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VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME:atnsconference
X-WR-CALDESC:Event Calendar
METHOD:PUBLISH
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:-//Sched.com 2026 ATNS Conference//EN
X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T131500Z
DTEND:20261015T134500Z
SUMMARY:Pre-Conference Check-In Opens
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CHECK-IN
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:2f25499d5977225fb3e3f22dca149a4e
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/2f25499d5977225fb3e3f22dca149a4e
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T134500Z
DTEND:20261015T135500Z
SUMMARY:Welcome Announcement
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CONFERENCE INFO
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:294a1bf9e51f4fc19229138f27ffd978
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/294a1bf9e51f4fc19229138f27ffd978
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T140000Z
DTEND:20261015T164500Z
SUMMARY:Workshop #1: Challenging Cases Workshop for Therapists
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nThis half-day workshop will be a highly interactive opportunity to delve more deeply into\nchallenging cases. In small groups\, participants will present cases and get feedback from peers to help break what can seem like an impasse in the treatment. It may also be helpful in situations when the therapist notices being activated themselves by the case. The treatment approaches discussed will encompass and combine all the neuroplastic treatments: PRT\, EAET\, ISTDP\, PSRT\, Sarno-informed therapy\, etc.\n\n\nThe session will open with a brief presentation providing an outline for guidance in treating\nchallenging cases. The majority of time in this workshop will be dedicated to in-depth\npresentation of cases by the participants. Depending on the number of people present\, these may be done in the large group or in small break-out groups. The structure of Balint Groups will be introduced and used as a method to help keep the discussions on track and psychologically safe for the case presenters.\n\n\nFollowing case presentations\, the small groups will report out the important factors discovered\nand shared about how to treat challenging cases. Even if you do not present your own case\, there will be ample opportunities to learn from the discussion about others’ cases that will be\napplicable to your own work.\n\n\nThis session is geared towards mental health professionals such as psychologists\, psychiatrists\, social workers\, marriage and family counselors\, mental health counselors\, etc. These professionals generally see their patients weekly or more often. Mental health training is assumed.\n\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to identify psychosocial issues that are often unrecognized by the client that impair their progress in treatment.At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to apply techniques to help the client recognize the problems that are impeding their progress.At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to recognize techniques that can help the client overcome the stresses\, traumas\, or emotions that lead to persistence of neuroplastic pain or illness.At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to assess how their own patience helps their patients get messages of safety.At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to identify and use transference phenomena in their treatment of patients.
CATEGORIES:PRE-CONFERENCE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:693c739c2e11d62b540b7dbcb9ec8a8e
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/693c739c2e11d62b540b7dbcb9ec8a8e
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T140000Z
DTEND:20261015T164500Z
SUMMARY:Workshop #2: The Central Role of People-Pleasing in Neuroplastic Pain | Teaching the Brain Safety Through the Body: Using Movement\, Sensory Input\, and Graded Motor Imagery to Reduce Threat
DESCRIPTION:The Central Role of People-Pleasing in Neuroplastic Pain &nbsp\;Workshop Summary:\n\nPeople with neuroplastic pain often identify as people-pleasers. The thesis of this talk is that people-pleasing is more than just a common personality trait among people with neuroplastic pain\; rather\, it can be the central contributor to pain which has significant implications for healing. This talk will explore the core ways people-pleasing can generate and perpetuate pain\, as well as the underlying psychological and emotional dynamics that give rise to being a people-pleaser\, including a disconnection from the authentic self\, fears of rejection\, and guilt. It will also discuss how breaking free of people-pleasing is much more complex and nuanced than simply “being more assertive\,” and how people-pleasing dynamics can occur in the practitioner-client relationship.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to define people-pleasing and explain\nwhy it is different from excessive niceness. Attendees will be able to describe why people- pleasing can be a core contributor to mindbody pain and explain the developmental context that facilitates people-pleasing. Attendees will be able to describe the interconnection ofguilt\, disconnection from the authentic self\, and pain. 4. Attendees will be able to identify effective interventions that guide clients towards greater authentic self-experience and self- differentiation as core elements to healing from chronic people-pleasing and pain.\n\n\nTeaching the Brain Safety Through the Body: Using Movement\, Sensory Input\, and Graded Motor Imagery to Reduce Threat Workshop Summary:\nThis session will explore an integrative\, body-based (somatic) approach to treating neuroplastic symptoms that complements pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) and emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET). Drawing from a physical therapy and manual therapy background\, the talk introduces the HEAL Method\, with particular emphasis on Activity as a mechanism for communicating safety through graded movement exposure\, sensory input\, neurosomatics and graded motor imagery. Attendees will learn how graded movement\, sensory-system engagement (visual\, vestibular\, proprioceptive)\, and motor imagery can support patients who struggle to respond to cognitive or emotional interventions alone.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nExplain and demonstrate how sensory-system engagement can downregulate nervous system threat and reduce symptom amplification in neuroplastic conditions.Describe and demonstrate how neuro-based movement strategies using visual\, vestibular\, and proprioceptive input can recalibrate prediction error and modify threat perception.Identify the role of graded motor imagery (left/right discrimination\, visualization\, and mirror therapy) in refining cortical maps\, reducing nervous system threat\, and supporting safe re-engagement with movement.
CATEGORIES:PRE-CONFERENCE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:5f0059141fa1d634ac828b0ca720bf54
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/5f0059141fa1d634ac828b0ca720bf54
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T140000Z
DTEND:20261015T164500Z
SUMMARY:Workshop #3: Experiencing Empathy through Movement:
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nEmpathy\, the ability to understand another person’s thoughts\, feelings and emotions\, is central to connection and to a supportive therapeutic relationship. Research suggests a supportive relational approach is essential to a successful outcome in the treatment of neuroplastic symptoms. Traditional medical training tends to focus on technical and factual learning\, and health care providers may not have had the opportunity to develop empathic skills. Additionally\, empathy is notoriously hard to teach. One successful approach\, however\, is to use movement to develop interoception\, proprioception\,&nbsp\;grounding&nbsp\;and body vocabulary to enhance empathy. Somatic insight is an intuitive route to empathy.&nbsp\;This workshop is experiential.\n\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nAfter attending this workshop\, participants will be able to:\nDemonstrate greater empathy by increasing their body awareness\;Recognise different ways of translating emotional sensations within the body\;Employ more experiential methods to create a kinaesthetic sense of safety and mind-body connection\, particularly grounding as per recent sensations & trauma research.Identify subtle phenomenological shifts within the body\;Use a refined somatic epistemology including affective\, attunement\, compassion and relational skills to develop a successful empathetic clinical approach.
CATEGORIES:PRE-CONFERENCE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:565da161332e2b3fb3400d0f73ec1083
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/565da161332e2b3fb3400d0f73ec1083
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T170000Z
DTEND:20261015T180000Z
SUMMARY:Conference Check-In Opens
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CHECK-IN
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:5d7c033af9a73fc87be01eceee0764fe
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/5d7c033af9a73fc87be01eceee0764fe
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T180000Z
DTEND:20261015T181500Z
SUMMARY:Welcome Announcement
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CONFERENCE INFO
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3b4b270889489cf8f55859d0bea82d1a
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/3b4b270889489cf8f55859d0bea82d1a
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T181500Z
DTEND:20261015T184500Z
SUMMARY:Session #1A: Neuroplastic Symptoms in the United States –  A Deeper Dive
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nThere are many surprising &nbsp\;and harmful myths among medical clinicians about people with neuroplastic symptoms. Today research evidence shows us the reality making this an excellent time to enlighten our colleagues and the public.\n\nLearning Objectives:\nUnderstand the myths and false assumptions prevalent among medical cliniciansBecome familiar with the research evidence that contradicts the mythsRecognize your options for educating colleagues and the public\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:12ed8979f96add8dcbb897e211faa75d
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/12ed8979f96add8dcbb897e211faa75d
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T184500Z
DTEND:20261015T191500Z
SUMMARY:Session #1B: AI Pain Mechanism Analysis Tool
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nLearn to use technology like AI chatbot See how pain mechanisms can be elucidated by questionsSee how a reassuring printout may be educational for patients.\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:0d4d63d9ade4d578e5edd833e7ac1e34
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/0d4d63d9ade4d578e5edd833e7ac1e34
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T191500Z
DTEND:20261015T201500Z
SUMMARY:Session #2: Safety is a Privilege: What Neuroplastic Pain Care Must Understand About Race\, Trust\, and Threat
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nThis session explores how race-related stress\, medical invalidation\, and microaggressions shape the brain’s threat response and influence neuroplastic symptom recovery. Attendees will learn clinician skills that increase psychological safety\, credibility\, and trust for clients of color without minimizing lived context. We’ll cover common rupture moments\, repair\, and culturally responsive ways to deliver pain neuroscience education\, somatic tracking\, and treatment planning so clients of color feel seen\, believed\, and supported in neuroplastic recovery spaces\, while encouraging continued learning and accountability in a field where people of color remain underrepresented.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to describe how race-related stress\, medical invalidation\, and microaggressions can amplify threat responses in neuroplastic symptoms. At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to identify common rupture moments that reduce psychological safety and trust for clients of color in neuroplastic pain treatment and respond in ways that support repair. At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to adapt pain neuroscience education\, somatic tracking\, and treatment planning in culturally responsive ways that strengthen credibility\, agency\, and engagement.\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:952cfe4285bc25d8ddbc5b76ce488353
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/952cfe4285bc25d8ddbc5b76ce488353
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T201500Z
DTEND:20261015T203000Z
SUMMARY:15 Minute Break
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAK
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:224b0cdb0e71de61bee91abb99841f79
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/224b0cdb0e71de61bee91abb99841f79
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T203000Z
DTEND:20261015T220000Z
SUMMARY:Session #3: Communicating the Paradigm Shift – to Patients\, the Public…and Skeptical Colleagues
DESCRIPTION:A no-holds barred\, interactive workshop for promoting the neuroplastic approach to any audience.&nbsp\;Workshop Summary:\nThe neuroplastic approach is "an idea whose time has come"\, with the potential to improve the lives of millions and transform the way medicine is practiced today and for generations to come. Yet far too few patients and professionals know about it. And far too few practitioners know how to present it in a way that persuades. This workshop will begin to close that gap. This is a no-holds barred\, interactive experience\, led by former primetime KABC LA radio talk show host\, Joel Roberts\, that will show you how to compellingly promote the neuroplastic approach to any audience\, anywhere.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nHow to open by honoring the conventional paradigm\, then transcending it.How to marshal stories and statistics to build credibility.How to use "verbal aikido" to direct the energy of skepticism toward your aims.How to stand in your truth and SPEAK IT… without holding back\, or needing a script!\n\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:9c41b6e90b2f86ffc7e1dca7909d487c
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/9c41b6e90b2f86ffc7e1dca7909d487c
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T220000Z
DTEND:20261015T221500Z
SUMMARY:Closing Remarks
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CONFERENCE INFO
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:b13e4c896f5714bd729b6a7790d2dfbc
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/b13e4c896f5714bd729b6a7790d2dfbc
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261015T221500Z
DTEND:20261015T233000Z
SUMMARY:Welcome Networking Reception
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:NETWORKING
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:d8ca50ff0c2546ee153e83ca04659fb1
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/d8ca50ff0c2546ee153e83ca04659fb1
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T130000Z
DTEND:20261016T140000Z
SUMMARY:Breakfast & Interest Group Session
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKFAST CONVERSATION
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:2f8a8b6628d769278e21d42fb4cfbdc2
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/2f8a8b6628d769278e21d42fb4cfbdc2
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T140000Z
DTEND:20261016T150000Z
SUMMARY:Session #4: Research Presentations
DESCRIPTION:Research Presentation- Relearn Pain: Digital PRT and EAET for Chronic primary Pain. First Clinical Outcomes of the HELP Program by Antje Kallweit\, MD.&nbsp\;\nWorkshop Summary:\nThis talk focuses on how mind–body approaches to chronic pain can move from the margins into mainstream healthcare. It explores what is required to translate neuroscience-informed\, emotionally effective pain therapy into a structured\, accessible digital format without losing its human core. The session presents first\, yet unpublished\, results from a randomized controlled trial evaluating a digital intervention based on Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET). Framed within the German healthcare system\, the talk highlights how regulated\, insurer-funded medical products can accelerate the paradigm shift toward brain-based pain treatment in routine care.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to: sx describe how core elements of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) can be translated into a structured digital intervention without losing therapeutic depth explain how design choices (guidance\, pacing\, language\, emotional safety) support engagement and clinical change in a digital mind–body program • summarize the role of randomized controlled trials in generating credible evidence for digital PRT/EAET interventions and interpret what &nbsp\;early results can and cannot show outline the pathway in Germany by which a regulated digital medical product can become reimbursable for all insured patients (including requirements for evaluation and “positive care effects”) discuss how scientific evidence and real-world implementation can contribute to integration into routine care and\, over time\, inform clinical guidelines\n\nTurning Neuroplastic Science into Standard Care: Outcomes and Utilization Impact From a Scalable Virtual Pain Recovery Program in a Health System Implementation by Chris Echterling\, MD + Eric Anderson&nbsp\;MD\, PhD\, MBA\, FAAN\nWorkshop Summary:\nThis session explores how Lin Health and WellSpan Health partnered to embed a scalable\, insurance-reimbursable virtual neuroplastic care model across 100+ clinics. It will highlight real- world patient reported outcomes\, healthcare utilization impact\, and practical implementation lessons to help accelerate adoption of neuroplastic care as a standard of care.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the end of this session\, attendees will have an enhanced knowledge of:\nThe healthcare utilization impact and ROI of a virtual neuroplastic treatment delivered at scale.Key implementation strategies towards a successful partnership between a virtual provider of neuroplastic care and an integrated health system.Use of Collaborative Care billing codes and analysis of total cost of care to scale and sustain neuroplastic treatment.Attracting new patients to a health system (or clinics) solely for care from this partnership.\nHow Americans Think About Neuroplastic Symptoms by Matthew Goldberg\, PhD\nWorkshop Summary:\n\nClinical trials demonstrate strong efficacy for neuroplastic recovery therapies\, yet implementation remains limited. The primary barrier is public awareness\, understanding\, and implementation\, not clinical effectiveness. This nationally representative study examines how Americans think about their symptoms\, beliefs about whether those symptoms are neuroplastic\, and what shapes their willingness to try neuroplastic recovery therapies. These findings will inform communication strategies that help more people recognize\, trust\, and access evidence-based treatment.\n\nLearning Objectives:\nUnderstanding of when people attribute their symptoms to psychological causes.Explain key motivations and barriers influencing willingness to try neuroplastic recovery therapies.Identify priority audiences for public health communication strategies aimed at improving awareness and access.\n\nWorkshop Summary:\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:e3e88b1a09aae2f99869c3e01011a79a
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/e3e88b1a09aae2f99869c3e01011a79a
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T150000Z
DTEND:20261016T160000Z
SUMMARY:Session #5: Pain in the brain or pain in the body? An embodied cognition perspective on pain.
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nThere are hundreds of millions of neurons outside the brain\, distributed between the enteric system\, spinal cord\, heart\, and peripheral nerves. While the brain's role in pain is undeniable\, the line between brain- and bodily-cognition is far murkier. This talk draws on perspectives ranging from contemplative traditions that have treated pain as fundamentally embodied and agentive\, to 4E cognition\, to give a shared vocabulary to both somatic and more neuro-centric practitioners of pain.\n\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nDescribe the distributed architecture of the nervous system and explain why peripheral and spinal mechanisms are indispensable to a complete account of chronic painIdentify a shared vocabulary that can bridge somatic and neuro-centric clinical approachesArticulate the lens of embodied cognition as applied to clinical models of pain.
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:87816ae9c4870854053b459b85663f96
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/87816ae9c4870854053b459b85663f96
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T160000Z
DTEND:20261016T161500Z
SUMMARY:15 Minute Break
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAK
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3c61f3300f849c0a233ee2bb16fcd67d
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/3c61f3300f849c0a233ee2bb16fcd67d
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T161500Z
DTEND:20261016T171500Z
SUMMARY:Session #6: Expanding the Ecosystem: How collaborating with neuroplastic symptom recovery coaches improves access to care
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:Chronic pain affects millions of people\, yet the number of professionals formally trained in neuroplastic care remains limited. As awareness grows and demand increases\, the field faces a structural challenge: how do we expand access without overburdening clinicians or diluting standards? This session introduces ATNS-Recognized Neuroplastic Symptom Recovery Coaches (NSRCs) as a defined\, non-clinical support layer in addition to&nbsp\;medical and mental health professionals&nbsp\; within the neuroplastic ecosystem.\nLearning Objectives:At the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to:\n\nA) &nbsp\;Understand how ATNS-recognized NSRCs fill a structural gap in the field and how this defined layer of care may help shape the future provider landscape of neuroplastic recovery.\n\nB) Understand how NSRCs maintain clear boundaries around trauma work\, mental health treatment\, and medical care\, including when referral to a higher level of care is needed.\n\nC) Understand how clear referral pathways can work in both directions: from licensed practitioners to NSRCs when additional support with recovery implementation is needed\, and from NSRCs to medical or mental health professionals when care falls outside coaching scope.\n\nD) Feel confident in the standards\, training\, scope boundaries\, and ethical guardrails ATNS has put in place for directory-listed Neuroplastic Symptom Recovery Coaches (NSRCs)\, including how they differ from general coaching or unvetted use of the NSRC title.\n\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:45d433b68966785bcc4ec9a127af6dfe
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/45d433b68966785bcc4ec9a127af6dfe
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T171500Z
DTEND:20261016T183000Z
SUMMARY:Lunch
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:LUNCH TABLE DISCUSSANTS
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:782d3bead54bf3d30d8acc98d3cabd6f
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/782d3bead54bf3d30d8acc98d3cabd6f
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T183000Z
DTEND:20261016T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #7A: Neuroplastic Symptoms and Parenting: Going Upstream.
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\n\nIn this work\, we focus a lot on how our childhood experiences influence the development of neuroplastic symptoms. But we don’t really talk about the role that parenting plays. In this talk two providers in this field will share their own unique parenting experiences with their children with special needs\, and how this has influenced their care. We will also discuss parenting from as “preventative“ standpoint. Finally\, we will outline parenting styles throughout the years\, and how this influences their children’s personality traits\, adaptive and maladaptive strategies and contribution to development of neuroplastic symptoms.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nLearners will be able to describe 2-3 parenting styles/philosophies associated with different generations (eg. baby boomers\, Gen X\, Millennials\, Gen Y).Learners will be able to identify 3-4 current parenting styles and practices that may still be harmful and contribute to personality trait development the leads to neuroplastic symptoms Learners will be able to list a 3-4 "gentler" parenting practices that parallel the tools we use to help patients recover from neuroplastic pain.\n\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:d44eb394f48e8d2d5178ae3cd6e64a5c
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/d44eb394f48e8d2d5178ae3cd6e64a5c
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T183000Z
DTEND:20261016T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #7B: Understanding the Fear-Avoidance Model with Neuroplastic Symptoms
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:The fear-avoidance model has been studied extensively and understanding and addressing the components of it can be useful for patients struggling with fear and specifically fear of symptoms\, movement\, injury\, postures\, activities\, etc. Working through this model can help patients reduce fear\, regain confidence\, and restore agency\, as well as reduce symptoms. The fear-avoidance model includes some core components that can cause and then continue to contribute to a vicious chronic pain cycle. These components include pain catastrophizing\, pain-related fear/ kinesiophobia\, hypervigilance\, avoidance\, disuse\, depression\, and disability. Many of these components can be assessed for and then addressed in the treatment.\nFor some patients\, the main threat or danger (fear) are the symptoms themselves\, what they mean\, the importance they take on\, and the threat value they represent. For. example\, prior learning\, beliefs\, and negative medical information like physical diagnoses and mis-interpreted scans can raise the threat value of the symptoms. This can lead to a sequelae of downstream negative effects like mental catastrophizing (thinking for the worst)\, excessively or intently focusing on the symptoms (hypervigilance)\, and then fearing the symptoms and the activities that could cause them (kinesiophobia). This can then lead to a cycle of avoidance in attempt to keep symptoms at bay. A person's world can then shrink leading to disuse\, potential disability\, and feelings of depression. This is the fear-avoidance cycle in a nutshell.\nThe goal is to first identify if these fear-avoidance components are at play in a patient. Assessing the patient can include direct enquiry and questioning\, but it could also include proven and validated screening tools like the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)for example. Then the clinician or coach can look to address these fear-avoidance components\, working with a number of strategies. This first would be ruling out that the symptoms are structural (physical) and then ruling in they are neuroplastic (using patient history and the FIT criteria). One could then use for example\, Pain Re-Processing Therapy (PRT) to address hypervigilance and graded exposure to address avoidance.\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\n\nTo understand what the Fear-Avoidance Model is and the research that supports it in relation to chronic pain and neuroplastic symptoms.\n\nLearn the core components of the fear-avoidance model\, what they mean\, and how to assess for them in patients or clients. -\n\nWhat strategies can you use to address these components to help people reduce fear and reduce neuroplastic symptoms.\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:22357277558c50b3566ab205bdd8d611
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/22357277558c50b3566ab205bdd8d611
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T183000Z
DTEND:20261016T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #7C: Beyond the Negativity Bias: Pleasure\, Embodied Safety\, and Neuroplastic Change
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\n\nThe brain has a built-in negativity bias designed for survival: to detect threat\, avoid danger\, and protect us from harm. While this system is adaptive in acute danger\, many individuals living with chronic pain\, mind-body symptoms\, trauma-related conditions\, and neural circuit disorders become stuck in persistent protective states long after the original threat has passed. In these states\, the nervous system prioritizes vigilance\, symptom monitoring\, fear\, and self-protection\nwhile often disconnecting from experiences of pleasure\, ease\, safety\, and enjoyment.\n\n\nThis presentation explores how intentionally cultivating positive and pleasurable embodied experiences can help shift the brain and body out of protection and into safety\, creating the conditions for neuroplastic healing. Drawing from neuroscience\, positive neuroplasticity\, and mind-body approaches\, participants will learn how pleasurable emotional and somatic experiences support regulation\, learning\, and neural rewiring. Research shows that positive emotional states\, intrinsic motivation\, play\, and reward-based learning enhance neuroplasticity by strengthening new neural pathways and helping the brain update outdated protective patterns.\n\n\nCentral to this workshop is the HEAL framework\, developed by Rick Hanson\, PhD\, which offers a practical method for transforming beneficial state experiences into lasting internal traits. Participants will learn how to intentionally notice\, enrich\, absorb\, and optionally link positive experiences in ways that help counter the brain’s negativity bias and build durable inner resources.\n\n\nThe session will also explore common barriers to pleasure and positive experience\, including hypervigilance\, fear\, perfectionism\, emotional inhibition\, and people-pleasing patterns that often accompany chronic symptoms and trauma-related adaptations. Through experiential exercises and practical applications\, attendees will learn how to help clients reconnect with embodied experiences of pleasure\, safety\, curiosity\, connection\, and ease.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nDescribe how the brain’s negativity bias contributes to chronic protective patterns and how positive neuroplasticity practices help counterbalance those tendencies.Understand and apply the HEAL framework to help clients transform beneficial state experiences into lasting internal resources and traits.Explain how positive and enjoyable embodied experiences help shift the nervous system out of protective states and support neuroplastic healing.Recognize common barriers to pleasure and positive emotional experience\, including fear\, hypervigilance\, perfectionism\, and people-pleasing patterns.Apply practical experiential tools that help clients cultivate embodied safety\, emotional openness\, pleasure\, and resilience in clinical or coaching settings.\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3aa69df8a3ba637f504d0fb8ecce589b
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/3aa69df8a3ba637f504d0fb8ecce589b
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T183000Z
DTEND:20261016T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #7D: Expanding Your Reach: The Power and Potential of Groups
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nWith an estimated 20% of the global population suffering from chronic pain\, one of the primary challenges for providers is finding ways to expand our reach (without also expanding our work hours and burnout risk) in a manner that allows more individuals to have access to much- needed care. Our presentation will focus on an effective and rewarding way to meet this challenge: offering groups\, such as group medical visits\, therapy groups\, and coaching groups.\n\n\nWorking with clients in a group setting can provide unique benefits\, such as lessening clients’ sense of isolation\, improving health outcomes\, enhancing the effectiveness of individual sessions\, and providing the opportunity for clients to learn new skills and strategies in a safe and supportive environment. We’ll discuss clinical\, logistical\, and &nbsp\;administrative elements\, potential challenges that can arise in a group setting\, and what we’ve learned from our experience working with patients and clients utilizing this format.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to:\n\nUnderstand the value proposition of various types of groups (i.e.\, group medical visit\, therapy group\, and coaching group)\, both from a client perspective and a provider perspectiveUnderstand the basic elements of groups\, including clinical\, administrative\, and logistical components\, depending on the setting and type of group being offeredUnderstand the common issues and unique challenges in groups treating chronic pain\, and how to manage difficult dynamicsUtilize strategies for communicating about a neuroplastic pain and symptom recovery framework with colleagues and patients/clients in mainstream healthcare\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:647dac92c3043f8c4561c1233167a98b
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/647dac92c3043f8c4561c1233167a98b
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T193000Z
DTEND:20261016T195000Z
SUMMARY:20 Minute Break
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAK
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3fdc65ffccaca5fd38c02d7bb43c9741
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/3fdc65ffccaca5fd38c02d7bb43c9741
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T195000Z
DTEND:20261016T205000Z
SUMMARY:Session #8A: Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy in Neuroplastic Pain Treatment
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\n\nThis session explores how personal spirituality can serve as a powerful resource in the treatment of neuroplastic pain. Drawing from research on meaning-making\, existential coherence\, and spiritually integrated psychotherapy\, we will examine how connection to purpose\, values\, and personal spirituality may reduce neural threat signaling\, enhance emotional regulation\, and support healing.\nParticipants will gain practical tools for ethically integrating spirituality into clinical care while honoring diverse belief systems. Through experiential exercises including visualization\, breathwork\, and structured relational reflection\, attendees will experience firsthand how these approaches can foster greater safety\, connection\, and resilience.\nThis presentation invites clinicians to consider spirituality not as an adjunct to treatment\, but as a meaningful dimension of human experience that can support recovery\, well-being\, and lasting transformation.\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nDifferentiate between spirituality and religion in clinical practice and articulate an ethically grounded approach to spiritually integrated psychotherapy.\n\nDescribe theoretical mechanisms by which meaning-making\, identity coherence\, and personal spirituality may reduce perceived neural threat in neuroplastic pain.\n\nIdentify how existential distress\, shame\, and identity fragmentation can contribute to persistent pain activation.\n\nExperience and evaluate spiritually informed interventions (including visualization\, breathwork\, and structured relational reflection) that may support mood regulation and pain recovery.\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:469faf3c0f74925357a9b629d2ec47bc
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/469faf3c0f74925357a9b629d2ec47bc
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T195000Z
DTEND:20261016T205000Z
SUMMARY:Session #8B: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: A Neuroplastic and Neuroimmune Perspective
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nMast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a complex multisystem condition increasingly recognized in both Long COVID and as a standalone condition. This workshop explores MCAS through a neuroplastic and neuroimmune lens\, integrating emerging science on mast cells\, stress physiology\, autonomic regulation\, and nervous system function. Drawing on both scientific evidence and lived experience\, participants will gain a practical framework for understanding symptoms and recovery\, highlighting mind-body approaches to care.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nDescribe the features and diagnostic criteria for mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).Recognize how stress physiology\, threat perception\, and learned neural pathways can contribute to symptoms and their persistence in MCASIdentify evidence-informed mind-body approaches that support recovery\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:af98919265e1939c2a7d856ff52b193e
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/af98919265e1939c2a7d856ff52b193e
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T195000Z
DTEND:20261016T205000Z
SUMMARY:Session #8C: Letting Go Into Flow: Somatic Movement for Embodied Expression
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nIn this experiential session\, you will be guided through simple somatic movement practices that can deepen emotional awareness and expression\, and provide the brain with direct experiences of safety\, freedom\, and wellbeing.\nMovement becomes more than exercise—it becomes a way of cultivating a kinder\, more curious relationship with ourselves. You will leave with an embodied understanding of this approach and practical strategies to help you introduce somatic movement into your clinical work.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n&nbsp\;Identify key principles of somatic movementApply these principles in your own experience of somatic movementDevelop practical strategies for integrating simple somatic movement into your clinical practice\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:e473e4c5cc11181476d237aef5efbe3e
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/e473e4c5cc11181476d237aef5efbe3e
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T195000Z
DTEND:20261016T205000Z
SUMMARY:Session #8D: Simplifying Mind-Body Symptom Recovery: A Practical Framework for Teaching the Brain Safety
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nMany people struggling with chronic pain and symptoms understand the theory of mind-body recovery but remain stuck when it comes to implementation. Likewise\, practitioners often find themselves overwhelmed by complex explanations\, competing approaches\, and uncertainty about where to focus treatment.\n\n\nThis presentation offers a simple\, practical framework for understanding and addressing chronic symptoms through the lens of perceived danger and safety.\n\n\nDan introduces the Foundation Four\, the essential questions every person must resolve before meaningful recovery can occur:\nWhat is causing my symptoms?Does this explanation apply to me?Is there a solution?Am I capable of implementing that solution?\n\nOnce this foundation is established\, recovery becomes less about endlessly searching for hidden causes and more about teaching the brain that it is safe.\nAttendees will learn six core Safety Strategies that can help shift the nervous system out of protection mode:\n• Emotional Safety – Learning that emotions themselves are not dangerous and can be experienced without fear or resistance.\n• Physical Safety – Using physiology\, breath\, movement\, and brief mindfulness practices to communicate safety to the nervous system.\n• Mental Safety – Understanding that thoughts do not need to be controlled\, fixed\, or believed in order to recover.\n• Safety with Self – Addressing self-criticism\, perfectionism\, and negative self-identity patterns that often reinforce danger signals.\n• Response to Symptoms – Leveraging symptom responses as opportunities to teach the brain that sensations are not harmful or significant.\n• Returning Focus to Life – Re-engaging with meaningful living rather than organizing life around symptom monitoring and recovery efforts.\n\n\nThroughout the presentation\, Dan emphasizes a central principle: while emotions may be one source of perceived danger\, recovery is most effectively understood through the broader framework of reducing danger and increasing safety across all aspects of life.&nbsp\;\n\n\nAttendees will leave with a clear\, cohesive model that simplifies both the problem and the solution\, making mind-body recovery easier to understand\, teach\, and apply.\n\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nBy the end of this presentation\, attendees will be able to:\nExplain the Foundation Four framework and its role in establishing readiness for recovery.Identify the difference between symptom-focused approaches and safety-focused approaches.Apply six practical Safety Strategies that help reduce perceived danger and calm the nervous system.Recognize how emotional\, mental\, physical\, and self-related factors can contribute to danger signaling.Help clients or patients shift their focus from symptom elimination to building a life centered on safety\, confidence\, and meaningful engagement.Utilize a simplified\, actionable framework that can improve communication\, compliance\, and outcomes in mind-body recovery work.Key Takeaway\nRecovery is not primarily about finding and fixing everything that may be wrong. Recovery is about helping the brain recognize safety. When people understand the problem clearly and consistently practice safety across multiple domains of life\, symptom resolution often becomes a natural consequence.\n\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:c3efec271175dc79f2d7a6ca052eeca6
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/c3efec271175dc79f2d7a6ca052eeca6
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T205000Z
DTEND:20261016T210500Z
SUMMARY:15 Minute Break
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAK
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:563a2b30efa35997b446df79b0eabc2e
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/563a2b30efa35997b446df79b0eabc2e
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T210500Z
DTEND:20261016T220500Z
SUMMARY:Session #9: Pilot study of virtually-delivered pain reprocessing therapy and emotional awareness and expression therapy for young adults with chronic headache from concussion
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\n\nOur focus is on adapting neuroplastic approaches—specifically pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) and emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET)—to treat individuals experiencing post-traumatic headache months or years after a concussion. We have created a brief 6-session protocol and conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial with qualitative and quantitative outcomes. In this session we will present our findings\, provide an interactive example of a treatment session\, and open up a broader discussion about using neuroplastic treatment concepts with a brain injured population.\n\nLearning Objectives:\nDescribe the characteristics of post-concussion headache and usual treatment approachesOutline how PRT and EAET were adapted for this patient population and the preliminary study findingsIdentify issues that might arise when using PRT and EAET with patients who have concussion or mild traumatic brain injury and potential solutions\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:984285464d9dff98e3a29f45af9edf65
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/984285464d9dff98e3a29f45af9edf65
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T220500Z
DTEND:20261016T221500Z
SUMMARY:Closing Remarks
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CONFERENCE INFO
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:e9ce2873fbf532500bc23703135e1261
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/e9ce2873fbf532500bc23703135e1261
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261016T223000Z
DTEND:20261017T000000Z
SUMMARY:Happy Hour Gathering
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:
LOCATION:TBD\, King of Glory 6411 LBJ Freeway  Dallas\, TX 75240
SEQUENCE:0
UID:c1dd515faecf94cbdf8e48d31695ffaa
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/c1dd515faecf94cbdf8e48d31695ffaa
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T130000Z
DTEND:20261017T140000Z
SUMMARY:Breakfast & Interest Group Session
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKFAST CONVERSATION
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:9cd43a5af2892a0165f13a3e55bd2352
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/9cd43a5af2892a0165f13a3e55bd2352
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T140000Z
DTEND:20261017T150000Z
SUMMARY:Session #10:Toxic Masculinity and Neuroplastic Symptoms
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nWhen 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.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nHow to recognize toxic masculinity within the typical patient population of those seeking treatment for neuroplastic symptoms.Using a psychodynamic approach to minimize defensiveness.Leveraging countertransference to build safety in emotional expression.Disarming old\, lifelong messages tied to the definition of being a man.Build tools in alignment with new definitions of being masculine.\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:871ed8bc2011a954692420d6d60e1f5a
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/871ed8bc2011a954692420d6d60e1f5a
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T150000Z
DTEND:20261017T160000Z
SUMMARY:Session #11: Are We Too Gentle? Behavioral Boldness and Accommodation Reduction in Neuroplastic Treatment
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nAs neuroplastic approaches gain wider acceptance\, many clinicians face a difficult question: Are\nwe sometimes too gentle? While validation and emotional safety are essential\, excessive\naccommodation and reassurance can inadvertently reinforce fragility\, avoidance\, and\nsymptom-related threat signaling. This presentation explores how behavioral boldness\, graded\nexposure\, and accommodation reduction can help patients move beyond intellectual\nacceptance of a neuroplastic diagnosis toward meaningful functional recovery. Attendees will\nexamine common therapist barriers to decisively expanding activity\, including fears of causing\nharm\, symptom flare-ups\, or alliance rupture. Practical clinical frameworks will be provided for\nadvancing exposure work\, responding effectively to setbacks\, and promoting resilience without\nsacrificing compassion.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to\nIdentify common patient accommodations (behavioral\, cognitive\, and relational) that maintain symptom-related threat signaling despite intellectual acceptance of a neuroplastic diagnosis. Differentiate between supportive validation and therapist behaviors that inadvertently reinforce fragility or avoidance.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. Recognize internal therapist barriers (e.g.\, fear of causing harm\, alliance rupture\, or symptom exacerbation) that may limit behavioral boldness in treatment.\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:49f1e005116da76f75b21bb33e332f92
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/49f1e005116da76f75b21bb33e332f92
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T160000Z
DTEND:20261017T161500Z
SUMMARY:15 Minute Break
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAK
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3fd707485eb09cc55cb651f66e7cd2f5
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/3fd707485eb09cc55cb651f66e7cd2f5
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T161500Z
DTEND:20261017T171500Z
SUMMARY:Session #12: When food becomes a threat: a neuroplastic and eating-disorder-informed framework for restoring food safety.
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nhis 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.\n&nbsp\;\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to: Describe how food sensitivities can develop and persist through neuroplastic mechanisms\, including fear conditioning\, predictive coding\, and interoceptive threat learning Critically evaluate the clinical validity of commonly used food sensitivity tests and understand their potential impact on patient outcomes&nbsp\;Implement modern pain science treatments and eating-disorder–aware strategies to support safe food expansion and symptom reduction -Utilize trauma-informed language and interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce fear-based restriction while validating patient experience\n\n\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:975116944f82e9e2c4cd4c0c24ebb2dd
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/975116944f82e9e2c4cd4c0c24ebb2dd
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T171500Z
DTEND:20261017T183000Z
SUMMARY:Lunch
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:LUNCH TABLE DISCUSSANTS
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:1f63fa7d28b58d15548e54a7cdb5fa87
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/1f63fa7d28b58d15548e54a7cdb5fa87
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T183000Z
DTEND:20261017T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #13A: Hidden in Plain Sight: Shame as the Organizing Principle in the Cause & Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nI propose a new lens for understanding how neuroplastic symptoms are generated\, perpetuated\, and resolved. Because we require connection for survival from birth\, the most salient source of danger is the lack of emotional safety within attachment relationships. Building on the definition of shame as “the fear of disconnection\,” I argue that it is this specific relational fear that most often triggers the brain’s alarm mechanism. Repeated experiences of insufficient emotional attunement in early relationships prime neural networks toward sympathetic activation and habitual self-devaluation. This establishes sensitization to disconnection threat (i.e.\, shame) early in development and the compensatory\, shame-avoidance strategies that promote neuroplastic symptoms in adulthood.\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nDefine shame and explain its role as a core driver of neuroplastic symptoms and treatmentresistance. Identify manifestations of shame and shame-avoidance in their own internal experience and in their patients.Describe how shame-based neural networks are formed in early attachment relationships and maintained in adulthood. Apply high-quality self-empathy and PRT-informed principles to the process of training out of persistent shame patterns.&nbsp\;Recognize and effectively address shame dynamics within the clinical relationship.\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:1c4488d2a722d207dbc4bb6f6e6f6655
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/1c4488d2a722d207dbc4bb6f6e6f6655
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T183000Z
DTEND:20261017T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #13B: The Connected Adolescent Brain: Play and Attachment Approaches for Neuroplastic Symptoms
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nThis session explores how adolescent neurodevelopment shapes the expression of neuroplastic symptoms—including pain\, dizziness\, fatigue\, and OCD related patterns—and how play and attachment based interventions can restore flexibility in threat driven systems. Participants will learn developmentally attuned\, nonshaming ways to help teens understand the interplay between anxiety\, OCD\, and neuroplastic symptoms. The session also highlights strategies for partnering with parents to reduce accommodation\, strengthen connection\,\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\nNeurodevelopment & Intervention Participants will be able to describe how adolescent neurodevelopment\, coregulation\, and attachment dynamics influence neuroplastic symptoms\, and identify at least two playbased strategies that promote flexibility and safety. The Neuroplastic–OCD Intersection Participants will be able to articulate developmentally attuned ways to help adolescents build observing capacity to recognize the interplay between anxiety\, OCD patterns\, and neuroplastic symptoms. Partnering With Parents Participants will be able to coach parents in attachment based responses that reduce reinforcement of threat loops\, strengthen connection\, and support environments that foster safety and neuroplastic symptom change.\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:db812e0995a1bbda2b22121ba69c5c7f
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/db812e0995a1bbda2b22121ba69c5c7f
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T183000Z
DTEND:20261017T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #13C: Loneliness\, Joy\, and Neuroplastic Symptoms: From Isolation to Safety Practical Strategies to rebuild connection and train positive affect in recovery
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nLoneliness and disconnection amplify threat physiology and can keep neuroplastic symptoms persistent. This session expands standard fear-reduction models by teaching connection as a trainable safety signal and strategic joy as a trainable recovery catalyst. We define joy not as “toxic positivity” but as a set of practical skills (e.g.\, connection-building\, savoring\, gratitude\, kindness\, strengths\, attainable goals\, positive reappraisal) that broaden attention\, support approach behavior\, and strengthen safety learning across neuroplastic symptom presentations.\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of this session\, attendees will be able to - \nSescribe how loneliness and social disconnection can function as a threat amplifier relevant to neuroplastic symptom persistence Recognize common clinical presentations of loneliness/disconnection in patients/clients with persistent symptoms (life-narrowing\, avoidance\, shame\, reduced co-regulation) Experience connecting to own inner loving adult for a constant available resource Integrate strategic joy skills into neuroplastic recovery work in a way that is capacity-matched and realistic—especially for patients/clients with pain flares\, fatigue\, fear of symptoms\, or high levels of shame Outline a practical strategy set that integrates feeling connected\, connection-building\, and joy skills to support neuroplastic recovery across varied presentations\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:6aa9bc33a4081e9da1ecba8fe17c4ccc
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/6aa9bc33a4081e9da1ecba8fe17c4ccc
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T183000Z
DTEND:20261017T193000Z
SUMMARY:Session #13D: Expanding the Umbrella: What We Can Learn from Those with Structural Conditions
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nIt is clear that the skills and methods coming out of mind body medicine are transformative for those with neuroplastic symptoms. What is less acknowledged is the way in which our field can both help and learn from those with ongoing structural conditions.\n\nNeuroplastic and structural are not the binary they have often been presented as. My personal and professional experience bears this out. A sizable portion of people have a complicated and nuanced mix of both. Even those with the most structural of conditions notice that neuroplastic factors can intensify or de-intensify their overall suffering.\n\nAfter publicly sharing my own story of living with disabling structural pain for decades\, my practice has attracted clients who also live with ongoing structural issues\, including cancer\, MS\, ALS\, post-stroke pain\, tethered spinal cord\, among other conditions. Almost to a person\, these are individuals who have been turned away and turned off by the world of mind body medicine\, having been given the implicit or explicit message that the persistence of their symptoms was somehow their fault. Many of these people in turn blamed themselves for “failing” to eliminate all of their symptoms\, the shame of which caused them even more suffering. This is particularly sad given that mind body\npractitioners on the whole are among the most compassionate people out there\, and this disconnect could so easily be overcome with greater exposure to those clients whose bodies do not fit the neat neuroplastic mold.\n\nCollectively\, my clients and I have gained a lot of hard-earned wisdom that would greatly benefit the field. Not only can this work help us too — albeit in different ways and with different outcomes than for those with primarily neuroplastic issues — but also our experience has taught us a new and more empowering paradigm of healing.\n\nIn my practice\, we focus not on “recovery” but on healing\, which I define has empowering yourself to live a rich\, meaningful\, and connected life\, regardless of symptoms. You can have one without the other. Recovery is something you can hope for\, but healing is something you can do.\n\nThe traditional gold standard of “success” in this field— achieving a complete absence of symptoms— actually maintains a focus on symptoms\, which contradicts one of the central tenets of this work. As such\, I propose we define “success” not as the absence of symptoms but as the presence of healing. Releasing practitioners from the pressure\nof bringing about fast and complete symptom relief for their clients would also no doubt free them up to be more fully present in their practice.\n\nIn the end\, all humans are mortal beings\, and if we have the privilege of living long enough\, every last one of us will experience “structural” issues. A new paradigm of healing could equip everyone — clients and practitioners alike — with better skills to live a fuller life and to take power back from the symptoms.\n\nAs practitioners\, we teach our clients about the promise of neuroplasticity. PRT\, of course\, is a therapeutic practice that hinges on the idea that we can learn new things. But the field would benefit from viewing itself as capable of learning and growing. We can learn a great deal from those for whom “recovery” is not be possible but “healing”\nis. Expanding our umbrella in this way would significantly extend the reach\, scope\, and power of our work. I invite us all to embrace this opportunity.\n\nLearning Objectives:\nAt the conclusion of the session\, attendees will learn:\nNew language for talking with clients about how many symptoms are not black or white\, structural or neuroplastic\, but a nuanced mix of structural & neuroplasticA new perspective which views mixed neuroplastic/structural symptoms as nothing to fear\, but as opportunities for learning and growth for clients and practitioners alikeA new paradigm of healing that empowers clients with the skills to live rich\, meaningful\, and connected lives\, even in the absence of “recovery”A new definition of “success” in this work not as the absence of symptoms but as the presence of healing\n
CATEGORIES:BREAKOUT
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:526d2dd8f440e6c543341ca7d9c264b0
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/526d2dd8f440e6c543341ca7d9c264b0
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T193000Z
DTEND:20261017T194500Z
SUMMARY:15 Minute Break
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:BREAK
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:0ddd50c7c7bab4759418fd646f00e86b
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/0ddd50c7c7bab4759418fd646f00e86b
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T194500Z
DTEND:20261017T204500Z
SUMMARY:Session #14: A Unifying Theory of Neuroplastic Recovery Therapy
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nThis 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.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\nIdentify 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. Explain the rationale for integrating somatic (pain-focused) and emotional exposures in the treatment of chronic pain and neuroplastic symptoms. &nbsp\;Demonstrate how to implement “double exposures” in clinical practice\, combining emotional processing and somatic tracking within a single treatment framework. Apply strategies for flexibly shifting between emotional and pain exposures based on patient presentation\, including managing symptom flares and emotional activation.\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:188cb49a5eaec4fab863c6838f08f1e7
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/188cb49a5eaec4fab863c6838f08f1e7
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T204500Z
DTEND:20261017T214500Z
SUMMARY:Session #15: Why Play Matters in Neuroplastic Symptom Recovery: Don’t Just Tell Yourself You’re Safe – Experience It!
DESCRIPTION:Workshop Summary:\nPatients 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.\n\n\nLearning Objectives:\n\n Identify the role of vigilance and predictive processing errors in maintaining neuroplastic symptoms (ie\, using tools as weapons) Guide participants in experiential practice of recognizing threat-based predictions and increasing lightness Develop skills in educating patients about the role of intensity and lightness on the nervous system in clear\, validating and compassionate ways Empower participants to use play in their clinical practice\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:229d3b6910ef9f7d54b887127d0386cb
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/229d3b6910ef9f7d54b887127d0386cb
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T214500Z
DTEND:20261017T221500Z
SUMMARY:Closing Remarks
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:CONFERENCE INFO
LOCATION:King of Glory Lutheran Church\, 6411 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy\, Dallas\, TX 75240\, USA
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3c277512607706f8644e8502b98434c5
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/3c277512607706f8644e8502b98434c5
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260623T200902Z
DTSTART:20261017T221500Z
DTEND:20261018T000000Z
SUMMARY:Happy Hour Gathering
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:NETWORKING
LOCATION:TBD\, King of Glory 6411 LBJ Freeway  Dallas\, TX 75240
SEQUENCE:0
UID:347fffd0eeb2dbe3e1d60e3365c4ff60
URL:http://atnsconference.sched.com/event/347fffd0eeb2dbe3e1d60e3365c4ff60
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR