Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD

Trauma Research Foundation

Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of post-traumatic stress. His work integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment.

Dr. van der Kolk and his various collaborators have published extensively on the impact of trauma on development, such as dissociative problems, borderline personality and self-mutilation, cognitive development, memory, and the psychobiology of trauma. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles on such diverse topics as neuroimaging, self-injury, memory, neurofeedback, Developmental Trauma, yoga, theater, and EMDR. 

He is founder of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts and President of the Trauma Research Foundation, which promotes clinical, scientific, and educational projects. 

His 2014 #1 New York Times best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma, transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring – specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, somatically based therapies, EMDR, psychodrama, play, yoga, and other therapies.

Dr. van der Kolk is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and professor of psychiatry at Boston University Medical School. He regularly teaches at conferences, universities, and hospitals around the world.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, the Director of the Trauma Center, and the National Complex Trauma Network. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. van der Kolk receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has no relevant non-financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Jana Pressley, Psy.D.

Dr. Jana Pressley is an Associate Professor and the Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, IL. In addition to administrative duties and leading student clinical seminar groups, Dr. Pressley teaches a course in professional development and ethics and a course on treating complex trauma in children and adults. In her academic role, Dr. Pressley also leads a research group focused on qualitative analysis related to complex trauma impact and adaptation, and is currently collecting data on a project interviewing young adult, court-involved men and women in urban Chicago about the impact of trauma history and community violence on relationships, coping, and resilience. Clinically, Dr. Pressley is working at a local outpatient counseling center that provides services in a low-income community, where she is engaged in the treatment of individuals, couples, and leads a trauma recovery group. Prior to her transition to Wheaton College in 2011, Dr. Pressley served at Richmont Graduate University (Chattanooga, TN) as an Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean of Students, and the Founder/Director of the Richmont Community Counseling Center (RCCC). At Richmont, Dr. Pressley designed and launched the Trauma Counseling specialization track for MFT and MA counseling students, in close collaboration with the Trauma Center senior leadership.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Jana Pressley is director of clinical services at the Complex Trauma Treatment Center Boston. She is the co-director of the Complex Trauma Treatment Affiliates. She is a senior training associate of the Foundation Trust. Dr. Pressley is an adjunct associate professor at Richmont Graduate University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Jana Pressley is a member of the American Psychological Association and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Stephen Porges, PhD

Kinsey Institute, Indiana University and Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill

Stephen W. Porges, PhD, is a distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium within the Kinsey Institute. He holds the position of Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland, and is a founder of the Polyvagal Institute. Dr. Porges served as president of both the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published approximately 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers across several disciplines including anesthesiology, biomedical engineering, critical care medicine, ergonomics, exercise physiology, gerontology, neurology, neuroscience, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, psychometrics, space medicine, and substance abuse. His research has been cited in more than 50,000 peer-review publications. In 1994, Dr. Porges proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior and emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders.

He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe (Norton, 2017), Polyvagal Safety (Norton, 2021), co-author with Seth Porges of Our Body Polyvagal World (Norton, 2023), and co-editor with Deb Dana of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). Dr. Porges is also the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol™, which currently is used by approximately 3,000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Stephen Porges has employment relationships with Indiana University Bloomington and the University of North Carolina. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Porges receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He receives royalties from Integrated Learning Systems/Unyte. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Dr. Stephen Porges is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Psychophysiological Research. He holds a patent on Televagal equipment. Dr. Porges is co-owner of Polyvagal Music, LLC launching in 2024.

Alexandra Cook, PhD

Alexandra Cook, PhD is a partner of SMARTmoves and one of the original developers of the SMART model. Formerly, Dr. Cook was the Associate Director of The Trauma Center where she worked for over 20 years and contributed to earliest formations of the impact of developmental trauma. She is a co-author of With the Phoenix Rising.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Alexandra Cook maintains a private practice and is a partner in SMARTMoves, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Cook receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Alexandra Cook has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Elizabeth Hopper, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Hopper, Ph.D., Program director of Project REACH, received her Ph.D. from Saint Louis University and completed her Clinical Psychology internship at the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Hopper is the Director of Project REACH, a program that serves victims of human trafficking throughout the United states. Dr. Hopper has conducted national outreach on traumatic stress and complex trauma, focusing on cross-discipline training. She provides trauma-informed consultation in homeless shelters and to community-based clinicians. Dr. Hopper is currently a staff psychologist and supervisor at the Trauma Center.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Elizabeth Hopper has an employment relationship with The Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Elizabeth Hopper is a member of the American Psychological Association; and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Patricia D. Wilcox, LCSW

Patricia D. Wilcox, LCSW, Vice President of Strategic Development, Klingberg Family Centers, New Britain, Connecticut specializes in treatment of traumatized children and their families. She created the Restorative Approach, a trauma- and relationship-based treatment method.

She is a Faculty Trainer for Risking Connection and an Adjunct Faculty at the University of CT School of Social Work. She travels nationally to train treaters on trauma-informed care, specializing in improving the daily life of treatment programs. She is the author of Trauma Informed Care: The Restorative Approach published by NEARI Press, and in 2011 was Connecticut Social Worker of the Year.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Patricia Wilcox is the vice president of strategic development at Klingberg Family Centers. She is the creator of the Restorative Approach™. She is an adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Ms. Wilcox is an author for NEARI Press and receives royalties.
Non-financial: Patricia Wilcox has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Elizabeth Warner, EdM, PsyD

Elizabeth Warner, EdM, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist with 40 years of experience working with children and families in psychiatric inpatient and outpatient settings, schools, mental health clinics and residential treatment, as well as in her private practice. Early in her career, she spent 15 years working with severely disordered children including traumatized children and their parents, using innovative treatment methodologies and videotape for process study at the Language & Cognitive Development Center.

Since 2006, her focus has been on development of innovative treatment for children from 1.5 years to 22 years whose lives have been impacted by chronic stress and complex trauma, as well as acute stress, and their caregivers. As project director at the Trauma Center at JRI, a center of excellence in trauma treatment, training and research, she oversaw development, training, and consultation in Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART) for outpatient, in-home, therapeutic day school, and residential treatment settings in the US, Canada and Hong Kong. She also collaborated with JRI community-based therapists to develop SMART applications for in-home therapy and constructed two videotape coding systems for studying regulatory processes in treatment. As a co-founder and partner in SMARTmoves LLC, she continues to train and consult to therapists in the US and abroad. She is conducting research through videotape study and treatment outcome studies, in order to test out hypotheses about the impact of sensory motor interventions and somatic regulation. Dr. Warner maintains a private practice for adult psychotherapy and parent consultation.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Elizabeth Warner is the co-founder and partner of SMARTmoves, LLC. and maintains a private practice. She receives compensation as a consultant. Dr. Warner receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Elizabeth Warner is a member of the American Psychological Association and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Anne Westcott, LICSW

Anne Westcott, LICSW, has over 30 years of direct clinical service to children and families impacted by trauma. Senior Faculty Member at The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute Co-author the Hidden Strengths Series on human resilience in the face of hardship.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Anne Westcott is a partner in SMARTMoves, LLC, maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. Anne Westcott receives royalties as a published author. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Anne Westcott has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Matthew Sanford

Matthew Sanford, yoga teacher, founder of Mind Body Solutions, and a paraplegic for the last 39 years. Sanford is the author of Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. He teaches people around the US living with trauma, loss, and disability how to re-inhabit their bodies.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Matthew Sanford is the founder and president of Mind Body Solutions and receives compensation as a yoga instructor. He receives royalties as a published author. Matthew Sanford receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Matthew Sanford has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Jennifer Lefebre, PsyD, RPT-S

Jennifer Lefebre, PsyD, RPT-S, is a clinical psychologist, registered play therapist supervisor, and trauma-sensitive yoga facilitator. She is the president-elect for the New England Association for Play Therapy. Her clinical and research interests focus on the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, adults and families whose lives have been impacted by complex trauma. Dr. Lefebre has extensive experience working with young children (0-5), adult survivors of severe childhood abuse and neglect, first responders, and combat veterans.

Dr. Lefebre is the clinical director at Healing the Child Within, a holistic trauma center in northwestern Connecticut which integrates psychotherapy, yoga, play, and expressive arts therapies into the treatment of complex trauma. She also provides clinical supervision and play therapy consultation throughout New England and online, and an adjunct faculty member at several universities, teaching both at the undergraduate and graduate level. In addition to being an experienced play therapist and professor, Dr. Lefebre is a sought-after expert for speaking engagements, podcasts and webinars on the topics of play therapy and complex childhood trauma.

 

Speaker Disclosures: 

Financial:  Jennifer Lefebre is in private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial:  Jennifer Lefebre is a member of the Association of Play Therapy.

 

Richard C. Schwartz, PhD

IFS Institute

Richard Schwartz, PhD began his career as a family therapist and an academic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There he discovered that family therapy alone did not achieve full symptom relief, and in asking patients why, he learned that they were plagued by what they called "parts." These patients became his teachers as they described how their parts formed networks of inner relationship that resembled the families he had been working with. He also found that as they focused on and, thereby, separated from their parts, they would shift into a state characterized by qualities like curiosity, calm, confidence and compassion. He called that inner essence the Self and was amazed to find it even in severely diagnosed and traumatized patients. From these explorations, the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model was born in the early 1980s.

IFS is now evidence-based and has become a widely-used form of psychotherapy, particularly with trauma. It provides a non-pathologizing, optimistic, and empowering perspective and a practical and effective set of techniques for working with individuals, couples, families, and more recently, corporations and classrooms.

In 2013, Schwartz left the Chicago area and now lives in Brookline, MA where he is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Richard Schwartz is the Founder and President of the IFS Institute. He maintains a private practice and has a employment relationship with Harvard Medical School. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Schwartz receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Richard Schwartz is a fellow of Meadows Behavioral Healthcare and is a member of the American Family Therapy Academy and the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy. He is a contributing editor for Family Therapy Networker. Dr. Schwartz serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, the Contemporary Family Therapy, the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, and the Family Therapy Collections.

Deborah Korn, PsyD

Deborah L. Korn, PsyD, maintains a private practice in Cambridge, MA, is an adjunct training faculty member at the Trauma Research Foundation and is a senior faculty member at the EMDR Institute. Dr. Korn has authored or coauthored numerous articles and chapters focused on EMDR therapy, including comprehensive reviews of EMDR applications with Complex PTSD. She is an EMDR International Association-approved consultant and is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research. She presents and consults internationally on the treatment of adult survivors of childhood abuse and neglect. Every Memory Deserves Respect, her new book about EMDR therapy, was co-authored with Michael Baldwin and written for the layperson.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Deborah Korn maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with The Trauma Research Foundation and The EMDR Institute, Inc. She receives royalties as a published author and a speaking honorarium from Cape Cod Institute. Deborah Korn receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Deborah Korn is a member of the American Psychological Association and the EMDR International Association.

Michele Henderson, LICSW

Michele Henderson, LICSW, provides individual therapy for children, adolescents and adults, parenting support, supervision and consultation. She is trained specifically in trauma related dyadic therapy, and attachment disorders. She earned her undergraduate degree from Colorado College then her graduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Michele Henderson maintains a private practice. She is a district clinical social worker for Norwell Public Schools. Ms. Henderson is a senior supervisor at The Trauma Center.
Non-financial: Michele Henderson has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Ainat Rogel, PhD, MSW, LCSW

Ainat Rogel, PhD, MSW, LCSW. is a BCIA certified neurofeedback provider and supervisor, a cofounder and co-director of Boston Neurodynamics, and affiliate of the Trauma Center and the Trauma Research Foundation.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ainat Rogel is the founder and director of Boston NeuroDynamics. He is a clinician at Arbour Outpatient. He is a member of the Trauma Center and the Trauma Research Foundation. Dr. Rogel is a consultant to the Israeli BFB/NFB society and to the Israeli committee to the health ministry.
Non-financial: Ainat Rogel has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Steven Gross, MSW

Steve Gross, MSW, Founder and Chief Playmaker of the Life is good Playmakers. He and his team have responded to some of the greatest catastrophes of our time, including Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, and the 2012 Newtown school shooting. Over 8,000 certified Playmakers have cared for more than 1 million children throughout the United States and Haiti.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Steven Gross is the founder and executive director of Project Joy. He is a member of a four person Child Trauma Specialty Team hired by UNICEF and Center for Crisis Psychology.
Non-financial: Steven Gross has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Professor of Psychiatry, is the director of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research unit at the University of Western Ontario. She established the Traumatic Stress Service and the Traumatic Stress Service Workplace Program, services that specialize in the treatment and research of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related comorbid disorders. She currently holds the Harris-Woodman Chair in Mind-Body Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.

Her research interests focus on studying the neurobiology of PTSD and treatment outcome research examining various pharmacological and psychotherapeutic methods. She has authored more than 100 published papers and chapters in the field of traumatic stress and is currently funded by several federal funding agencies. She regularly lectures on the topic of PTSD nationally and internationally She has recently published a book The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease with Eric Vermetten and Clare Pain.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius has employment relationships with Western University of Canada, McMaster University, St. Joseph's Health Care, University of Western Ontario, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, London Health Sciences Centre, Robarts Research Institute, and the Lawson Health Research Institute. She receives grants from the National Defence (Canada), the Academica Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario, the Trauma Research Foundation, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Dr. Lanius receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Ruth Lanius is a fellow with the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a member of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. She is a journal reviewer for several publications, to see a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

Lorraine Freedle, LCSW, PhD, ABPdN, ABSNP, CST-T

Lorraine R. Freedle, LCSW, PhD, ABPdN, ABSNP, CST-T, is a pediatric neuropsychologist, international sandplay therapy teacher (STA/ISST), and trainer in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT). She is the Clinical Director of Pacific Quest, a holistic outdoor behavioral health program in Hilo, Hawaii where she also maintains a private practice, Black Sand Neuropsychological Services. She is on faculty at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, NM. Dr. Freedle has published numerous professional journal articles and chapters, and is an award-winning researcher for her studies of sandplay therapy with adults with traumatic brain injury and youth with co-occurring trauma and addiction. She currently serves as Research Editor for the Journal of Sandplay Therapy.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Lorraine Freedle is the owner of Black Sand Neuropsychological Services, Inc and the co-founder and chief clinical officer of TeamBuilders Behavioral Health. She has employment relationships with Pacific Quest Corporation, The Trauma Research Foundation, Southwestern College, and the University of Hawaii. Dr. Freedle receives royalties as a published author. She receives compensation as a field instructor. Dr. Freedle receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Lorraine Freedle is a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the International Society for Sandplay Therapy. She serves on the advisory board of Hawaii Island Psychological Association, is on the board of trustees for Sandplay Therapists of America and is on the board of directors for Sandplay Therapists of Hawaii.

Tarah Kuhn, PhD

Dr. Tarah Kuhn is a licensed clinical psychologist and has been a member of the faculty since 2005. Areas of expertise include juvenile justice, trauma and attachment. She serves as the Clinical Director for the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE) providing ongoing consultation, training and dissemination of best practice. The COE is part of a statewide network funded to enhance the quality of services provided to children in or at risk of entering the Tennessee child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Dr. Kuhn’s background includes clinical work with children and families with histories of complex trauma. An additional focus has been on multi-systemic collaboration to improve services and advocate for the clinical needs of children and families. She has published and presented nationally on issues related to child and adolescent sexual development, management of sexual behavior problems and treatment for youth with disruptive behavior disorders. Dr. Kuhn co-teaches the Family Therapy Seminar for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship program and provides ongoing clinical training and supervision for doctoral and master's level psychology students.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Tarah Kuhn is an associate professor at Vanderbilt University. She serves as the clinical director for the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE).
Non-financial: Tarah Kuhn has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Ilya Yacevich, MA, LMFT

Ilya Yacevich, MA, LMFT, lives in Nairobi, Kenya, Founding Director of the Global Trauma Project (GTP) and developer of the “Trauma-Informed Community Empowerment” (TICE) framework. This children and families with histories of complex and inter-generational trauma in East Africa, Greece and Indian Reservations in the US.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ilya Yacevich is the founder of Global Trauma Project. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ilya Yacevich has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Anita Shankar, MPH

Anita Shankar, MPH, believes access to relevant mental health resources is a social justice issue. As Senior Director of the Global Trauma Project, she utilizes the Trauma-Informed Community Empowerment (TICE) Framework to build the capacity of community leaders and government officials. Ms. Shankar’s 20 years of public health experience is influenced by the fields of popular education, youth development, harm reduction, and positive sexuality. She earned her Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA and Bachelor’s in International Development from the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Anita Shankar is the senior director of the Global Trauma Project and is an associate trainer with Sub-Saharan Africa RedR UK. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Anita Shankar has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Diana Martinez, MD, MSc, PhD, BNC

Diana Martinez, MD, MSc, PhD, BNC, is a medical doctor with a specialty in Neurorehabilitation. She received her medical degree from University of Aguascalientes, Mexico in 2002, Fellowship in Neurological Rehabilitation from IAHP, Philadelphia, USA in 2006; M.Sc in Neurological Rehabilitation in 2009, Fellowship iNeurophysiology from University Hospital, Cleveland, USA in 2012 and PhD from De Montfort University from Leicester, UK in 2018. She has 15 years of experience treating severe brain injured patients in United States, Mexico, Spain, Italy, China, Brazil, Colombia and Honduras. She developed, along with other professionals, an integrative intervention to rehabilitated neurological conditions including neurofeedback and other non-invasive brain stimulation techniques.

She is the CEO (since 2012) of Neocemod (Neuromodulation Center), Mexico City and Aguascalientes, Mexico, with experience treating patients with epilepsy, learning disorders, behavioral disorder, mood disorders, sleep disorders, TBI and CP. She has extensive experience in neurophysiology, EEG/qEEG/ERP interpretation. Also, she is an international consultant for Neurofeedback professionals and currently she combines clinical work, and research; which lead to study the effects of Neurofeedback in epilepsy for her PhD thesis. She continues received invitations to give lectures and workshops for ISNR, BFE, NRBS and SMNB (Mexican Neurofeedback society) and other international neurological and neurophysiology societies.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Diana Martinez is the founder and owner of Boston Neuro Dynamics and has an employment relationship with Massachusetts General Hospital. She receives compensation as a consultant. Dr. Martinez receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Diana Martinez has no relevant non-financial relationships.

 

Margaret Blaustein, PhD

Margaret E. Blaustein, PhD, is a practicing clinical psychologist whose career has focused on the understanding and treatment of complex childhood trauma and its sequelae. Dr. Blaustein is co-developer of the Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC) treatment framework (Kinniburgh & Blaustein, 2005), and co-author of the text, Treating Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents: Fostering Resilience through Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency(Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2010). 
 

Dr. Blaustein’s work has been hailed as “a landmark for understanding and treating traumatized children” by world renowned trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, and has been embraced by over 300 agencies and/or child-serving systems in the U.S. and abroad who use the ARC framework. 

She has provided extensive training and consultation to providers worldwide. Dr. Blaustein is the director of the Center for Trauma Training in Needham, MA, and is actively involved in local, regional, and national collaborative groups dedicated to the empathic, respectful, and effective provision of services to this population.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Margaret Blaustein is the founder and director of the Center for Trauma Training, Inc and receives compensation as a consultant. She receives royalties as a published author. Margaret Blaustein receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Margaret Blaustein is a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and the American Psychological Association. She is an ad hoc reviewer for several peer review journals, for a complete list contact PESI, Inc.

Gary Bailey, MSW, ACSW

Gary Bailey, MSW, ACSW, has dedicated his life to social work and community advocacy as an unequivocal leader in the area of race and justice over his career. He is currently Assistant Dean for Community Engagement and Social Justice at the College of Social Sciences, Policy and Practice at Simmons University. Among is many activities at Simmons, he is the co-chair of the President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He was the Director of the Certificate in Urban Leadership Certificate Program and was the coordinator of the Dynamics and Racism sequence. In 2010, Dr. Baily was elected President of the International Federation of Social Workers, representing more than 90 countries and 746,000 social workers globally, becoming the first person of color to hold this post. He is also a past president of the National Association of Social Workers. Dr. Bailey has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career including being named as Social Worker of the Year and a Social Work Pioneer by the NASW.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Gary Bailey has employment relationships with Harvard Medical School, Boston University and Simmons College. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Gary Bailey is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, Council on Social Work Education, and the Association of Black Social Workers.

Jon Ebert, PsyD

Jon Ebert, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive clinical and consultation expertise in the assessment and delivery of services to children and families who have experienced traumatic stress and mental health challenges. Ebert is Clinical Director of the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE) which is part of a statewide network funded under an agreement with the State of Tennessee to improve the public health by enhancing the quality of services provided to children in or at-risk of entering the Tennessee child welfare or juvenile justice systems. In his work with the Vanderbilt COE, Ebert provides ongoing leadership and training for the Tennessee statewide best practice initiative in the dissemination of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competence (ARC), and Teen Outreach Program (TOP). He has published on the dissemination of evidence based practices and presented nationally on systems-level approaches to managing children and youth with sexual behavior problems, family reunification, trauma-informed treatment cultures, and the role of leadership in the adoption of evidenced-based practices. Ebert co-teaches the Family Therapy Seminar for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship program and is a primary supervisor for Psychology Interns working in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic (CAPOC) as part of Vanderbilt’s APA-approved, Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship Consortium.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Jon Ebert is clinical director of the Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE).
Non-financial: Jon Ebert has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Frank Anderson, MD

Frank Anderson, MD, completed his residency and was a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is both a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He specializes in the treatment of trauma and dissociation and is passionate about teaching brain-based psychotherapy and integrating current neuroscience knowledge with the IFS model of therapy.

Dr. Anderson is a lead trainer at the IFS Institute with Richard Schwartz and maintains a long affiliation with, and trains for, Bessel van der Kolk’s Trauma Center. He serves as an advisor to the International Association of Trauma Professionals (IATP) and was the former chair and director of the Foundation for Self-Leadership.

Dr. Anderson has lectured extensively on the Neurobiology of PTSD and Dissociation and wrote the chapter “Who’s Taking What” Connecting Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology and Internal Family Systems for Trauma in Internal Family Systems Therapy – New Dimensions. He co-authored a chapter on What IFS Brings to Trauma Treatment in Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy, and recently co-authored Internal Family Systems Skills Training Manual.

His most recent book, entitled Transcending Trauma: Healing Complex PTSD with Internal Family Systems was released on May 19, 2021.

His memoir, To Be Loved, is set to be released on May 7, 2024.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Frank Anderson maintains a private practice. He is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Self Leadership and has employment relationships with The Trauma Center and The Center for Self Leadership. Dr. Anderson receives royalties as a published author. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Frank Anderson is a member of the New England Society Studying Trauma and Dissociation and the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.