Ninth Annual Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association Conference

Ninth Annual Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association Conference
“The Power of Possibility: Rethinking Mental Wellness & Social Systems”
October 18-19
(Pre-conference October 17)
Colorado Springs, CO

 

The Ninth Annual Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association Conference will be in-person and virtual. The pre-conference will be at the RMHCPA building on October 17, 2025. The main conference will be held at Mt. Carmel Veterans Center in Colorado Springs on October 18-19, 2025. This is a short drive from the RMHPCA building near downtown Colorado Springs.

Conference Theme

Our conference theme is “The Power of Possibility: Rethinking Mental Wellness & Social Systems.” We will consider presentations not directly connected to the conference theme; however, preferential consideration is given to presentations relevant to the conference theme.

Conference Schedule

Preconference: Friday, October 18, 2025

Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychological Association Building

1767 S. 8th Street, 2nd Floor, Colorado Springs

11:00 AM-12:00 PM Registration and Lunch Provided (free with Preconference Registration)
12:00 PM-2:00 PM Creating New Worlds as Clinicians: Developing Strategies for Collective Safety (CE)

Darius Green

2:00 PM-4:00 PM Attachment-Based Supervision: A Humanistic Approach to the Clinical Development of Supervisees (CE)
Jose Tapia, Jr.

Conference Opening: Friday Evening, October 18, 2025
Mt. Carmel Veterans Center
530 Communication Cir., Colorado Springs, CO

6:00-7:00 PM Keynote Address

Creating Meaning and Becoming in Psychotherapy: Self-Definition as a Personal and Sociopolitical Imperative (CE)

Alfredo Palacios

7:00-8:30 PM Poster Session & Social

Posters:

·      Feeling His Way to Himself: Expanding Possibility and Cultivating Experiential Attunement in Young Men by Mariah Menaker

·      Organized Existential Resistance: Philosophy, Force, and Art by Benjamin Taft

·      Dreams Through the Decade by Lucy Redlich

·      Eco-Martyrdom: The Fight for Environmental Accountability by Elysha York

·      History Repeats Itself: Analyzing Rain Ceremonies to Anticipate Client Reactions to the Climate Crisis by Kaitlin Leahy

 

Main Conference: Saturday, October 19, 2025
Mt. Carmel Veterans Center
530 Communication Cir., Colorado Springs, CO

8:30-9:00 AM Registration & Donuts
9:00-10:00 AM Possibility: Therapeutic Photography as Embodied Mental Wellness

Sarah Byrd

2Pac, Bruce Springsteen, and Existential Therapy: Lessons for Social Justice and Clinical Practice

L. Xochitl Vallejos, Eden Vallejos, & Louis Hoffman (CE)

10:00-11:00 AM Storying Survival: Cultivating Healing from Racial Trauma After Experiencing Police Violence (CE)

Darius Green

When the Ground Shifts: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Awe and Boundary Experiences

Jeff Singer & Tyler Gamlen

 

11:00-11:30 AM Coffee & Tea Break
11:30-12:30 PM Multicultural Considerations in Adapting Therapeutic Presence (CE)

Louis Hoffman

 

Program Evaluation of a Self-Defense Group Therapy Program and Considerations for Rethinking PTSD Treatment and Care (CE)

K. P. Hartman & Dan Hugill

12:30 PM-2:00 PM Lunch on your own
2:00-3:00 PM The Existential Psychology of Star Trek: Lessons for Therapy (CE)

Jason Dias

 

Understanding the Glass Child: Sibling roles in families with chronic illness

Eden Vallejos

3:00-4:00 PM A Pragmatic Shift in Consciousness: A Psychology of Mindfulness

Ven. Sucandra (Alena Gripass)

TBD
4:00-5:00 PM Awards & Recognition Ceremony

 

Honoring Board Members

·      Brittany Varisco

·      Lindsay Edwards

·      H. Luis Vargas

 

Center for Humanistic & Interpersonal Psychotherapy Practicum Completion

·      Jeff Singer

 

Awards

·      Undergraduate Student Poster Award (TBD)

·      Graduate Student Poster Award (TBD)

·      Lifetime Achievement Award: Brent Dean Robbins

·      Sandy Sela-Smith Humanistic Exemplar Award: Matt Thelen

·      Humanistic Exemplar Award (Student): Edbury Enegren

·      Humanistic Exemplar Award (Student): Olivia Michael

 

5:00-6:30 PM Social Hour

Main Conference: Sunday, October 20, 2025
Mt. Carmel Veterans Center
530 Communication Cir., Colorado Springs, CO

8:30-9:00 AM Donuts & Networking
9:00-10:00 AM Our Search for Meaning: Finding Solace Amid the Chaos (CE)

Nathaniel Granger, Jr.

10:00-11:00 AM You Don’t Own Me: Existential-Humanistic Perspectives on Relationship Anarchy and Liberation (CE)

L. Xochitl Vallejos

11:00-11:30 Coffee & Tea Break
11:30-12:30 Reclaiming the Empathy and Resilience of Dissociation

Ian Wickramasekera, II

12:30-1:00 Conference Photo & Conference Closing

Registration

Click Here to Register