up mindful compassion in ourselves. So, rather than sing the rather insipid “Happy Birthday to Me” song for 20 seconds, why not repeat these compassion phrases instead? I’m finding that this simple version helps my clients feel more connected and less helpless as they go through their day.

By Maggie Mulqueen - As a therapist, I've always liked to work a certain way, in person, face to face in my cozy office. But when the coronavirus hit and I repurposed a guest bedroom into a makeshift office, I learned some surprising lessons about connecting with clients over video.

In this highlight from the 2020 Networker Virtual Symposium, therapist and author Lori Gottlieb talks about maintaining our mental health amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the concept of "both/and," and the difference between productive and unproductive anxiety.

By Stephen Lyons - I spent my first weeks in therapy recounting my recently-ended marriage: the spreading contagion of lies, fights, and broken promises. I'd never told these stories to anyone, ever. Each scene seemed a searing indictment of my abilities as a husband and father. But Sara simply listened, asked questions I'd never asked myself. Her role as a protective friend startled me into action.

A Networker Symposium highlight, therapist and author Rick Hanson invoked the spirit of Mr. Rogers to help attendees better acknowledge their connection with each other and savor their most inspiring experiences.

By Lynn Lyons - Why are our children so anxious and getting more so? It seems puzzling. After all, we live in the age of “helicopter parents” and ubiquitous child professionals. But too often in our anxiety to stop the anxiety, we surround the child with an anxiety-reinforcing system fixated on protecting the child from any twinge of the dreaded disease.

By Esther Perel - It’s long been the conventional wisdom among couples therapists that if couples fix the emotional issues in their relationship, their sexual lives will improve. But good intimacy doesn’t guarantee good sex.

Networker’s Lauren Dockett talks with teen therapist Britt Rathbone about navigating the tricky issues of confidentiality, risky behavior, and improving teen judgment and self-control.

Mark has anger issues, and his therapist finds herself getting extremely reactive when he loses his temper in therapy. Recently, he called her “a joke” and stormed out of the room. She wants to stand up for herself, but doesn't want to derail their work. Five clinicians share how they'd proceed.

Mindfulness specialist Chris Willard explains the difference between mindfulness work with kids and adults, and shares two techniques you can use today with children and teens in your practice.

By John Preston - A snapshot of the advancements, setbacks, and future prospects for the world of medication (and why psychotherapy is still just as important as ever).

By Michael Yapko - Americans have a history of valuing quick-fix solutions to difficult problems. But the simplistic psychopharmacological approach to depressive disorders underestimates the remarkable human capacity for self-transformation.

Among the first to fully realize that humans have an innate psychophysiological capacity for overcoming trauma, Peter Levine developed Somatic Experiencing, a simple yet profoundly effective mind-body healing technique. In this clip from his 2014 Symposium address, Levine shares a personal story about a traumatizing event in his own life, and explains the remedy that helped him ward off post-traumatic stress.

By Lauren Dockett and Rich Simon - By questioning some of the fundamental premises of traditional marriage, couples therapist Esther Perel has become, at least for the moment, psychotherapy’s public face and most quotable voice. But what is she saying that’s so intriguing and makes her stand out from all the other relationship experts our field produces?

By Ryan Howes - While many studies promote the mental and physical benefits of marriage, long-time singles advocate Bella DePaulo says the reported findings are biased, and we therapists need to better understand the single population as more than people waiting to find the right partner.

Our brain has hundreds of strategies for resisting emotional pain. But according to psychologist and renowned Buddhist teacher Tara Brach, resisting pain only increases our suffering. Here, she proposes a different solution.

By Cathy Malchiodi - For thousands of years, humans have been turning to the healing rhythms of the arts to confront and resolve distress. Expressive arts therapy uses the body’s sensory and kinesthetic experiences as a foundation for the exploration of emotions and personal narratives.

Of the thousands of meaningful sessions that take place in a therapist’s office, certain ones stand out. During the Networker Symposium's evening of storytelling, clinician Margie Nichols shared a transformational story from her own life in therapy.