Plenary Speakers
Louise Barrett, Ph.D.
Louise Barrett was trained as an ecologist and anthropologist at University College London, UK. Following her PhD, Barrett took up a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of KwaZulu Natal, before returning to increasingly senior posts in the UK, and a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship. In 2007 she moved to the University of Lethbridge, where she is Professor of Psychology and Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Evolution, Cognition and Behaviour. She is also a Visiting International Professor at Rühr-Universität Bochum, Germany. She has run two long-term field studies on baboons and vervets in South Africa, that have explored the complexities of social life and its potential links to the evolution of brain size and social intelligence. She has presented her work in four books and over a hundred journal articles, which stretch from the social nature of primate brain evolution to the challenges of constructing a non-reductive evolutionary account of human behaviour. She has given over 50 invited presentations internationally, including 14 plenary and 4 keynote lectures at all the major conferences in her fields of research. She was, for five years, the executive editor of Animal Behaviour, the principal journal of the field. She has also served as editor for Behavioural Ecology, and continues to serve as editor for Advances in the Study of Behaviour and Evolutionary Human Sciences. She was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016.
Radical Ethology: a Sideways Glance at Primate Lives
The Anthropoid primates—the monkeys and apes— are known for both their intense sociality and their large brain size. This has given rise to the idea that these features might be causally related, and there is a large body of work that tests this so-called “social brain hypothesis” (SBH). The SBH views social life as highly political, and requires primates to plot and plan in an increasingly abstract manner—that is, to understand another’s behaviour, primates must delve below the surface and make inferences about the hidden causes of other’s actions. This “vertical” view risks losing sight of the fact that brains primarily evolved to enable the control of action in specific contexts, which in turn leads us to downplay or neglect the importance of the physical body in a material world full of bodies and other objects. Here, I make the case for taking a “horizontal” view of primate brain and social evolution— that is, one that focuses on bodies and action, and takes a “sideways” look at the concrete social and physical contexts in which animals are nested. I further suggest that this has implications for how we think of certain human conditions, like autism and schizophrenia.
Patrick C. Friman, Ph.D., APBB
Dr. Patrick C. Friman received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. He is the current Vice President of Behavioral Health at Boys Town and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine. He was formerly on the faculties of Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, and Creighton University Schools of Medicine. He was also formerly the Director of the Clinical Psychology Program at University of Nevada. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, in three divisions of the American Psychological Association, and of the American Board of Behavioral Psychology. He is the former Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and former President of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. He has published more than 200 scientific articles and chapters and three books. The majority of his scientific and clinical work is in Behavioral Pediatrics and Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Friman’s work in behavioral pediatrics has concentrated on the gap between primary medical care for children on one side, and referral-based clinical child psychological and psychiatric care, on the other. A secondary focus is on adolescent behavior and development. He also specializes in consultation regarding workplace issues such as motivation, dealing with difficult people, change, happiness and pathways to success.
Sources of Behavior and Experience: Ontological/Phenomenological Perspectives on Clinical Practice
This talk will assert that human behavior (and experience) has sources and causes and that these are distinct. Most educational and clinical efforts focus on causes and thus this talk will focus on sources. And it will argue that a person’s points of view about the circumstances of their life are the source of their experience of, and behavior toward, those circumstances. In other words, humans respond to the world in accord with how the world occurs for them and not how it objectively is. Although a topic for another talk, it bears mention that it may be impossible to perceive the world in a purely objective fashion. In any event, it would seem prudent to add interventions derived from focus on sources of behavior to the vast number of extant interventions derived from focus on causes. There are two significant obstacles to overcome, however. First, people are often unaware they have a point of view or are vague on details if they do. Second, due to the influence of the architects of the educational system in the Western Hemisphere (i.e., Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates) there is a profound commitment to being right about one’s opinions, beliefs, assumptions or more generally, points of view. Thus, people are very resistant to giving them up or even modifying them. This talk will elaborate on points of view as sources of behavior and discuss methods for increasing flexibility with respect to them. It will end with my own point of view on clinicians and clinical practice.
Rhonda V. Magee, M.A., J.D.
A leading thought and practice innovator in the area of mindfulness-based antiracism and social justice, Rhonda V. Magee, M.A., J.D., is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco. Magee has spent more than twenty years exploring the intersections of anti-racist education, social justice, and contemplative practices. A Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, she is a global/international Keynote speaker, mindfulness teacher, practice innovator, storyteller, and thought leader on integrating Mindfulness into Higher Education, Law and Social Justice. A student of a range of Buddhist traditions and a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, she has served as an advisor to a range of leading mindfulness-based professional development organizations, including the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness, the Brown Center for Mindfulness, the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, and the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. Rhonda’s award-winning book, The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness (Penguin RandomHouse TarcherPerigee: 2019; paperback edition 2021), was named one of the top ten books released for the year by the Greater Good Science Center, and received similar recognition by Psychology Today and the editors of Mindful.org. Professor Magee is the recipient of the Institute for Wellbeing in Law's Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Wellbeing in Law (2022).
Healing Social Identity-Based Suffering Through Mindfulness
In an age of increasing polarization, new methods for minimizing bias and ameliorating social conflict are ever more important to our personal, interpersonal and collective wellbeing. In this Keynote, Rhonda Magee, author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness, will discuss how compassion-based mindfulness-based interventions may be the key to healing these divides. Following a description of the problem and a review of relevant research findings, she will call for increased attention to these social dynamics among researchers, and for more collaborative and interdisciplinary research methods and teams.
Siri Ming, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Dr. Ming is a scientist-practitioner with over twenty-five years of experience in the field. She is committed to the compassionate practice of behavior analysis to help people live meaningful, values-directed lives. Her research and clinical focus is on applications of relational frame theory (RFT) to early intervention programs for children with autism, integrating Skinnerian verbal behavior with RFT. She has authored numerous peer- reviewed research and theoretical articles on applications of RFT, as well as a practical handbook series on using RFT in early intervention programs. She teaches and acts as subject matter expert for graduate level classes in verbal behavior for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and has been an associate editor for The Analysis of Verbal Behavior journal. Her work is grounded in values of rigor, generosity, and kindness.
Dr. Ming has spent decades working in a wide range of contexts all over the world that have shaped her practice. In this talk, she shares her perspective that viewing behavior analytic intervention through a lens of psychological flexibility and prosociality gives a clear focal point for building a meaningful, values-directed, compassionate practice, centered on social validity and cultural humility.
Psychological Flexibility and Prosociality: Applying RFT at the heart of Behavior Analysis
Psychological flexibility involves interacting with (or “languaging about”) our experiences in flexible, context-sensitive ways that help us connect with meaning and purpose, even when faced with adversity. Prosociality rests upon both psychological flexibility and cooperation. These are complex composite repertoires, requiring advanced repertoires of relational framing and rule governance—including deictic and hierarchical framing, valuing, behavioral variability and relational flexibility. However, they are repertoires that are learned, and can be taught, in terms of component skills building over time. In this talk, Dr. Ming unpacks psychological flexibility and prosociality in terms of basic behavior principles and relational framing, showing that these can be viewed as skill sets that can be promoted throughout the lifespan, from infancy to adulthood. She argues that taking this perspective keeps our focus always on social validity, the heart of behavior analytic practice.
Miranda Morris, Ph.D.
"I am a psychologist in private practice just outside Washington, D.C. In 2010, after a few years of trying to build a private practice, I stumbled on the local ACBS community. Finding my tribe changed everything. Within a year, we had founded the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of ACBS. Committed to disseminating ACT, our chapter holds multiple workshops each year, provides free training to students, and has grown to well over 250 members. In 2016, I found the courage to step up and serve at the next level of ACBS and have since had the honor of serving on the Chapter & SIG and DEI Committees as well as the Women’s SIG Board. In 2018, I was honored to join our community of peer-reviewed ACT trainers, and I began service as Member at Large on the ACBS Board. My passion is building the ACBS community locally and globally."
Finding Ourselves in One Another
“When we choose to love, we choose to move against fear, against alienation and separation. The choice to love is a choice to connect, to find ourselves in the other” - bell hooks
Our community has a shared mission to alleviate the problem of human suffering, and at the end of the day, what else could we call this but love? How we love and connect and thus find one another in ACBS unfolds in a thousand different ways. One way is service to others - both inside and outside of ACBS. Many of these efforts are invisible. And yet their impact is profound. These are acts of love that have the power to unite us in a shared purpose. Who are the people in ACBS doing service? What kinds of service are they doing? Why are they doing it? Join me and find out. Meet some of the people in ACBS who breath life into our shared mission and show us who we are and who we can be.
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D.
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in the Kinsey Institute. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of 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 is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by more than 2000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.
Polyvagal Theory: A Science of Safety
Humans, as social mammals, are on a quest for safety. The need to feel safe is the prepotent survival related motivator impacting on all aspects of human experience by biasing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Threat reactions not only disrupt cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions but also compromise the basic homeostatic physiological functions supporting health, growth, and restoration. Without feeling safe, the nervous system is unable to optimize the regulation of visceral organs with the consequential damage to organs leading to observable and diagnosable organ disease and failure. A profound need to survive triggers a complex genetically programmed portfolio of physiological reactions and behaviors to cues of threat and safety. The talk will illustrate that feeling safe has a physiological signature, which is a product of our evolutionary history in which the autonomic nervous system was repurposed to support sociality. The theory provides the basis to understand sociality as the mutual expression of cues of safety that lead to behavioral and physiological co-regulation. Thus, the power of feelings safe with others enables sociality to function as a neuromodulator of the autonomic nervous system leading to more optimal mental and physical health.
Invited Speakers
Lynn Farrell, Ph.D.
Dr. Lynn Farrell is a lecturer in Psychology at National College of Ireland. She graduated with a BA in Psychology (1st Class Honours) from Maynooth University where she was introduced to Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and discovered new ways to explore social psychological phenomena such as stereotypes and bias. Dr. Farrell went on to complete her Ph.D. as an Irish Research Council postgraduate scholar at University College Dublin (UCD) where she explored the nature and malleability of implicit bias towards women in STEM through the lens of RFT as part of the UCD CBS lab. She received the ACBS Student Spotlight award for her work on gender bias and previously served as a student representative on the Women in ACBS SIG during its establishment. After completing her doctoral research, Dr. Farrell took up a Research Fellow position at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) where she continued to empirically explore how to improve gender equality efforts in STEM as part of the EPSRC funded Inclusion Matters project and was awarded the QUB Engineering and Physical Sciences Faculty Postdoctoral Outstanding Engagement award. Her research interests and publications to date have focused mainly on understanding and influencing implicit and explicit stereotypes and bias particularly related to gender and improving gender equality initiatives.
Gender Bias and Relational Frame Theory: What's the relation?
Gender is often viewed in relation to women, and differences between men and women in particular which tend to be essentialized. This strengthens the perceived legitimacy of stereotypes that assign traits and expectations to people based on their assumed sex. However, research consistently demonstrates the impact of sociocultural factors which suggests gender stereotypes are open to influence. This gender research is often seen as the remit of social psychology; however, Relational Frame Theory (RFT) provides a contemporary behavioral approach to understanding and influencing social psychological phenomena. RFT conceptualizes bias and stereotypes as forms of arbitrarily applicable relational responding maintained by current and historical contextual factors. This can help us better appreciate the persistence and potential for flexibility in gender stereotypes. In this talk I will discuss my research on understanding and influencing gender-STEM stereotypes and attitudes towards gender equality initiatives in STEM through an RFT-lens. I will also discuss some of the broader literature that has taken an RFT-relevant approach to gender bias. In this way I will highlight how RFT may help us better understand gender and gender stereotypes as dynamic relational networks that are context-dependent and influenced by social contingencies, while also highlighting areas for further research.
Julia H. Fiebig, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Julia Fiebig, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is an assistant teaching professor at Ball State University in the applied behavior analysis program, and a partner in Applied Global Initiatives Consulting Group. She is from Germany and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. A practicing behavior analyst for over twenty years, she has a range of experience working with clinical, educational, and other non-profit and private organizations. She has served on task forces for ABAI and ACBS and currently serves on the board of the Behavior Analysis for Sustainable Societies special interest group and ABAI’s Practice Board. A primary emphasis of her work is helping leaders and organizations cultivate values-informed, consensus-building, prosocial practices and sustainable systems. She is dedicated to work on issues of environmental justice, and contributing to wider application and dissemination of a compassionate behavior science.
The Heart of the Matter: Language and Connection for Sustainability
Human overconsumption of earth’s resources continues to exacerbate problems of a world in conflict and climate crisis - widening inequities and further marginalizing vulnerable populations. At its heart, sustainability is about equitable access and operating within resource boundaries that address collective need, rather than the wants of the few. For individuals and communities to thrive, connecting sustainability to core values of equity, prosociality, and well-being is essential. The complex contingencies that influence these issues require sophisticated understanding and application of our knowledge of complex language. This extends to cultural practices and beliefs; geographical-environmental conditions; socio-economic circumstances; and psychological impacts of navigating climate related crises. Awareness of ourselves as part of an environment that either promotes sustainable practices, or leads to inequities is critical. An RFT perspective offers a framework of analysis and strategies for mitigation. Fostering connection, rather than division, through our awareness of language, is a pillar of our practice as contextual behavior scientists. Together we can transform meaning and create the connections needed for collective actions that embody sustainable, thriving communities and relationships.
Cordelia Kraus, LPC, CADC-I, Certified CRAFT clinician
Cordelia is a certified CRAFT clinician, trainer for the Invitation to Change through the Center for Motivation and Change, SMART Recovery facilitator (both standard and Family & Friends), owner of HelpingFamiliesHelp.com, and parent who is passionate about connecting families and providers with CRAFT and CRAFT-based approaches. She has a private practice in Portland, Oregon where she works directly with people with substance use and mental health concerns as well as families who are struggling with their loved one's substance use.
Pointing towards CRAFT: How to connect families struggling with addiction with CBS-aligned, evidence based practice
If you had a client struggling with their partner or child's substance use, would you know the evidence-based resources to support your client? These families are usually offered one option: a treatment-as-usual that was never intended to be treatment at all. We, as clinicians, have the power to help these families, and by extension their loved ones, by learning about an evidence-based approach called CRAFT (community reinforcement and family training). And you don’t need extensive training to help… simply knowing what it is and directing someone towards it is enough. CRAFT-based approaches go beyond support to offer families transformative skills and perspectives on substance use, processes of change, empathetic communication, strategic behavioral responses, and increased connection with valued living. Engagement in CRAFT significantly increases the chance of their loved one entering into treatment (approaching 70% vs 20% TAU), reduces substance use, and improves family well-being. This talk covers CRAFT-based approaches, including a composite of CRAFT and ACT called "Invitation to Change", and will give you what you need to connect families with this work.
Tahcita M. Mizael, Ph.D.
Dr. Mizael is a psychologist from Brazil. She holds a BSc, an MSc, and a Ph.D. in Psychology. She is also an expert in Gender and Sexuality. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil, and a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. Her work has been focused on DEI issues, more specifically, racial prejudice, racism, sexism, feminism, gender and sexual minorities, intersectionality, and autism.
Derived Relational Responding Meets Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Contributions from the field
This talk aims to present the audience with some contributions from behavior analysis and Relational Frame Theory to both understanding and reducing racial and other types of prejudices. Starting with a review of studies from the field, I will present a few studies that used derived relational responding to assess and/or reduce racial prejudice. Then, other studies with related phenomena (e.g., gender issues) will be discussed. Finally, I will suggest some avenues of research that could use derived relational responding to understand and act upon other DEI issues, such as feminism, and intersectionality.
Dr. Brian Pilecki, Ph.D.
Dr. Brian Pilecki is a clinical psychologist at Portland Psychotherapy that specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, trauma and PTSD, and matters related to the use of psychedelics. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and practices from an orientation based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Brian also has extensive experience in the areas of mindfulness and meditation, and incorporates them into his therapy with clients. Brian is an active researcher and has published on topics such as anxiety disorders, mindfulness, and psychedelics. At Portland Psychotherapy Brian is a study therapist on a clinical trial investigating the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of social anxiety disorder and understanding processes of change in how this novel form of treatment might work. He has given numerous workshops on topics related to psychedelics and is a consultant for the Oregon Health Authority in helping to design a program for psilocybin services in the state of Oregon. Brian is also co-chairperson for the Psychedelic SIG at ACBS. He co-hosts a podcast called Altered States of Context about the intersection of psychedelics and contextual behavioral science, and has appeared on several national podcasts such as Verywell Mind and Beyond Addiction.
Psychedelics and Psychological Flexibility: ACBS as a Home for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies
Over the last decade, psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a novel form of mental health treatment and is unique in using a combination of psychotherapeutic techniques with an altered state of consciousness to facilitate change and transformation. Psychedelic-assisted therapy may represent a paradigm shift in mental health treatment but needs a strong, reliable conceptual framework to best guide the use of these powerful tools in order to maximize clinical benefit and reduce potential harm. Since its beginning in the 1960’s, psychedelic therapy has lacked a unifying theoretical model to guide clinicians in maximizing therapeutic benefits. Contextual behavioral science and the psychological flexibility model are perfectly suited to understand these mysterious altered states of consciousness and how they can catalyze processes of change that lead to growth and greater engagement with a values-driven life. ACT has already been used to inform several clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted therapy for the treatment of depression with good results. ACBS can and should be a home for psychedelic assisted therapies to grow and develop as new treatments to help alleviate suffering. This presentation will provide an overview of psychedelic-assisted therapy, review modern clinical research, and describe the synergy between CBS and psychedelics.