Ensuring the Future of Psychotherapy

“Psychotherapy’s Image Problem,” an op-ed piece in the New York Times, created quite a stir this week by citing a 34% decline in the number of patients receiving psychotherapy between 1998 and 2007. The author of the article argued that our field needed to do a better public relations job of touting therapy’s demonstrated effectiveness, established in thousands of studies over the past 50 years. But he appeared to miss the larger point that the future of our profession hinges less on our promoting our own narrow guild interests than on working together with movements and thinkers beyond our field dedicated to bringing our perspective on human relationships, emotional awareness, and change to the attention of the wider culture.

That’s why we decided to feature Dan Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence and Focus, in the opening keynote session of our State of the Art 2013 virtual conference. Dan has done as much as anyone to help bridge the difference between the wisdom traditions of the East and West, and demonstrate that success in the world has as much to do with self-awareness and the ability to connect with others as the traditional cognitive measures that presumably predict professional advancement.

In the keynote session, Dan will survey the range of scientific advances made in recent years in helping people develop the kind of attentional and emotional skills needed for balance and success in life, advances that are having an increasing impact of psychotherapy. In particular Dan is fascinated by the emerging field of social emotional learning and what it could mean for the future of our field:

As the opening act for State of the Art 2013, this keynote session with Dan Goleman raises questions about the potential for therapy to affect change in clients and the world, as well as what’s next for the helping professions. It’s the lead-in to a virtual conference filled with 40 far-reaching conversations about the craft of psychotherapy, as well as opportunities to hear from thinkers and scientists whose work can enrich our own, people like celebrated human performance expert K. Anders Ericsson, neuroscientist Stephen Porges, developmental researcher Jerome Kagan, and best-selling author of Alone Together, Sherry Turkle. It’s your chance to explore a diverse cross-section of the opinions, experiences, and conversations from beyond our field, all while learning practical therapeutic skills from therapy’s leading innovators.

State of the Art 2013
Starting November 4-8 And On Demand
Click here now for all the details.
Savings Extended Until Midnight, Monday, Oct 7th!
Save $50! Use Code SOAEB at Checkout.