2026 ATNS Conference

Workshop Summary:

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When treating males with neuroplasic symptoms it is not uncommon to see various patterns of emotional restriction. Toxic masculinity provides a title to the group of patterns observed relative to emotional presentation, relational capacity, and self-identity. Key components that are often contributing to psychosomatic responses such as back pain often include emotional suppression, externalizing of distress or anger, unrecognized shame, hyper-independence or denial of vulnerability. This presentation will review the stigma of the title "toxic masculinity," what it does mean and what it does not mean. It is not an attack on males or the subject, rather the avoidance that can be toxic to one's own well being. I will review ways of identifying its presence such as intellectualization as a defense, unrealistic standards for perfection and how these may be tied to one's definition of masculinity, and fears of being perceived as weak. The presentation will include common somatic clues men may illustrate in session, and methods of disarming what often present as lifelong behavioral patterns.


Learning Objectives:

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1. How to recognize toxic masculinity within the typical patient population of those seeking treatment for neuroplastic symptoms.
2. Using a psychodynamic approach to minimize defensiveness.
3. Leveraging countertransference to build safety in emotional expression.
4. Disarming old, lifelong messages tied to the definition of being a man.
5. Build tools in alignment with new definitions of being masculine.

Workshop Summary:

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As neuroplastic approaches gain wider acceptance, many clinicians face a difficult question: Are
we sometimes too gentle? While validation and emotional safety are essential, excessive
accommodation and reassurance can inadvertently reinforce fragility, avoidance, and
symptom-related threat signaling. This presentation explores how behavioral boldness, graded
exposure, and accommodation reduction can help patients move beyond intellectual
acceptance of a neuroplastic diagnosis toward meaningful functional recovery. Attendees will
examine common therapist barriers to decisively expanding activity, including fears of causing
harm, symptom flare-ups, or alliance rupture. Practical clinical frameworks will be provided for
advancing exposure work, responding effectively to setbacks, and promoting resilience without
sacrificing compassion.


Learning Objectives:

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At the conclusion of this session, attendees will be able to

1. Identify common patient accommodations (behavioral, cognitive, and relational) that maintain symptom-related threat signaling despite intellectual acceptance of a neuroplastic diagnosis.
2. Differentiate between supportive validation and therapist behaviors that inadvertently reinforce fragility or avoidance.
3. Design graded exposure hierarchies that explicitly target accommodation reduction and functional expansion in chronic symptom presentations. 4) Formulate clinical responses to symptom flare-ups that reinforce resilience and neuroplastic learning rather than fear-based retreat.
4. Recognize internal therapist barriers (e.g., fear of causing harm, alliance rupture, or symptom exacerbation) that may limit behavioral boldness in treatment.

Workshop Summary:

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his session reframes food sensitivities as a nervous system mediated experience rather than a reliably testable pathology. Integrating modern pain science treatments, eating disorder informed care, and nutrition science, clinicians will learn how fear learning and symptom monitoring reinforce food-symptom loops and how to safely and ethically guide clients toward flexibility and relief without reinforcing restriction or invalid testing practices. ATNS clinicians frequently encounter patients stuck in restrictive diets and food fear based on previous disordered eating diagnosis or disordered eating brought on by seeking medical interventions. This session offers a neuroplastic framework to help patients move toward safety, flexibility, and symptom relief.

 

Learning Objectives:

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1. Describe how food sensitivities can develop and persist through neuroplastic mechanisms, including fear conditioning, predictive coding, and interoceptive threat learning
2. Critically evaluate the clinical validity of commonly used food sensitivity tests and understand their potential impact on patient outcomes 
3. Implement modern pain science treatments and eating-disorder–aware strategies to support safe food expansion and symptom reduction -
4. Utilize trauma-informed language and interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce fear-based restriction while validating patient experience

Workshop Summary:

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This talk presents an integrative approach to neuroplastic pain treatment that combines Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET). While both modalities have demonstrated efficacy, many patients fail to achieve full recovery when treated with a single approach. This presentation introduces a unified framework centered on “reinterpretation” and the use of paired “double exposures” to both pain sensations and emotional experiences. Attendees will learn how integrating somatic tracking with emotional processing from the outset of treatment can enhance efficiency, improve regulation, and increase recovery rates in patients with chronic pain and neuroplastic symptoms.


Learning Objectives:

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1. Identify the shared core mechanism of reinterpretation underlying Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), and how it informs treatment of chronic pain.
2. Explain the rationale for integrating somatic (pain-focused) and emotional exposures in the treatment of chronic pain and neuroplastic symptoms.  
3. Demonstrate how to implement “double exposures” in clinical practice, combining emotional processing and somatic tracking within a single treatment framework.
4. Apply strategies for flexibly shifting between emotional and pain exposures based on patient presentation, including managing symptom flares and emotional activation.

Workshop Summary:

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Patients with neuroplastic symptoms often present with vigilance, intensity, and persistent self- monitoring—patterns that can interfere with engagement in mindbody treatment. This session explores play as an overlooked but clinically relevant pathway for increasing nervous system flexibility in both patients and clinicians. Through the lens of predictive processing, participants will consider how playful engagement may reduce threat signaling and support the updating of threat-related predictions. Emphasis will be placed on helping clinicians and coaches cultivate lightness and ease, and bring greater flexibility, safety, and spontaneity into their work with patients.


Learning Objectives:

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1. Identify the role of vigilance and predictive processing errors in maintaining neuroplastic symptoms (ie, using tools as weapons)
2. Guide participants in experiential practice of recognizing threat-based predictions and increasing lightness
3. Develop skills in educating patients about the role of intensity and lightness on the nervous system in clear, validating and compassionate ways
4. Empower participants to use play in their clinical practice