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2023 Plenary Speaker

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2023 Daily Schedule-at-a-Glance

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2023 Keynote Speaker

Healing the Counseling Profession in the Midst of Oppression

Session Description: 

Healing from a series of social and political traumas can involve a complicated process for historically marginalized communities and requires a more nuanced perspective of stakeholders, community care, and larger social initiatives. Given the systemic discrimination and harmful legislation instituted across the United States, the process of healing from traumatic incidents is not mutually exclusive from larger forces of oppression, such as racism, genderism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and classism, that intersect with institutional histories. For several communities harmed by recent legislation and public incivilities, what emerges from the links between oppression and trauma can leave long-lasting effects on professional and public communities. With a professional identity centered in multiculturalism and social justice, professional counselors have a unique opportunity to build coalitions, employ interpersonal and systemic interventions, and play a role in a legacy of healing. Dr. Chan will discuss five applicable and practical approaches that call for professional counselors to leverage community and activist interventions, promote healing, and highlight systemic factors for long-term change.

Learning Objectives:

• Outline the relationships among oppression and trauma in social, historical, and political events relevant to counseling.
• Envision practical ways of healing that draw from community welfare, mutual aid, and collectivistic approaches.
• Address systemic factors that sustain long-term change for wellness, resilience, and hope in the midst of oppression

Christian D. Chan

Christian D. Chan (he, him, his), PhD, NCC is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a proud Queer Person of Color. His interests revolve around intersectionality and the effects of oppression on career development and access to counseling. Dedicated to mentorship for leaders and scholars, he has actively contributed to over 75 peer-reviewed publications in journals, books, and edited volumes and has conducted over 150 refereed presentations at the national, regional, and state levels. He currently serves as Associate Editor for Teaching and Supervision in Counseling.

2023 Plenary Speaker

Resilience Rocks:  Surviving and Thriving After Adversity

Session Description:

What is resilience and do we all have it? Consider when you experienced your biggest life challenge/s. What were the first thoughts that came to mind for you?  Perhaps it was, “How am I going to get through this?” Or “I will never survive this!” Or “I am doomed.”  Or maybe your reaction was, “I got this!” Resilience is one of those constructs that’s easily miscalculated. In this plenary session, you will be invited to contemplate your level of resilience and assess the degree to which you have honored the authenticity and legitimacy of your adverse experiences.  The paradigm of building resilience is often seen as being linear – either you are or you are not.  Science-backed strategies for building resilience do not support this notion. Therefore, we will talk about how you have, and for some, how you presently experience, receive, and confront adversity using your natural strengths and learned behaviors. 

Objectives:

• Learning to honor our authentic selves by recognizing the legitimacy of our adversity
• Acquire techniques to use our trauma narrative as a form of awareness/insight
• Adapting practical skills to facilitate rebounding from adversity and overcoming the effects of trauma

Lotes Nelson, Ph.D., LCMHC, ACS, NCC

“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it”

– Maya Angelou

Dr. Lotes Nelson is an Associate Professor at the University of the Cumberlands. She is also a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a National Certified Counselor. She is also an award recipient of the prestigious National Board for Certified Counselor Doctoral Minority Fellowship. Dr. Nelson serves as a member of the Association for Creativity in Counseling Board of Directors and a previous member of the Florida Counseling Association and the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of North Carolina Board of Directors along with her many leadership roles in the mental health field and community-at-large. Notably, Dr. Nelson received The Samuel T. Gladding Inspiration and Motivation Award to recognize her inclusive practice through humility, collaboration, creativity, and expression through growth-fostering connections and cooperation. Most recently, she was awarded the Association for Humanistic Counseling 2023 Joe and Lucille Hollis Publication Award.

As an immigrant to the United States, Dr. Nelson knows what it takes to overcome struggles and challenges. Having migrated to the U.S. without knowing a soul and/or the language, she has encountered her fair share of what this transition brings to a person. However, her life story does not start there. She was born the youngest in her family of 11 where they were certifiably destitute and always had to work daily to ensure they were able to secure food on the table for each meal. Dr. Nelson is excited to share her experiences that have given her the authority to own her life trajectory through compassion given by herself and others, and the insight that she consistently works on to be able to face any life challenges directly. You will hear about her “can do” attitude as a means to reach her goals. Her tenacity, drive, curiosity, and unwavering optimism pushed her to rise above extreme adversities and reach the summit of achievements, both professionally and personally.

Through her passion for helping others, you will hear how one’s pain/struggles turn into hope and courage. Dr. Nelson will share the tools that she has used to access grace and resilience in the face of challenges.