Year after year, therapists have come to the Networker Symposium expecting to escape the turbulence of everyday life and the real world. But this year, attendees came seeking something more—a renewed vision of what we stand for and what our role might be in a toxically polarized society. Here are some of the moments that captured the distinctive flavor of this year’s gathering.

With traumatized adolescent clients, it’s emotion that gradually changes emotion—not rational explanation or interpretation, not snazzy techniques or “fake it till you make it” exhortations.

Our compulsive use of digital devices is best understood as the result of their ability to tap into a deep anxiety in the human psyche about “missing out.”

Canadian physician Gabor Maté believes that addictive behaviors are woven into the very fabric of our materialistic society.

The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others. 

We all know people who have the magic touch when it comes to relating to others. They can instantly connect with strangers and put people at ease without even saying a word. Therapists with this ability have a natural advantage, so are there specific behaviors we can practice to elicit trust and openness? Luckily, the answer is yes—and Stephen Porges’s polyvagal theory provides the key.

Review: The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-Between

In one violent Chicago neighborhood, embattled gang members see themselves as UPOWs—urban prisoners of war. To introduce them to a new set of survival skills, a therapist specializing in complex trauma helps take them off the streets and into the wilderness. Can her unlikely approach, which at times resembles a seminar on brain science, make a real difference in their lives?

Polyvagal Theory offers a new kind of somatic road map for guiding both therapists and clients toward safety and connection. It can also empower therapists to tap into a vital source of healing that most view with great trepidation—the power of touch.

It’s hard to think of anyone who's had more influence on our field than neuropsychiatrist Dan Siegel. His far-ranging keynote proposed that the integration of knowledge from such diverse disciplines as interpersonal neurobiology, psychotherapy, neuroscience, quantum physics, and mindfulness practice may offer hope for the future of the planet.