OPA Spirituality Retreat Call for Programs

The Ohio Psychological Association invites program proposals for the 2012 Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat, to be held March 2-3 at Mohican State Park Lodge in Loudonville. November 18 is the deadline for proposals. Fill out this form to submit your proposal.


Why This Conference?

Therapeutic  models are increasingly  focused on meditative practice and/or mindfulness components (e.g. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) and are being empirically supported as effective for a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, OCD, compulsive/addictive behaviors, borderline personality disorder, stress management, eating disorders, and PTSD. In addition, both meditative practices and the development of the spiritual self  have been found to  promote psychologists’ own sense of well-being, an important aspect of our self-care given the intense nature of our professional work. Finally, awareness of our clients’ individual spiritual journeys is crucial in treating the whole person, and in aiding us in our awareness and sensitivity to the diversity among our client population. 

 

Proposal Requirements   

OPA-CE standards require that all courses be pertinent to the theory, practice and methodology of psychology, taught at the post-licensure level/graduate level and enable a psychologist to provide better psychological care to the consumer.

 

Please keep this in mind when developing your program:

 

  • OPA supports programs that allow for the interaction of participants and address cutting edge research or create discussion or thought. Presenters are required to write learn objectives, use handouts and—where appropriate—use interactive training techniques.
  • Programs chosen for the Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat typically include a brief didactic component, e.g. how the topic addresses the theory, research or practice of psychology and summary of the appropriate literature and at least 70-95% experiential components and discussions.

 

Topics Requested for 2012

While all proposals are welcome, the organizing committee is also interested in receiving proposals that involve:

-          A panel on world religions (experientially based if possible)

-        Mindfulness based meditation

-        Workshop focusing on handling the traumatic aspects of therapy, eg having a client suicide, hearing traumatic material from clients such as abuse, dealing with highly argumentative families/couples, etc. from a spiritual/psychological perspective.

 

Equal consideration is given to all submissions and we encourage you to submit any program that fits the theme of psychology and spirituality.


Diversity and Multiculturalism

To stay consistent with OPA’s commitment to diversity and multiculturalism, we advocate proposals that reflect an appreciation and awareness of these issues. Presenters are asked to explain how their workshop addresses and/or integrates diversity issues into the topic.

 

Writing Learning Objectives 

For the learning objectives piece of this application, learning objectives are statements that clearly describe what the attendee will know or be able to do because of having attended this program.

The must be:

1)       observable and measurable;

2)       should focus on the learner, and,

3)       contain action verbs that describe measurable behaviors.

Ethics Credit

Workshops wanting ethics credit must have associated learning objectives that clearly indicate a focus on ethics. Programs that qualify for ethics credit include: Risk Management Issues; Confidentiality; Ethics of Supervision; Boundaries; HIPAA Requirements; Dual Relationships; Professional Impairment; Financial Ethics; Limits and Expansion of Competencies; Representation of Training and Credentialing; Specific ethical principles listed in the APA ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct manual; Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, Section 4732.17.


Please note: our speakers to our Spirituality Retreat are not given an honorarium. They cover their basic expenses and in return, are given free CEs for the Retreat.


Submit your proposal today!

 



Ohio Psychological Association
395 E. Broad St. #310
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 224-0034 or (800) 783-1983
Fax: (614) 224-2059
OPA MCE
Phone: (614) 224-9620 or (888) 672-6231
Fax: (614) 224-6702