Tenth Annual Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association Conference “Ten Years of Community Building and Healing” October 17-18, 2026 (Pre-conference October 16) Colorado Springs, CO
The Tenth Annual Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association Conference will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This year, the full conference will be at our building at 1767 S. 8th Street. We will be celebrating a decade of RMHCPA’s healing and community-building presence in Colorado! The Call for Papers and our Awards Nomination are now open.
Registration is now open. Click here to register.
Tentative Schedule
Preconference: Friday, October 16, 2026
| 12:00-1:00 PM | Registration and Donuts |
| 1:00 PM-3:00 PM | Decolonizing Existentialism: From the Fourth World Congress to Clinical Practice (CE) Nathaniel Granger, Jr. & |
| 3:30 PM-5:30 PM | Artificial Intelligence and Humanistic Psychology: Implications for Society and Clinical Practice (CE) Louis Hoffman & Lakoda Hoffman |
| 5:30-7:30 | Social Event |
Main Conference: Saturday, October 17, 2026
| 8:30-9:00 AM | Registration & Donuts | |
| Archives (Upstairs) | Rollo May Library (Downstairs) | |
| 9:00-10:00 AM | Therapeutic Uses of Meaninglessness (CE) Matt Thelen | A Humanism Worth Inheriting: Supervision as the Site of Philosophical Renewal (CE) Alfredo Palacios & Rebekah Richey |
| 10:00-11:00 AM | The Power of Connection: Aging, Social Isolation, and Suicide Prevention (CE) Vanessa Harris & Ian Wickrasekera, II | The Trouble with Myth: Updating use of Literature in Therapy (CE) Jason Dias |
| 11:00-11:30 AM | Coffee & Tea Break | |
| 11:30-12:30 PM | Restoring the Sacred to the Psyche: A Humanistic-Transpersonal Framework for Embodied Psychological Integration (CE) Saloomeh (Sally) Nazari | Existential-Humanistic Approaches to Working with Grief and Loss (CE) Faith Dunn, Payton Ward, & Louis Hoffman |
| 12:30 PM-2:00 PM | Lunch on your own | |
| 2:00-3:00 PM | Developing Antiracist Civil Courage: A White Psychologist’s Rehumanizing Journey (CE) Margit Henderson, PhD | The Mirror, the Mind, and the Family: How Self-Image Shapes Emotional Regulation, Relationships, and Resilience (CE) Celia North & Jason Dias |
| 3:00-4:00 PM | We Have Been Here Before: An Existential Call to Black Hope, Resilience, and Encounter (CE) Nathaniel Granger, Jr. | Contact, Trance, and Encounter: Humanistic Values as Integrative Bridges Across Modalities Robert Wickersham |
| 4:00-4:30 | Break | |
| 4:30-5:30 PM | Awards Ceremony | |
| 5:30-7:00 PM | Poster Session Social Hour with D’oeuvres | |
Main Conference: Sunday, October 18, 2026
| 8:30-9:00 AM | Donuts & Networking | |
| 9:00-10:00 AM | Storytelling Archetypes for Wisdom: Awareness (CE) Annabelle Nelson | Michael Myers: The End and Beginning of Hope (CE) Jason Dias |
| 10:00-11:00 AM | Art as an Existential Encounter: How Connecting Through Art Facilitates Relational Depth Joseph Alexander Vanderhoff | Existential-Humanistic Dimensions of Suicide Risk: Applying the IS PATH WARM Framework in Clinical Practice (CE) Prashant Bhatt & Mamta Bhatt |
| 11:00-12:00 | Rethinking Mindfulness: Wellbeing Beyond Stress-Reduction Ven. Sucandra (Alena Gripass) | Rollo May’s Use of Encounter: Therapeutic Applications (CE) Louis Hoffman |
| 12:00-12:30 | Conference Photo & Conference Closing | |
Asynchronous Presentations (Note: Asynchronous Presentations are Available Online Only)
- Culture Carries Healing: Ancestral Wisdom, Intergenerational Trauma, and De-Pathologizing Non-WEIRD Lives Courtney Cabel, Dennis Brown, Jr., and Maia Miller
- On Revenge Burcu Tuncel
- Unmasking Neurodiversity: Awareness and Belonging Vanessa Harris
Poster Presentations
- Nature as Language: Integrating Ecosystem Imagery, Metaphors, and Storytelling for Emotional Exploration (In-Person) Arman Azmi
- Making Meaning Following Episodes of Psychosis: The Role of Meaning-Making in Personal Recovery (In-Person) Jade Hall
- “To Myself, the One I Yearn”: Youth Identity Formation Through Spoken Word Poetry (In-Person) Rebekah Richey
- Conceptualizing Taiwanese Han Racial Identity Development Through Helms’ Model (In-Person)Wen Yu Lee
- Partner Reassurance Following Abandonment Fear in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Dyadic Daily-Diary Study (Virtual Only) Zarin Safa
- Women and Eco-Martydom: The Struggle of Environmental Justice and Community Resistance (Virtual Only) Bella Quilon, Catherine Morales, and Richard Bargdill
- Messages & Warnings: How Dreams Evolve Over Time (Virtual Only) Nicholas Bianchi, Richard Bargdill, Lucy Redich, & Jenna Salah
- Making Psychotherapeutic Research Accessible on Social Media (Virtual Only) Ujwalla Sinha, Ben Taft, & Richard Bargdill
Our Sponsors and Partners
The Society for Humanistic Psychology (American Psychological Association, Division 32) is an ongoing partner of the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association. The Society for Humanistic Psychology provides Continuing Education credit.
University Professors Press (UPP), which is now owned by the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association, is the bookseller for all RMHCPA events. All UPP books are available at a discounted price at the conference. Many others rbooks relevant to humanistic, existential, and transpersonal psychology will be available as well.
The Chung Huong Institute a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation pioneered entirely by Buddhist nuns. They weave ancient Buddhist teachings with modern science, creating a unique bridge that connects ancient wisdom with contemporary knowledge.
The Mind-Brain Contemplative Lab is part of the Chung Huong Institute. It provides accessible pathways for individuals to realize and embody the mental health benefits of ancient wisdom traditions.
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Continuing Education Information
RMHCPA partners with Division 32 (Society for Humanistic Psychology to offer CE programs. APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology, is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APA Division 32, Society for Humanistic Psychology, maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Disability Accommodations
For disability accommodations and more information on the CE offering, contact us at ce@rmhcpa.org.