Join us for an insightful and transformative conference focused on unraveling the complexities of anxiety and depression. Anxiety and Depression Conference brings together leading experts and mental health professionals passionate about mental well-being to engage in a meaningful dialogue and explore innovative approaches to understanding, preventing, and managing anxiety and depression.
REGISTRATION
$399
Register by Apr 30th for $249
Date/Time
Sep 14, 2024 thru Sep 15, 2024
Starts at 8:45am Pacific Time on Sep 14th
What’s Included?
12 CE credits, conference recordings and transcripts
Faculty
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Lilian Borges, MA, LPC
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David Burns, MD
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Camillo Loriedo, MD, PhD
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Jill Levitt, Ph.D.
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Lynn Lyons, LICSW
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Reid Wilson, PhD
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Michael Yapko, PhD
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Lilian Borges, LPC, is an experienced therapist, teacher, presenter, and podcaster who has treated individuals and couples for more than thirty years. Being binational herself, she can understand multicultural issues naturally, and perform and teach psychotherapy in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.
She’s an expert in Ericksonian Hypnosis, which she teaches both nationally and internationally and uses with individuals and couples to become and live their higher selves, and she’s trained professionals in hypnosis around the world for more than two decades. Lilian is part of the Milton Erickson Foundation Intensive Hypnosis Training faculty since 2001 where she trains other mental health professionals in Ericksonian Hypnosis.
She is Certified PACT therapist, and uses her dynamic, experiential, and hypnotic work with couples.
She currently has a private practice in Arizona, where she uses an array of techniques to help her patients with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, pain management, weight management, smoking cessation, etc.
She is co-host (with Rick Miller, LICSW) of the popular podcast Modern Couples.
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David D. Burns is an adjunct professor emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the author of the best-selling books Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy and The Feeling Good Handbook. Burns popularized Aaron T. Beck's cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) when his book became a best seller during the 1980s.
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CAMILLO LORIEDO, MD PhD, is professor of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Rome, School of Medicine and the School of Specialization. Since 1998, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Milton Erickson Foundation. He has recently been elected President of the Italian Society of Psychotherapy. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. Loriedo has been awarded the Milton H. Erickson Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Psychotherapy. He has authored over 350 scientific papers and 26 books.
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Dr. Jill Levitt is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Training at the Feeling Good Institute. Dr. Levitt has more than 25 years of experience conducting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and has been trained by some of the world’s leaders in CBT. She has co-written several scholarly articles in the areas of OCD, PTSD and Panic Disorder. Most recently she has been co-teaching CBT with Dr. David Burns at the Stanford University School of Medicine in her role on the Adjunct Clinical Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Levitt teaches both in-person and online workshops for the Feeling Good Institute on CBT methods, reducing resistance in psychotherapy, and improving the effectiveness of psychotherapy.
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Lynn Lyons is a psychotherapist in Concord, New Hampshire specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children for over 30 years.
Lynn speaks about anxiety, its role in families, and the need for a preventative approach at home and in schools. She is a featured expert in the 2023 documentary Anxious Nation and has appeared in the New York Times, Time, NPR, Psychology Today, Good Morning America, Today, and other media outlets.
She is the co-host of the popular podcast Flusterclux.
Lynn has authored several books and articles on anxiety, including The Anxiety Audit, Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents, and the companion book for kids, Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids (with Reid Wilson.)
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REID WILSON, PhD is a psychologist in Chapel Hill, NC. He has spent 40 years developing treatment protocols for anxiety disorders and OCD. In 1991 he co-authored with Dr. Edna Foa the first-ever self-help book on exposure and response prevention (ERP), Stop Obsessing! How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions. He is author of Stopping the Noise in Your Head: The New Way to Overcome Anxiety and Worry and the classic self-help book Don’t Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks, as well as Facing Panic: Self-Help for People with Panic Attacks (ADAA). He is co-author, with Lynn Lyons, LICSW, of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous & Independent Children and Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids. He directs www.anxieties.com, celebrating 26 years this year as the largest, privately-run free self-help site on anxiety and OCD. He designed American Airlines’ first national program for the fearful flier and served as the expert on anxiety for WebMD’s Mental Health Community. He is a Founding Clinical Fellow of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and is a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). In 2014 he received ADAA’s highest service award, and in 2019 he received the highest service award from the International OCD Foundation.
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Michael D. Yapko, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist residing in Southern California. He is internationally recognized for his work in advancing clinical hypnosis and outcome-focused psychotherapy, routinely teaching to professional audiences all over the world. To date, he has been invited to present his ideas and methods to colleagues in more than 30 countries across six continents, and all over the United States. His presentations are well known for being practical as well as enjoyable.
Dr. Yapko has had a special interest for nearly five decades in the intricacies of the clinical applications of hypnosis and directive methods, especially in the treatment of depression. He is the author of 16 books and editor of three others, as well as dozens of book chapters and articles on the subjects of hypnosis and the use of strategic psychotherapies. These include his most recent book, Process-Oriented Hypnosis: Focusing on the Forest, Not the Trees, the 5 th edition of his widely used hypnosis text, Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis, as well as Depression is Contagious and Breaking the Patterns of Depression. He is the only 5-time winner of the Arthur Shapiro Award for the “Best Book on Hypnosis” from the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. His works have been translated into ten languages. He also served as Guest Editor for two special issues of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis on “Hypnosis and Treating Depression” in January and April of this year. More information about Dr. Yapko’s teaching schedule and publications can be found on his website: www.yapko.com.
Dr. Yapko is the recipient of numerous major awards for his innovative contributions in advancing the fields of hypnosis and brief therapy, including lifetime achievement awards from The American Psychological Association’s Division 30 (Society of Psychological Hypnosis), the International Society of Hypnosis (the Pierre Janet Award), and The Milton H. Erickson Foundation.
Saturday, September 14th
Sunday, September 15th
Schedule
Convocation
8:45 am to 9 am Pacific Time
Depression is Contagious: We’ve Been Looking at Depression Through the Wrong Lens
Keynote 1 - 9 am to 10 am Pacific Time
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For decades social psychologists have described the phenomenon known as the “contagion of motion,” referring to how a mood state can be spread from one person to another through social interaction. Two very recent events have forced mental health professionals to re- think what we thought we knew about depression that lend support to the phrase “depression is contagious.” The first event is the huge jump in the rates of depression worldwide as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second is the widely disseminated authoritative research that has ultimately shown the “chemical imbalance/shortage of serotonin” hypothesis of depression to be mostly or even entirely incorrect. Given that antidepressant medications are the most common form of treatment, we are at a new nexus for re-defining how we think about the nature of depression and the individuals who suffer with depressed mood. What is emerging is a new clarity of how depression is socially defined and socially generated in ways that will be discussed in this timely keynote address. The implications for therapists are profound when viewing depression as far more a social than medical problem and these will be considered in detail.
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Describe the changing epidemiology of depression and relate the rising rates to a variety of social factors to be addressed in treatment.
Identify common interpersonal risk factors of depression and discuss their implications for treatment planning.
Identify specific ways that skill-building psychotherapies can outperform antidepressant medications
Perfectionism Versus the Art of Self-Acceptance
Workshop 1 - 10:15 am to 12:15 pm Pacific Time
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Karl Rogers said that empathy is the “necessary and sufficient condition” for therapeutic change. Aaron Beck said that Rogers was wrong, and that empathy was necessary but not sufficient, because cognitive techniques are also needed for change. Albert Ellis said that they were both wrong. He insisted that empathy wasn’t necessary, sufficient, or desirable, because patients have to do their “damn homework” if they want to get better.
Who was right? And what happens when a computer provides the empathy? And how might this affect your clinical practice?
Dr. Burns will describe the unexpected results of a recent beta test with the Feeling Great App.
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After completing this course, you will be able to:
Explain why the causal connections between empathy and changes in depression can be so difficult to estimate.
Compare the warmth and understanding from friends and family with the warmth and understanding of a computer.
Describe the impact, if any, of the computer’s warmth and understanding on negative feelings.
Workshop 2
10:15 am to 12:15 pm Pacific Time
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To Be Determined
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To Be Determined
Helping Anxious, Isolated, and Depressed Teens: How Can We Do Better?
Lunch
12:15 pm to 1:30 pm Pacific Time
Keynote 2 - 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm Pacific Time
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There’s no escaping the dire reports about the high rates of anxiety and depression in teens and young adults. The theories about what is driving the increase are multiple and overlapping, from the pandemic to social media to parenting to the state of the world. And while therapists obviously want to help, are we truly doing what works? Or are we buying into the same mental health trends and assumptions as the young people we’re trying to help? In this keynote, Lynn encourages mental health providers to question the myths, trends, and sometimes surprising approaches to addressing youth mental health and to focus our efforts on treatment based on action, connection, and accurate psychoeducation.
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Describe the impact of self-labeling on adolescents.
Create at least 2 interventions that support social connection in adolescents and young adults.
Identify three cognitive patterns that increase risk of anxiety and depression.
Beyond “Coping Skills” with Anxious Families: Creating Active Plans with a Process-Based Approach
Workshop 4 - 2:45 pm to 4:45 pm Pacific Time
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After decades of working with anxious families, schools, and mental health providers, Lynn is clear about two things: parents are a critical part of therapy with anxious kids and offering long lists of “coping skills” is not enough to interrupt anxiety’s powerful generational patterns. In this workshop, Lynn will describe 1) why plans often fail, 2) how to create process-based plans for families and schools that go after the demands of the anxiety disorder, and 3) how to shift away from the practice of creating certainty and comfort. Short-term elimination strategies and long- term accommodation plans that address the “content” of the worry are all too common, so let’s instead give parents and educators the information and “big picture” instruction they need!
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Describe four traps that increase the likelihood of impairment in functioning, including school avoidance.
Explain to families how the goals of elimination and avoidance increase anxiety.
Use front loading with families as a key part of a process-based plan.
Create resources and homework assignments that promote a process-based approach to anxiety.
Applying Hypnosis in the Treatment of Depression: An Emphasis on Skills, Not Pills
Workshop 3 - 2:45 pm to 4:45 pm Pacific Time
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Applying Hypnosis in the Treatment of Depression is a short workshop that will emphasize the importance of utilizing proactive and well-targeted interventions when treating depression. How therapists think about the nature of depression and answer fundamental questions - such as what causes depression - naturally determine what treatment approach they are most likely to take. Likewise, how therapists think about the nature of hypnosis and its potential merits in treatment will shape their use of hypnotically based approaches. As we will discuss and you will observe in a video case presentation, there are some very compelling reasons to want to include hypnosis in the treatment of depressed individuals, couples, and families. There are things that no amount of medication can possibly address, hence the emphasis here will be on skills, not pills.
In this program, some of the topics Dr. Yapko will discuss include:
• How the global pandemic turned the world into a “living laboratory” and highlighted vulnerabilities to depression
• The “earthquake” in the depression world regarding the serotonin hypothesis
• How one factor - expectancy - influences every phase of treatment
• How our feelings can misguide us when making decisions, leading to poor decisions that make depression worse
• The importance of experiential learning in treatment
• Hypnosis as a vehicle for promoting automaticity: The merits of dissociation
• The role of hypnosis in fostering emotional self-regulation skills
• How global cognition affects perceptions, depression, and responses to hypnosis
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Attend Applying Hypnosis in the Treatment of Depression and enhance your ability to:
Identify key personal and interpersonal patterns that exacerbate and maintain depression
Identify the structure of two specific hypnotic intervention strategies for promoting recovery
Utilize structured homework assignments to build skills needed to recover and reduce the risk of relapse
Keynote 3
9 am to 10 am Pacific Time
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To Be Determined
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To Be Determined
Workshop 5
10:15 am to 12:15 pm Pacific Time
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To Be Determined
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To Be Determined
Workshop 6
10:15 am to 12:15 pm Pacific Time
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm Pacific Time
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To Be Determined
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To Be Determined
Lunch
12:15 pm to 1:30 pm Pacific Time
Dialogue 1
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To Be Determined
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To Be Determined
Can a Computer Compete with Human Empathy? And Does it REALLY Help?
Keynote 4 - 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm Pacific Time
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Perfectionism (“I’m not good enough!”) is one of the most common beliefs that patients and therapists alike struggle with. It plays a key role in depression, inadequacy, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse, relationship conflicts and more. In this exciting workshop, David Burns, MD and Jill Levitt PhD will present cutting edge techniques to deal with perfectionism. Join us and learn how to heal your patients—AND yourself!
Workshop Goals
In this workshop you will learn how to :
Pinpoint the self-defeating beliefs associated with perfectionism
Use Positive Reframing to reduce the perfectionist’s intense resistance to change
Challenge perfectionistic thoughts with the Cost-Benefit Analysis, Externalization of Voices, Acceptance Paradox, Self-Disclosure, Feared Fantasy, and more.
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After completing this course, you will be able to:
Identify two self-defeating beliefs frequently seen in perfectionistic individuals
Describe two cognitive distortions that trigger perfectionism
Name two techniques you can use in the treatment of perfectionism
Dialogue 2
4 pm to 5 pm Pacific Time
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To Be Determined
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To Be Determined
Closing
5 pm to 5:15 pm Pacific Time
CONTINUING EDUCATION ACCREDITATION
The Anxiety and Depression Conference is open to professionals in a health-related field with a master’s degree or higher, and students currently enrolled in an accredited graduate program in a health-related field.
The Anxiety and Depression Conference provides 14.0 hours of continuing education credit. Registrants of the Anxiety and Depression Conference will receive one certificate after the conference is completed. Partial credit will be issued to sessions attended, registrants will need to attend every session in order to receive full credit on certificates. CE credit will not be given for any time spent watching videos. CE Credit is only given for sessions attended via live webinar and all sessions must be attended.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation encourages attendees to contact their individual state licensing board if you have questions regarding eligibility of a course for continuing education credit prior to registering.
A.C.C.M.E.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
A.M.A.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc., designates this live activity for a maximum of 16.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ per level. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
A.P.A.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
A.S.W.B.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc, #1489, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 5/2/2024-5/2/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 16.0 continuing education credits per Level of training.
B.R.N.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc., is approved by the Board of Registered Nursing in California to offer continuing education for nurses (Provider no. CEP 9376). This program is eligible for a maximum of 16.0 contact hours per level.
CA B.B.S.
Licensees with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc is approved to provide CE’s by the NBCC and the APA in the state of California. As of 7/1/15, California BBS accepts CE hours from CE providers approved by either the NBCC or the APA for all license types per Title 16 California Code of Regulations (16CCR) § 1887.4.1 and § 1887.4.3
Florida L.C.S.W., L.M.F.T., L.M.H.C.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling as a provider of continuing education (CE Provider #: 50-2008).
N.B.C.C.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5056. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
NY L.C.S.W. and L.M.S.W.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0304.
New York L.M.H.C.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0116.
New York L.M.F.T.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0052.
New York Psychologists
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0069.
NOTE: Please tell us if you are physically challenged and about any accommodations you require.
CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION POLICY ON DISCLOSURE
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation is justifiably proud of the conferences and other educational opportunities it sponsors, taking care that the conduct of these activities conforms to the standards and principles of behavioral and medical sciences, thus insuring balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor in all its individually sponsored or jointly sponsored educational activities. All faculty participating in a sponsored activity and those who review and therefore are in control of content are expected to disclose to the activity audience any significant financial interest or
other relationship (1) with the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of commercial services discussed in an educational presentation and (2) with any commercial supporters of the activity. (Significant financial interest or other relationship can include such things as grants or research support, employee, consultant, major stock holder, member of speaker’s bureau, etc.). The Foundation’s compliance with these standards assures that potential conflicts of interest are identified prior to our educational activities.
The intent of this disclosure is to provide listeners with information on which they can make their own judgments. It remains for the audience to determine whether there are interests or relationships that may influence the presentation with regard to exposition or conclusion.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Board of Directors, Administrative Staff and the following presenters have indicated neither they nor an immediate family member has any significant relationship to disclose.
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Commercial Interest: Defined as any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing healthcare goods or services, used on, or consumed by patients. Providers of clinical service directly to patients are not considered to be commercial interests.
Conflict of Interest: Circumstances that create a conflict of interest when an individual has an opportunity to affect CME content about products or services of a commercial interest with which he/she has a financial relationship.
Financial Relationships: Relationships in which the individual benefits by receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit. Financial benefits are usually associated with roles such as employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received or expected. An accreditation agency considers relationships of the person involved in the CME activity to include financial relationships of a spouse or partner.
Relevant Financial Relationships: Defined as financial relationships in any amount occurring within the past 12 months that create a conflict of interest. They are considered relationships with commercial interests in the 12-month period preceding the time that the individual is being asked to assume a role controlling content of the CME activity. There is not a set minimal dollar amount for relationships to be relevant. Inherent in any amount is the incentive to maintain or increase the value of the relationship.
Role or Activity: Employment, management position, independent contractor (including contracted research), consulting, speaking and teaching, membership on advisory committees or review panels, board membership, and other activities.
Compensation: Salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, research grant, consulting fee, speaker fee, ownership interest (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interest, excluding diversified mutual funds), or other financial benefit.
DISCLAIMER
If the Milton H. Erickson Foundation (hereby referred to as MHEF) cannot hold the Intensive Training seminars due to acts of nature, war, government regulations, disaster, civil disorder or curtailment of transportation facilitating other emergencies making it inadvisable, illegal, or impossible to provide the facilities or to hold the meeting, each prepaid attendee will receive a copy of related handouts and any other materials that would have been distributed. Fixed expenses will be paid from the pre-registration funds. Remaining funds will be refunded to pre-registrants. MHEF is not responsible for any other costs incurred by pre-registrants in connection with the Intensive Training.
The views and opinions expressed by presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of MHEF.
MHEF disclaims any responsibility for the use and application of information presented at this training.
CANCELLATION POLICY
All cancellations must be received in writing prior to the first-class session. Cancellation requests can be submitted to support@erickson-foundation.org. If the request is made 2 weeks prior of the first day of each class, a full refund will be granted. If the request is made within 2 weeks of the first day of each class, a $50 administrative fee will be taken. No refunds will be issued after the course begins.
CONTACT
Please contact support@erickson-foundation.org for inquiries.