Mind, Brain, Body & Spiritual Approaches to Healing: 30 World-Leading Psychologists Share Their Secrets
Equip yourself with the most effective cutting-edge strategies for helping clients heal in the coming decade.
This online summit brings together 30 world-leading clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, and mental health practitioners, who will share with you their best practices for mind, brain, body, and spiritual approaches to healing – enabling you to be at the forefront of evidence-based care.
Online Summit | Jan 23 – 28, 2023
Join 10,000+ mental health professionals for the psychotherapy event of the decade.
Speakers Featured In:
Now, you might be wondering what exactly will I get from signing up to this virtual summit?
Great question, and I’m glad you asked.
Here’s a taste of what you’ll discover by signing up to the Holistic Psychotherapy Summit:
- The Big Ideas: An overview of the most important principles that underlie all effective forms of psychotherapy, such as: Attachment Theory, The Science of Compassion (Paul Gilbert), Relational Depth (Mick Cooper), and a paradigm-shifting theory of the emotions (Lisa Feldman Barrett). You’ll also learn the mechanisms which help to explain why psychotherapy works (Lou Cozolino).
- Using The Mind to Change The Brain: learn how to apply the new science of clinical hypnosis in therapy (Dr David Spiegel), and explore the foundations of dialectical behavioural therapy, transactional analysis, and rational emotive behavioural therapy (Windy Dryden).
- The Body and The Nervous System: understand the core elements of polyvagal theory (with Stephen Porges), sensorimotor psychotherapy (Pat Ogden), and how to control dopamine for optimal emotional wellbeing (Dr Anna Lembke). Learn the fundamentals of nervous system regulation (with Irene Lyon) and how to apply breathwork in therapy (Prema McKeever).
- Spiritual Approaches: Apply existential analysis to help clients uncover a deep sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, explore the new science of "intraconnection" and its therapeutic value (with Dan Siegel), understand how to work with dreams and imagination in psychotherapy, and explore how a “nondual” understanding of consciousness can be a catalyst for alleviating suffering (Rupert Spira).
- Frameworks: learn the foundations of Internal Family Systems (with Richard Schwartz), Process-Based Therapy (Steven Hayes), Race, Respect and Diversity in Therapy (Divine Charura and Colin Lago), and how to use chairwork and single-session therapy to improve therapeutic outcomes (Windy Dryden).
- Working with...: Trauma; learn how to heal the fragmented selves of trauma survivors with Dr Janina Fisher, Relationships; understand the (counterintuitive) best practices for working with couples in therapy (Terry Real), Addiction; apply the felt-sense polyvagal model to help clients overcome addiction (Jan Winhall), Neurodiversity; understand the core principles of becoming a neurodiverse affirming therapist.
"I have been delighted to be invited to give talks on Compassion Focused Therapy and Evolutionary Psychology at The Weekend University in 2018. These events are very well organised, and an excellent initiative for furthering the public's understanding of psychology."
Professor Paul Gilbert OBE — Founder of Compassion Focused Therapy
"The Weekend University is always very well-organised and Niall (McKeever) is a great host. He really puts his heart into The Weekend University and its shows in the quality of the speakers he brings in."
Professor Mick Cooper — Co-Developer of Pluralistic Therapy
"The Weekend University attracts hundreds of interested learners to their fascinating monthly psychology sessions in London. I have enjoyed teaching for them several times, as have many of my colleagues."
Professor Emmy van Deurzen — Founder of the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling.
"I was impressed by Niall McKeever’s professionalism and courtesy – and I enjoyed very much presenting, with enough time to go into some depth and still leave time for questions. It was an excellent experience."
Dr Iain McGilchrist — Psychiatrist and Author
Plus, as a special bonus for claiming your access, you'll get:
The Holistic Psychotherapy Reading List
Discover the books that have shaped the minds of the world’s leading psychologists, professors, and mental health professionals.
For this summit, we interviewed the leading pioneers from a wide range of therapeutic disciplines, to uncover their best practices and their most essential ideas for helping clients in therapy — people like Stephen Porges, Janina Fisher, Steven Hayes, Paul Gilbert, Pat Ogden, Dan Siegel, Anna Lembke, Richard Schwartz, and 23 others.
At the end of each discussion, we asked them to recommend three books that have most impacted their therapeutic work or the three books they think every mental health professional should read, and we’re now sharing them with you in this free guide.
If you want a “behind the scenes” glance at the ideas that have shaped the leading minds in the field, this is your best chance.
Featured Sessions
Day 1 - The Big Ideas
Prof. Paul Gilbert OBE
How Compassion Transforms The Mind
Professor Paul Gilbert is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and the Founder of Compassion Focused Therapy. In 2011, Paul was awarded an OBE for his continued contribution in mental healthcare.
Prof. Jeremy Holmes
Attachment Science and Psychotherapy
Professor Jeremy Holmes is a clinician, author, leading Attachment expert, and three-time speaker at The Weekend University. For 35 years, he was Consultant Psychiatrist/Medical Psychotherapist at University College London (UCL) and then in North Devon, UK, and Chair of the Psychotherapy Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 1998-2002.
Prof. Lisa Feldman Barrett
The New Science of Emotions
Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett is in the top one percent of most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, and also holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Centre for Law, Brain & Behaviour.
Prof. Mick Cooper
Working at Relational Depth in Psychotherapy
Professor Mick Cooper is Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton, a Chartered Psychologist, and an internationally recognised author, trainer, and consultant in the fields of humanistic, existential, and pluralistic therapies.
Dr Louis Cozolino
Why Psychotherapy Works
Dr Lou Cozolino is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and professor based in Beverly Hills, California. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA and an M.T.S. from Harvard University. He has been a Professor at Pepperdine since 1986 and lectures around the world on psychotherapy, neuroscience, trauma, and attachment.
Day 2 - The Mind
Dr David Spiegel
Healing the Mind with the New Science of Hypnosis
Dr. David Spiegel is an author, psychiatrist and professor at Stanford University, and one of the world’s leading experts into the clinical applications of hypnosis. He has published thirteen books, over 400 scientific articles, and 170 chapters on hypnosis, stress physiology, trauma, and psychotherapy.
Professor Windy Dryden
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
Professor Dryden is a therapist, trainer, academic and author who has published more than 240 books. In many ways, Windy could be described as a pioneer in the field. He was one of the first in the UK to be trained in CBT, having learned directly from Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, and has since trained therapists all over the world in the approach. He is best known for his work in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), which is the focus of this session.
Professor Michaela Swales
An Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Prof. Michaela Swales, PhD, is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with BCUHB and Reader in Clinical Psychology on the North Wales Clinical Psychology Programme at Bangor University. She trained in DBT with Marsha Linehan in the 90s and for twenty years ran a clinical programme for suicidal young people in an inpatient service. Prof. Swales has trained more than a thousand professionals in DBT, seeding over 400 programmes, in both the UK and further afield.
Dr Mark Widdowson
Transactional Analysis
Dr Mark Widdowson is a teaching and supervising transactional analyst, and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. He has 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist. He is a lecturer in psychotherapy and counselling at the University of Salford, and lives in Central Manchester, where he has a small psychotherapy practice. Mark is an active psychotherapy researcher and in 2014 was awarded the European Association for Transactional Analysis Silver Medal for his research on the effectiveness of TA.
Maria Papaspyrou
Working with Psychedelics in Therapy
Maria Papaspyrou is an integrative psychotherapist, supervisor, and systemic constellations facilitator based in Brighton, UK. She has given talks and published articles on psychedelic integration and ethics supporting the re-introduction of expanded states in psychotherapy. She is part of the Breaking Convention team and the co-founder and co-director of the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy, where she lectures and supports the development of a psychedelic aware psychotherapeutic community.
Day 3 - The Body
Dr Stephen Porges
Polyvagal Safety & Psychotherapy
Dr Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. 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. In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behaviour and emphasises the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioural problems and psychiatric disorders.
Irene Lyon
Healing and Transforming the Nervous System.
Irene Lyon, MSC. and nervous system expert, teaches people around the world how to work with the nervous system to transform trauma, heal body and mind, and live full, creative lives. To date, her online programs and classes have reached over 9,500 people in over 90 countries. Irene has a Master’s Degree in Biomedical and Health Science and also has a knack for making complex info easy for ALL of us to understand and apply to our lives. She has extensively studied and practices the works of Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais, Peter Levine (founder of Somatic Experiencing), and Kathy Kain (founder of Somatic Practice).
Dr Pat Ogden
An Introduction to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Dr Pat Ogden is the creator of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Method, a pioneer in somatic psychology, an author, international lecturer and one of the leading voices revolutionising our approach to healing trauma. Her books include “Trauma and the Body”, “Sensorimotor Psychotherapy”, and “The Pocket Guide to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy in Context”, which advocates for an anti-racist perspective in psychotherapy practice.
Prema McKeever
Breathwork and Psychotherapy
Prema is a body-based therapist, group workshop facilitator and educator who combines more than 20 years of experience in Eastern medicine, meditation, emotional release work, and body-mind therapies. By treating thousands of patients as a doctor of Chinese medicine she saw how vital our emotional health is for our physical health. Looking for ways to help herself and her patients release stored trauma in the body, she trained in BioDynamic Breathwork & Trauma Release and considers it a sacred honour to facilitate and teach this deeply healing system of breath work. Her training also includes Hakomi (a body-centred system of psychotherapy), the 3 year Somatic Experiencing® trauma resolution training and she is a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner.
Dr Anna Lembke
Unlocking Dopamine to Break Addictions and Flourish in Life
Dr. Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries. She sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organisations, has testified before various committees in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, keeps an active speaking calendar, and maintains a thriving clinical practice. She is the author “Dopamine Nation” – a New York Times Bestseller which explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.
Day 4 - The Spirit
Rupert Spira
Nonduality: The Direct Path to Ending Suffering.
Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality and the source of lasting peace and happiness since his early age. After spending twenty years immersed in the teachings of classical Advaita Vedanta, he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, who introduced him to the Direct Path approach whereby one may recognise the source of peace and happiness in oneself. Rupert has written several books and holds regular meetings and retreats online, as well as in Europe and the United States. He is also a noted potter, trained in the British Studio Pottery school, with work in public and private collections.
Dr Alfried Längle
Victor Frankl, Existential Analysis, and Working with Meaning in Psychotherapy.
Dr Alfried Langle is a direct mentee of Victor Frankl and the Founder of Existential Analysis. Alfried is one of the world’s leading experts in working with meaning in psychotherapy and applying existential-based approaches towards helping individuals reduce suffering, realise more of their potential and live more authentic, values-based lives. He is a Professor at the University of Vienna (Sigmund Freud University), Klagenfurt and Moscow (HSE). Dr. Längle has over 400 publications, 2 honorary doctorships, and 6 honorary professorships, as well as a gold medal from the Republic of Austria for scientifically high contributions.
Dr Annahita Nezami
Self Transcendence in Psychotherapy
Dr Annahita Nezami is the founder of VR-Overview-Effect. She is a chartered counselling psychologist providing consultation, assessment and therapy. Her areas of interest include space health, wellbeing, neuroscience, trauma, depression, performance, and altered states of consciousness. She has presented at various conferences, both nationally and internationally, and has talked about the Overview Effect and mental health on BBC Radio 4, at Central St Martin’s, UCL, and TEDx, and published papers and articles with Springer and other media outlets.
Allan Frater
Waking Dreams: Imagination in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life.
Allan Frater is a psychotherapist and teacher with Psychosynthesis Trust. Inspired by Jack Kerouac and Herman Hesse, he spent his twenties living and working in Buddhist communities where he came across the east-meets-west fusion of transpersonal psychology, eventually training to become a psychotherapist. His psychotherapy practice and teaching career have intersected at the meeting place between transpersonal psychology and an image-based approach to ecotherapy, the results of which will be presented in this talk.
Dr Daniel Siegel
The New Science of Intraconnection: Redefining Self, Identity, and Belonging.
Daniel J. Siegel received his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics and child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. An award-winning educator, he is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and recipient of several honorary fellowships. Dr. Siegel is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational organization, which offers online learning and in-person seminars that focus on how the development of mindsight in individuals, families and communities can be enhanced by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes.
Day 5 - Frameworks
Professor Windy Dryden
Improving Therapeutic Outcomes with Single Session Therapy
Professor Windy Dryden is one of the leading practitioners and trainers in the UK in the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) tradition of psychotherapy. He is best known for his work in Rational-Emotive Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (RECBT), a leading CBT approach. He has been working in the field of counselling and psychotherapy since 1975 and was one of the first people in Britain to be trained in CBT. He is Emeritus Professor of Psychotherapeutic Studies at Goldsmiths University of London.
Dr Matthew Pugh & Tobyn Bell
Using Chairwork in Psychotherapy
Matthew Pugh is a Clinical Psychologist, Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Advanced Schema Therapist, Voice Dialogue Facilitator, Single Session Therapist, researcher, and leading chairwork practitioner. He has worked in mental health settings for over 15 years, including both NHS and private organisations. He is the author of ‘Cognitive Behavioural Chairwork: Distinctive Features’ and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on chairwork.
Tobyn Bell is a Compassion-Focused and Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapist, Schema Therapist, Trainer, and Supervisor. He has worked within mental health settings for over 15 years, with a background in nursing. He is the co-author of the book ‘Compassion Focused Therapy from the Inside Out: A Self-practice/Self-reflection Workbook for Therapists’.
Professor Divine Charura & Professor Colin Lago
Race, Respect, and Diversity in Therapy.
Professor Divine Charura is professor of counselling psychology and programme director for the doctorate in counselling psychology at York St John University. He is a chartered counselling psychologist and registered psychotherapist and has co-authored and edited numerous books in counselling and psychotherapy.
Professor Colin Lago was Director of the University of Sheffield’s counselling service from 1987 to 2003 and now works as an independent counsellor/psychotherapist, trainer, supervisor and consultant. He is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, and has published numerous articles, videos and books on transcultural concerns and psychotherapy.
Professor Steven Hayes
An Introduction to Process-Based Therapy
Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. The author of forty-three books and more than six hundred scientific articles, he has served as president of the Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy and the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science, and is one of the most cited psychologists in the world. Dr. Hayes initiated the development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and of Relational Frame Theory (RFT), the approach to cognition on which ACT is based. Most recently, he has been focused on developing Process Based Therapy along with Prof Stefan Hofmann.
Dr Richard Schwartz
How Internal Family Systems Can Help You Flourish
Richard Schwartz, PhD., began his career as a systemic family therapist and an academic. Grounded in systems thinking, Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. He focused on the relationships among these parts and noticed that there were systemic patterns in the way they were organized across clients. He also found that when the clients’ parts felt safe and were allowed to relax, the clients would spontaneously experience the qualities of confidence, openness, and compassion that Dr. Schwartz came to call the Self. He found that when in that state of Self, clients would know how to heal their parts. A featured speaker for national professional organisations, Dr. Schwartz has published many books and over fifty articles about IFS.
Day 6 - Working with..
Terrence Real
Transforming Relationships in Therapy
Terrence Real is an internationally recognized family therapist, speaker, and author. He founded the Relational Life Institute, offering workshops for couples, individuals, and parents along with a professional training program for clinicians to learn his Relational Life Therapy methodology. He is the bestselling author of “I Don’t Want to Talk About It”, “How Can I Get Through to You?”, and “The New Rules of Marriage”. Terry’s most recent book is: “Us: Getting Past You and Me to Form a More Loving Relationship”.
Dr Dwight Turner
Working with Diversity in Psychotherapy
Dr Dwight Turner is a psychotherapist, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the School of Applied Social Science at Brighton University. Dr Turner casts an intersectional lens on privilege, supremacy, otherness and social justice. He was invited to deliver the keynote presentation at the BACP’s ‘Working with Diversity’ Conference in 2019. His book: “Intersections of Privilege and Otherness in Counselling and Psychotherapy” was published by Routledge in 2021.
Jan Winhall
Treating Addiction with the Felt-Sense Polyvagal Model
Jan Winhall, M.S.W. F.O.T. is an author, teacher and psychotherapist. She is an Educational Partner and Course Developer with the Polyvagal Institute where she teaches a certification course based on her book Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto and a Certifying Co-Ordinator with the International Focusing Institute. Jan is a seasoned trauma and addiction therapist who supervises graduate students and teaches internationally. You can reach her at www.janwinhall.com.
Danny van Deurzen Smith
Working with Neurodiverse Clients in Therapy
Danny van Deurzen Smith is an existential coach and course leader for the MA in Existential Coaching at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling where they are also the administrative director. Danny co-facilitates a monthly support group for LGBTQ+ autistic adults with Ruth, and runs regular workshops on gender fluidity, working existentially with autism, and existential coaching. In their coaching practice, they work predominantly with autistic and LGBTQ+ clients.
Dr Janina Fisher
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors
Janina Fisher, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School. An international expert on the treatment of trauma, she is an Advisory Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation and the author of three books, Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Self-Alienation (2017), Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: a Workbook for Survivors and Therapists (2021), and The Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart (2022). She is best known for her work on integrating mindfulness-based interventions into trauma treatment, and she is also the creator of Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) therapy.
Get Lifetime Access to All 30 Masterclass Sessions.
As can be seen from the lineup above, this is a rare opportunity to learn directly from the world’s leading pioneers from a wide range of therapeutic disciplines.
By registering, you can get lifetime access to all of these sessions, ensuring that you are at the forefront of your field.
Why Should I Sign Up For
The Holistic Psychotherapy Summit?
Be at the Cutting Edge - Achieve Mastery in Your Therapeutic Work
Never before have the leading minds from such a wide range of disciplines been brought together for one event. This will give you a “big picture” overview of the most essential ideas and frameworks you’ll need for achieving mastery in your therapeutic work, so you can offer the best possible service to your clients and be at the forefront of the field.
World-Class Quality Content
This is not your ordinary online event. We’ve brought together the leading minds — people like Janina Fisher, Steven Hayes, Dan Siegel, Paul Gilbert, Pat Ogden, Steven Porges, and Lisa Feldman Barrett to provide a once-in-a-lifetime educational experience.
You Don’t Even Need To Leave Home — Attend From Your Computer, Phone or Tablet
There’s no flight or hotel room to book… saving you money, unpaid work leave, and time away from your family.
Taking a “META” Approach to Psychotherapy.
Research estimates that there are over 500 types of psychotherapy.
This can be a troubling statistic for any psychotherapist, counsellor, psychologist, or coach to learn about.
I mean, if there are over 500 out there, how can you be certain your approach is optimal?
What if, by only training in one orientation, you’re missing something important?
There are two ways to go about solving this problem…
The Long and Difficult Way
You could spend thousands of your hard earned money and countless hours trying to learn every therapeutic approach out there.
Not only would this be time-consuming (there are over 500!), it also leaves a lot up to chance.
The “META” Way
You could sign up for the Holistic Psychotherapy Summit today and learn the core, underlying principles that are common to all evidence-based forms of psychotherapy.
In other words, instead of trying to master hundreds of different methods, you focus on the small number of highly effective principles that lead to positive outcomes in almost every therapeutic approach.
If you believe that one single therapeutic approach holds all the answers, you’re in the wrong place.
However, if you believe that we need to take a holistic approach to healing - one that accounts for the whole person; mind, brain, body, and spirit, then this summit is for you.
Who is Hosting this Summit?
The Weekend University.
The Weekend University’s mission is to make the best education in psychology more accessible, so that people can use the knowledge to improve their quality of life.
To do this, we organise live conferences and interviews with world leading psychologists, professors, and authors.
Since 2017, we’ve hosted over 60 conferences, as well as over 200 talks and interviews with world-leading experts, which we’ve released via our YouTube and Podcast.
The Holistic Psychotherapy Summit is our attempt to bring together the best minds and ideas we’ve discovered on our journey, and make them available to you in one single live event.
This means you’re getting the highest quality material from the best and brightest in the field – all in one place.
And the best bit? It’s 100% free to attend live.
Get Lifetime Access to All 30 Masterclass Sessions.
This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from the world’s leading pioneers from a wide range of therapeutic disciplines.
By registering, you can get lifetime access to all of these sessions, ensuring that you are at the forefront of your field.