Erica Lorentz, MEd, LPC, is a Diplomate Jungian Analyst (IAAP) and author of Body as Shadow: Jung’s Method of Embodied Healing (Karnac, 2026). She is a training analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute of New England and has served as Curriculum Coordinator and Training Board Member. She has also been a training analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and adjunct faculty at Antioch School of Professional Psychology.

Since 1986, Ms. Lorentz has maintained a private practice working with individuals, couples, and groups. She has lectured and led workshops throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and India, including recent presentations on decolonizing mental health. Her work has been featured on Pacifica Radio and the Jung Platform. Her clinical and teaching focus centers on the embodied mythopoetic process and the inter-active field in analysis.

Her exploration of Jung’s embodied active imagination process began in 1975 through the study of Authentic Movement with Janet Adler.

In 1913, Carl Jung undertook a profound inner journey into the unconscious, an experience that became foundational to his life’s work and the development of analytical psychology. Central to this legacy is the understanding that the body, imagination, and psyche are inseparable, yet modern psychology has often relegated the body to the margins.

» Learn more about Erica Lorentz «

Sheila Pontis, PhD is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, and practitioner whose work sits at the crossroads of imagination, design, and human flourishing. Originally trained as a graphic designer in Buenos Aires and holding a PhD in Information Design from the University of the Arts London, she has spent over two decades exploring how people think, learn, and create — and how those capacities can be deliberately cultivated.

She has held faculty positions at MIT, Princeton University, and Northeastern University, among others, where she led graduate programs, and designed and taught courses on creativity, imagination, well-being, design, and human-centered research. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that imagination is not a talent reserved for artists — it is a fundamental human capacity that can be nurtured in anyone.

Sheila's recent work bridges positive psychology, behavioral science, and design education. She has completed advanced training at the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center, Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Yale's Science of Well-Being program. She is also a certified yoga teacher and brings somatic and mindful practices into her work with learners and organizations.

As founder of Imagination for Human Flourishing, she develops workshops, courses, and research that empower individuals and communities to harness their imaginative abilities — to dream, to play, and to address life's challenges more creatively. She is also faculty at the School of Radical Imagination, where she teaches courses on imagination, optimism, and being human. Her work asks a simple but radical question: What becomes possible when we take imagination seriously?

» Learn more about Sheila Pontis, PhD «

Polly Ryan is a licensed marriage and family therapist, meditation teacher, and grief educator based in Truckee, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds degrees in music performance, music therapy, and counseling psychology and has been a licensed therapist in California and Nevada for over 40 years. She is the founder of InnerAction Therapy, offering counseling and personal development to individuals, couples, and families.

Polly’s clinical approach is trauma-informed and integrative, drawing on EMDR, somatic awareness, parts work, polyvagal theory, and Feeding Your Demons, a therapeutic method she is certified to teach. Her work goes beyond traditional talk therapy, combining evidence-based psychological tools with contemplative wisdom to support deep, lasting transformation.

Polly is a devoted student of Lama Tsultrim Allione and Lama Alan Wallace and has received teachings from many great Tibetan and Bhutanese teachers. She serves as a senior teacher (Lopön) and spiritual mentor at Tara Mandala Retreat Center, where she has taught numerous in-person and on-line retreats. In 2023 she co-led pilgrimages to Bhutan and India. 

Polly founded the Northern Sierra and Santa Fe Tara Mandala Global Sanghas where she offers in-person and on-line practice and study. She is also co-founder of Sitting Lab with her partner, Robert Thomas, and brings to this work a lifelong commitment to the integration of contemplative practice, creative expression, and psychological healing.

After the death of her 21-year-old son in 2023, she has immersed herself in the grief work of Mirabai Starr and David Kessler and completed her Grief Educator Certificate in 2024. She created LoganIsLove! A Mother’s Bereavement Circle as a tribute to her son’s life.

» Learn more about Polly Ryan «

Robert Thomas began practicing meditation in 1993 as a novice monk at Wat Pah Nanachat, a renowned Thai forest monastery. He went on to dedicate his life to contemplative practice, spending six years as a monk at Tassajara, the first Buddhist monastery in America, founded by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. 

He attained the highest level of ordination in Soto Zen, receiving Dharma Transmission from his teacher, Norman Fischer, in 2009, and spent 22 years as a Zen priest and teacher-in-residence at the San Francisco Zen Center, Upaya Zen Center, and the Austin Zen Center.

Robert is also the former CEO of three groundbreaking organizations: the San Francisco Zen Center, Mindful Schools, and the Tara Mandala International Buddhist Community. In 2024, he founded Sitting Lab, an online platform supporting people in establishing a regular and deepening meditation practice.

He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his partner, Polly Ryan, and he spends his time writing, making art, walking his dog, and helping people practice meditation.

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Vineeth P. John, MD, MBA, is a double board-certified psychiatrist specializing in geriatric psychiatry, currently based in Houston, Texas. He serves as the John S. Dunn Professor in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, where he also holds the role of Vice Chair for Education and Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program. His clinical interests span adult general psychiatry, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, and the psychiatric care of older adults.

A passionate advocate for creativity in medicine and education, Dr. John has dedicated his career to cultivating learning environments enriched with openness, creative problem solving, and innovative thinking, believing these conditions are the foundation for extraordinary scholarship and discovery. Over the past decade, he has also been studying the effect of disruptive styles of leadership in organizations, presenting his research at national and international conferences. 

Dr. John earned his medical degree from the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India. He completed his psychiatry residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston and his fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

Throughout his career, Dr. John has held academic leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry and is actively involved in psychiatric education and training initiatives at the national level.

» Learn more about Vineeth John «

Ezekiel Hinojosa, MD, is a fourth-year psychiatry resident in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He earned his MD from McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2022, and his BS in Biology and Psychology, magna cum laude, from Texas A&M University in 2018, where he was a recipient of the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Texas A&M Century Scholarship.

Dr. Hinojosa has demonstrated exceptional academic achievement throughout his training, earning the Psychiatry Residency PRITE Award in each of his first three years of residency. He has been selected by his program director to lead the residency's APA MindGames team and was chosen by forensic psychiatry fellowship leadership to assist in developing a forensic psychiatry clinical track within the residency program. His research background spans phospholipid signaling in tumor cells, circadian rhythm and genetics, and medical informatics, with publications in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Cell Science and BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Hinojosa has developed and delivered numerous lectures and case conferences throughout his training, with a particular commitment to building the next generation of psychiatric clinicians. His co-presentation with Dr. Vineeth John at the Creativity and Madness 2026 conference reflects his growing interest in the intersection of psychiatric science, human experience, and the creative mind.

Mitchell B. Liester, M.D., is a board-certified psychiatrist and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1985, completed his psychiatric residency at the University of California, Irvine, and served as Chief Resident. He has maintained a private practice in Monument, Colorado for over 34 years.

Dr. Liester's interest in psychiatry originates from a deep fascination with altered states of consciousness, whether triggered spontaneously by near-death experiences or through other means. His grandfather's near-death experience, which occurred while Dr. Liester was still a medical student, first introduced him to this realm and shaped a research career spanning more than three decades. His work encompasses consciousness, near-death experiences, indigenous healing practices, biological psychiatry, and psychedelic medicines. He has also investigated the phenomenon of cellular memory, exploring how personality changes following heart transplantation may point to memory stored beyond the brain itself. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, contributes regularly to Psychology Today, and served as Vice President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies. To investigate indigenous healing practices, he has journeyed to the Himalayas, Hawaii, Bali, Fiji, and the Andes and Amazon rainforest of South America.

What happens at the edge of life? And what can those who have returned tell us about consciousness, healing, and what it means to truly live?

» Learn more about Mitchel Liester «

Angelina H. Rodriguez, Ph.D., is a Houston-based depth psychologist and psychotherapist who brings a creative perspective and integrative approach to healing, incorporating the principles of Depth Psychology with talk therapy and art therapy. She holds a Ph.D. in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor/Supervisor and Registered Board-Certified Art Therapist with over two decades of clinical experience. 

Her Jungian-informed approach blends depth-oriented insight with therapeutic dialogue, creative art processes, dreamwork, and mindful practices, helping clients move through grief, anxiety, depression, addiction, and major life transitions. She is the founder of Psychotherapy by Angelina and has served clients spanning immigration evaluations, grief work, substance recovery, and trauma healing in both English and Spanish. 

Dr. Rodriguez has conducted extensive research on the ofrenda ritual, a traditional practice of honoring the deceased through art and symbol, exploring its role in grief, healing, and the psychology of death. Her documentary, "The Ofrenda Ritual: Bridging Art and Death," follows the healing journeys of participants in her workshops, which have been described as "extremely effective, memorable, and transformational." She has served the community as a therapist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, counseling patients with terminal cancer and their grieving families, and volunteered as a crisis counselor during the September 11th crisis in New York City. 

A professional artist for over 25 years, Dr. Rodriguez's paintings and murals can be found in private residences and businesses throughout the country, and her work has been displayed in prestigious galleries and museums. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences and has been featured on Fox 26, ABC 13, KHOU Channel 11, the Houston Chronicle, among other media.

» Learn more about Angelina Rodriguez «

Deborah Levinson, LCSW, is a Johns Hopkins and Catholic University-trained licensed clinical social worker with more than four decades of experience helping individuals, couples, and families navigate life's most profound transitions. Her clinical work has long centered on the healing potential embedded in human relationships, with particular expertise in the therapeutic dimensions of apology, forgiveness, and relational repair.

Mrs. Levinson is best known for developing the Spousal Loss Model, a clinically researched framework for rebuilding identity and purpose after major loss. Over the course of her career, she has come to understand forgiveness not as a simple act of letting go, but as one of the most powerful and complex interventions available in clinical practice. She has facilitated groups for widowed and divorcing individuals through the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services in New York and has presented to professional audiences at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Gerontological Society of America, and the United States Secret Service Employee Assistance Program, among others.

She is the author of three books, including her widely used workbook Surviving the Death of Your Spouse (New Harbinger, 2004), and has published clinical research in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Personal and Interpersonal Loss and Illness, Crisis and Loss.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Lambda Theta, Mrs. Levinson brings decades of clinical wisdom, scholarly grounding, and genuine warmth to her exploration of the transformative power of love expressed through apology and forgiveness.

Jenny Hughes, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma and PTSD. She holds multiple faculty appointments and practices Brainspotting, EMDR, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Cognitive Processing Therapy. As the founder of the BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective, Dr. Hughes helps trauma therapists be human again as they learn how to manage vicarious trauma and enhance vicarious resilience together. She is the author of The PTSD Recovery Workbook and Triggers to Glimmers: A Vicarious Resilience Journal and Workbook.

» Learn more about Jenny Hughes «

Sarah Sudhoff is a Houston-based artist, educator, and nonprofit leader whose work sits at the intersection of visual arts, community engagement, and social practice. She is the Founder and Director of Ramona Residency, the first artist residency in Texas dedicated to artist mothers, and Co-Founder of Throughline Collective, an artist-run space in Houston. With over two decades of experience in photography, arts administration, and higher education, Sarah has held leadership roles at institutions including the Houston Center for Photography and the Texas Photographic Society. Her work has been recognized by the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Houston Arts Alliance, and Photolucida's Critical Mass Top 50, among others. She holds an MFA in Photography from Parsons the New School for Design and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin.

» Learn more about Sarah Sudhoff «

Joyce Lilly, RN, JD is a Registered Nurse who has worked in hospital and community settings. She worked as a psychiatric nurse for 4 years. Joyce attended Boston University School of Law and is a Plaintiff lawyer representing persons injured due to the negligence of others. She also represents Nurses before the Texas Board of Nursing in Austin.

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Cindy Rutter, LMFT, BSN, RN brings more than 45 years of expertise in burn care to her work as a clinician, advocate, and dedicated champion for burn survivors and their families. A burn survivor herself for 66 years, Cindy's personal and professional journeys are deeply intertwined, giving her a uniquely powerful perspective on healing and recovery.

Cindy began her career as a burn unit nurse and went on to serve as Nurse Manager of the UCSD Regional Burn Center. She is currently in private practice as a psychotherapist in San Diego, with a primary focus on burn and trauma recovery. Throughout her career, she has contributed to the field through service on the Education Committee for the American Burn Association, the Executive Board for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, and the Advisory Board for the San Diego Burn Institute.

Cindy's passion for aftercare has shaped some of the most meaningful contributions of her career. She co-founded one of the first national adult burn survivor retreats in the United States and continues to serve as a facilitator at adult retreats, youth summits, and children's burn camp support programs. She was instrumental in designing, developing, and implementing SOAR (Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery), a peer support recovery program for burn survivors and their family members, and she remains on the National Advisory Committee and National Faculty of the SOAR program. She has taught peer support training across both the United States and Canada. Cindy is also a frequent speaker and presenter at the American Burn Association conference and the Phoenix Society World Burn Congress.

Her extraordinary contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including California Nurse of the Year in 2000, the San Diego Chargers Community Quarterback Award in 2002, and the Remarkable Women Award from Redbook Magazine in 2007. In 2011, she received the prestigious Alan Breslau Award for her sustained commitment to the burn community.

Cindy is the proud mother of two grown daughters and the devoted grandmother of two grandchildren.

» Learn more about Cindy Rutter, LMFT, BSN, RN «

Jill Sproul, MS, RN brings more than 30 years of dedicated expertise in burn care to her work as a clinician, leader, and passionate advocate for burn survivors. She began her nursing career in 1990 as a new graduate from San Jose State University, joining the Burn Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, an institution that would become the cornerstone of her remarkable career.

In 1996, Jill expanded her experience at the University of California San Diego Burn Center, serving as Assistant Nurse Manager before returning to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in 1997 as Burn Center Nurse Manager, a role she held for 20 years. Her leadership continued to grow as she took on the Director of Critical Care, Emergency Department, and Perioperative Services, and ultimately became Chief Nursing Officer for Valley Medical Center in 2017. In 2019, she was elevated to System CNO, overseeing hospitals and clinics across the system until her retirement from Santa Clara County in June 2023.

Alongside her clinical and administrative leadership, Jill's deepest passion has always been outreach and aftercare for burn survivors. She is especially proud of her contributions to the Phoenix Society's SOAR peer support program as a member of the National Advisory Committee. A steadfast believer in the power of peer support, she conducted her graduate research in 2009 at San Jose State University on peer support and its perceived benefits for burn survivors. Her relationship with the Phoenix Society spans three decades, beginning in 1994, and includes service on the Board of Directors from 2012 to 2022. She has also been an active contributor to the American Burn Association, including service on their Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016 and participation on numerous ABA committees.

Since February 2024, Jill has served as Director of Programs for the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, continuing her lifelong commitment to the burn community in a new and meaningful chapter.

Jill is married and the proud mother of four grown children. Since retiring from Santa Clara County, she has remained deeply engaged in the burn community, a testament to the relationships and mission that have defined her career.

» Learn more about Jill Sproul, MS, RN «

Vida Nikzad, PsyD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Los Angeles, California, with a private practice in Santa Monica. Rooted in an Existential, Humanistic, and Gestalt orientation, her work integrates depth psychology, somatic awareness, and evidence-based approaches to support individuals, couples, and families navigating trauma, mood disorders, addiction, and relational healing.

Dr. Nikzad holds a Doctor of Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillips Graduate Institute. She is a Certified Gestalt Therapist, EMDR Certified Therapist, Certified Hypnotherapist, and EFT-trained couples therapist, with additional training in DBT, CBT, Jungian dreamwork, archetypal analysis, and mediation.

Her clinical career has spanned private practice, hospital, and residential treatment settings, including seven years as a Staff Psychologist at the Betty Ford Center, where she specialized in dual-diagnosis treatment, DBT and CBT-based addiction and relapse prevention, and family codependency therapy. She has also served as a program therapist at Mission Community Hospital, providing crisis intervention, geriatric psychiatric care, and dual-diagnosis group treatment.

A passionate educator and group facilitator, Dr. Nikzad has led ongoing clinical workshop series integrating dreamwork, Iranian and American fairy tales, myth, poetry, and film as pathways to archetypal and narrative trauma processing. She is fluent in both English and Farsi, and brings a rich multicultural perspective to all of her clinical and educational work.

» Learn more about Vida Nikzad, PsyD «

Charlyne Gelt, PhD, CGP is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified group psychotherapist, and educator based in Encino, California, with over 30 years of experience working with individuals, couples, adolescents, families, and groups. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and brings a rich integrative approach to her work, drawing on cognitive-behavioral, depth psychological, family systems, and self psychology frameworks.

Dr. Gelt is the author of "Hades' Angels: The Transformative Journeys of Women Who Love Lifers and Death Row Inmates," a groundbreaking exploration of the psychological dynamics of women in committed relationships with incarcerated men. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Psychologist, The California Therapist, and numerous professional publications, and she contributes a monthly Cinema Therapy column to the San Fernando Valley CAMFT newsletter.

Dr. Gelt’s interests span the intersection of cinema, therapy, relationships, and the transformation of consciousness. Her clinical workshops, Women's Empowerment Groups, and Men-Only group series focus on moving individuals from emotional dependency and destructive relational patterns toward emotional independence and mature interdependency.

Her clinical specialties include women's relationship and empowerment issues, grief and loss, family therapy, and children with special needs, particularly those on the autism and Asperger's spectrum. She has facilitated a College Survival Process Group for students on the autism spectrum through UCLA Extension's Pathway Program, and has volunteered for over a decade as a group facilitator for families with a loved one in prison through Friends Outside LA.

» Learn more about Charlyne Gelt, PhD, CGP «

Patrice Roy, PMH-NP, BC, CNS is a board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years of experience spanning clinical practice, academic teaching, and the emerging frontier of psychedelic-assisted therapy. She brings to her work a rare combination of rigorous clinical training and a deeply human perspective forged at the edges of convention.

Before stepping into clinical practice, Patrice was hauling lobster traps off the coast of Maine, playing banjo and ukulele, and creating encaustic art. These weren't detours from her professional path; they were the foundation of it. Every unconventional experience taught her something essential about resilience, meaning, and the wisdom that comes from standing outside looking in.

That perspective has shaped her clinical career at every turn. At Maine's largest tertiary care hospital, she helped build the Substance Abuse Consultation Service and co-founded the Dana Foundation Addictions Training Project, training healthcare professionals across New England to see patients with addiction through a more compassionate lens. She later joined Mayo Clinic in Arizona before turning her full attention to ketamine and psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Now in private practice in Scottsdale, Patrice offers ketamine-assisted treatment to clients with treatment-resistant depression, chronic PTSD, and anxiety, integrating preparation, real-time support, and structured post-session integration into immersive retreat formats. For over two decades, she has also taught at the University of Southern Maine, Boston College, the University of Vermont, and Drexel University, consistently bringing the same message: the best clinicians aren't the ones who follow the rules perfectly. They're the ones who understand when the rules themselves need to evolve.

Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, MFT, SEP is a psychotherapist, leadership coach, and international trainer in Mindfulness Meditation, Core Creativity, Gestalt Therapy, Ericksonian Mind-Body Therapies, and Somatic Experiencing. He is the Executive Director of the OpenMind® Training Program, offering personal and professional training in mindfulness-based mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and meditation for over forty years.

A lay Zen Buddhist practitioner, Dr. Alexander specializes in utilizing mindfulness meditation to help individuals access the mind states that open the portal to their core creativity. He is the author of two books: "Core Creativity: The Mindful Way to Unlock Your Creative Self" and "Wise Mind, Open Mind: Finding Purpose and Meaning in Times of Crisis, Loss, and Change."

Since 1972, he has conducted workshops and professional clinical trainings supporting personal, clinical, and corporate excellence across the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia, Asia, and Australia.

Recent advances in neuroscience, somatic therapy, and mindfulness practice have transformed the way we understand trauma, painful thought patterns, and destructive emotions. A powerful new approach is emerging, one that views symptoms of suffering not as problems to be eliminated, but as the body's own wisdom pathways, creating communication between the unconscious and the aware self in service of healing and transformation.

» Learn more about Ronald A. Alexander, PhD, MFT, SEP «

Eleanor D. Hamilton, PhD, LPC, LMHC brings more than 40 years of dedicated clinical experience to her work as a psychotherapist, with deep specializations in psychological trauma, addiction and recovery, grief and loss, anger management, and meditation and mindfulness. Throughout her career, she has worked with individuals, couples, families, and groups across diverse cultural communities throughout the United States.

Dr. Hamilton holds a B.S. and M.A. from Columbia University and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology. Her doctoral studies included extensive hypnosis training in Switzerland, and her post-doctoral work at the C.G. Jung Institute in Santa Fe deepened her grounding in Archetypal and Developmental Psychology, providing a rich framework for culturally integrative practice.

Her clinical career has taken her across the country, including serving as Clinical Supervisor for the Behavioral Health Department of the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay, Washington, where she worked within an Integrative Medicine Program and collaborated directly with Native Healers. She also served as a Military Life and Family Therapist at Fort Drum, New York, led a groundbreaking Women's Support Group for Soldiers, and has provided counseling services to active-duty military, veterans, and their families throughout her career.

Currently in private practice at Pathways in Temple, Texas, Dr. Hamilton holds certifications in HeartMath Biofeedback, Anger Management Therapy, Brain Spotting, EMDR, and Military Counseling. She is licensed in Texas, Washington, New York, and Washington, D.C.

» Learn more about Eleanor D. Hamilton, PhD, LPC, LMHC «

Robert M. Schwartz, PhD is a clinical psychologist and one of the pioneers of positive psychology. Together with renowned psychologist John M. Gottman, he developed one of the first scientifically based measures to assess both positive and negative thoughts and emotions. Over a 30-year career as a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine, he published 25 scientific papers spanning depression, anxiety, stress, psychotherapy outcome, and the science of well-being. 

His groundbreaking contribution, the States of Mind Model, is the first mathematically based system for identifying whether a person is in an optimal, normal, or dysfunctional psychological state. This model has been applied in clinical research on depression treatment, agoraphobia, and cognitive-affective balance, and has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Therapy and Research, and Clinical Psychology Review.

Dr. Schwartz is the founder and president of Cognitive Dynamic Therapy Associates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his clinical work integrates cognitive, psychodynamic, and positive psychology approaches. He is also a Certified Diplomate of Sex Therapy through the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, with additional specialties in anxiety, depression, marital therapy, and stress management.

In addition to his research and clinical practice, Dr. Schwartz has led Beyond Positive Thinking seminars with groups and helped hundreds of clients transform their state of mind into a more balanced, optimal zone. He has presented his work at national and international conferences and continues to write and publish on psychology, positive emotion, and human flourishing.

» Learn more about Robert M. Schwartz, PhD «

Jenny Hughes, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma and PTSD. She holds multiple faculty appointments and practices Brainspotting, EMDR, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Cognitive Processing Therapy. As the founder of the BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective, Dr. Hughes helps trauma therapists be human again as they learn how to manage vicarious trauma and enhance vicarious resilience together. She is the author of The PTSD Recovery Workbook and Triggers to Glimmers: A Vicarious Resilience Journal and Workbook.

» Learn more about Jenny Hughes, PhD «

Sarah Sudhoff is a Houston-based artist, educator, and nonprofit leader whose work sits at the intersection of visual arts, community engagement, and social practice. She is the Founder and Director of Ramona Residency, the first artist residency in Texas dedicated to artist mothers, and Co-Founder of Throughline Collective, an artist-run space in Houston. With over two decades of experience in photography, arts administration, and higher education, Sarah has held leadership roles at institutions including the Houston Center for Photography and the Texas Photographic Society. Her work has been recognized by the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Houston Arts Alliance, and Photolucida's Critical Mass Top 50, among others. She holds an MFA in Photography from Parsons the New School for Design and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin.

» Learn more about Sarah Sudhoff «

Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., LMFT, CADAC is a multi-award-winning psychotherapist, entertainment journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, executive coach, bestselling author, and radio host with more than 30 years of clinical experience. Recognized by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of America's top therapists, Dr. Goldsmith has spent his career making psychology accessible, engaging, and genuinely useful to audiences worldwide.

His weekly column Emotional Fitness, syndicated by Tribune News Service, appears in more than 400 publications, including The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Time Magazine. His Psychology Today blog has surpassed 35 million followers. For nearly a decade, "Dr. G" hosted a weekly program on NPR affiliate KCLU, interviewing leading thinkers for nearly 90,000 listeners.

As the creator of Between the Notes, he now interviews artists, performers, filmmakers, and other creative voices to uncover the stories behind their work, going beyond what audiences see onstage and on screen to reveal the human story behind it.

The author of seven books, including the Emotional Fitness series and The Happy Couple, Dr. Goldsmith has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, CBS News, and NBC News. He has served as an on-set therapist in film and television, as a national public health spokesperson, and as an executive coach to entertainment professionals and business leaders.

His honors include the Clark Vincent Award for Writing (CAMFT), the Peter Markin Merit Award (AAMFT), the Giannantonio Award as Outstanding Educator in Addiction Medicine, and induction into the CAADAC Hall of Fame. He received special recognition from the City of Los Angeles for his crisis work following the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Dr. Goldsmith holds a Ph.D. in Human Behavior Psychology and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. A National Merit Scholar and former Professor of Psychology, he connects with every audience through clinical depth, warmth, and an irrepressible sense of humor. He believes the best interviews, and the best conversations, begin with curiosity, whether interviewing an award-winning performer, helping a client through a difficult transition, or writing a syndicated column. 

» Learn more about Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., LMFT, CADAC «

Sheila Pontis, PhD is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, and practitioner whose work sits at the crossroads of imagination, design, and human flourishing. Originally trained as a graphic designer in Buenos Aires and holding a PhD in Information Design from the University of the Arts London, she has spent over two decades exploring how people think, learn, and create — and how those capacities can be deliberately cultivated.

She has held faculty positions at MIT, Princeton University, and Northeastern University, among others, where she led graduate programs, and designed and taught courses on creativity, imagination, well-being, design, and human-centered research. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that imagination is not a talent reserved for artists — it is a fundamental human capacity that can be nurtured in anyone.

Sheila's recent work bridges positive psychology, behavioral science, and design education. She has completed advanced training at the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center, Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Yale's Science of Well-Being program. She is also a certified yoga teacher and brings somatic and mindful practices into her work with learners and organizations.

As founder of Imagination for Human Flourishing, she develops workshops, courses, and research that empower individuals and communities to harness their imaginative abilities — to dream, to play, and to address life's challenges more creatively. She is also faculty at the School of Radical Imagination, where she teaches courses on imagination, optimism, and being human. Her work asks a simple but radical question: What becomes possible when we take imagination seriously?

» Learn more about Sheila Pontis, PhD «

Dr. Fred Moss, MD is a psychiatrist, author, keynote speaker, and transformational coach who has spent more than four decades challenging the boundaries of conventional mental health care. A graduate of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and a fellowship-trained Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist. Dr. Moss has worked across a wide spectrum of settings from inpatient and outpatient care to homeless shelters, nursing homes, prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, and telepsychiatry, and served thousands of patients throughout his career.

Known as "The Undoctor," Dr. Moss expanded beyond traditional diagnostic and medication driven models to champion a movement built on one essential truth: authentic human connection is the foundation of real healing. He believes that communication, connection, creativity, and self-expression are core to all healing, not just in mental health, but in every aspect of life. 

He is the founder of UnDoctor RESET™, a practical framework for transformation through communication, creativity, and community. Dr. Moss is also the author of Creative 8: Healing Through Creativity & Self-Expression and Find Your True Voice!, and has contributed numerous articles to Psychology Today. His essay "Global Madness, What Must Happen to Unite" earned him an award at the 2019 Conference for Global Transformation. 

Dr. Moss brings both clinical authority and a deeply human perspective to the conversation about creativity, mental health, and what it truly means to heal.

» Learn more about Dr. Fred Moss, MD «