AACC 2026 National Conference
Professional Counseling & Coaching
Pre-Conference Workshops
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005. At a Crossroads: Ethical, Legal, and Advocacy Challenges for Faith-based Mental Health Professionals
Summary: This pre-conference session reviews some of the key ethical and legal challenges facing faith-based mental professionals, including psychologists, other licensed mental health professionals, as well as pastoral counselors and coaches. Faith-based mental...
006. Decision-making for Flourishing: Integrating Faith, Science, and the Spirit–Mind–Body Framework
Summary: In a world overflowing with choices, whether in ministry or clinical care, psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, medical personnel, and ministry leaders guide others in making decisions every day, yet few ever learn actual decision-making...
007. Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT-C): From Distress to Connection
Summary: Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples is one of the most research-supported and effective therapeutic approaches for helping partners move from distress to emotional connection. This session will explore EFT’s 9-step transformational process that can...
008. The Angry Client: Diffusing Hostile Emotions and Restoring Healthy Relationships
Summary: Emotions are a part of daily life for all clients, but understanding these emotions and how to work with them can be difficult at times for willing Christian clients. Starting with a sound biblical and theological foundation of what it means to be made in the...
009. The Power of Social Connection: Assessing and Addressing Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Disconnection
Summary: Loneliness and social connection have become increasingly important topics, with the U.S. Surgeon General (2023) declaring loneliness as an “epidemic.” Recent prevalence estimates of loneliness range from 10% to 50% of various populations in the U.S. Reserach...
010. Neurotheology in Mental Health: Applying Brain-based Principles for Resilience, Recovery, and Human Flourishing
Summary: Neurotheology has gained notoriety lately within academic research since it infuses faith and an understanding of the brain and its development and maintenance. In this workshop, psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, medical personnel, and...
011. From Burnout to Breakthrough: Proven Strategies to Restore Energy, Focus, and Flourishing in Leadership
Summary: Burnout happens to many executives, professionals, and ministry leaders; the price of leadership is often high. In this workshop, psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, medical personnel, and ministry leaders will examine a faith-based,...
016. The Flourishing Coach: Advancing Coaching Skills and the Personal Wellbeing of the Coach
Summary: This interactive session is designed for coaches who are ready to move beyond the basics and sharpen their effectiveness. Coaches and ministry leaders will engage in advanced mentor coaching strategies and will explore practices for cultivating the personal...
017. Parenting Under Pressure: Helping Parents Navigate Their Children’s Mental Health Journey
Summary: Children are showing more mental health issues than ever before, which means that parents are having to help their children navigate their mental health journeys. Psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, medical personnel, and ministry leaders...
018. The Neurobiology of Grief and Loss: Somatic and Experiential Treatment Interventions
Summary: This workshop will review research and information on how the human brain and body experience loss and the impact of grief. Licensed mental health professionals, medical personnel, and ministry leaders can better understand how attachment bonds form in the...
019. Abuse, Trauma, and the Emotionally Destructive Relationship
Summary: A common nursery rhyme is, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Unfortunately, it is well known that words harm people, even the Holy Bible describes reckless words as piercing like a sword. Some faith-based communities have...
020. Principled, Professional, and Personal Integration: Psychology and Theology in Clinical Practice
Summary: The integration of theology and psychology has been debated and written about for many decades, but in this workshop participants will examine Principled (theoretical-conceptual and research), Professional (clinical or practice), and Personal (intrapersonal...
021. Wired for (Dis)connection: How Attachment, Trauma, and ADHD Shape the Emotional Brain
Summary: From a Judeo-Chrisitan worldview, God designed people for connection—to experience the security that comes from deep bonds with Him and with others. Yet both nature and nurture can disrupt this design. Neurodevelopmental challenges such as ADHD, childhood...
022. Flourishing in Sustainable Recovery from Pornography Use, Compulsive Sexual Behavior, and Partner Betrayal Trauma
Summary: Summary: Sustainable recovery from pornography use, compulsive sexual behavior, and partner betrayal trauma requires more than stopping harmful behaviors; it involves rebuilding a life marked by integrity, connection, and emotional health. This presentation...
023. Strategies for Counseling Marriages in Distress
Summary: For over 27 years Focus Marital Therapy (FMT) has been developed as a key integrative intervention approach to work with willing Christian marriages in crisis. In this workshop, psychologists, licensed mental health professionals, and ministry leaders will...