2023 Living Health • Balance • Hope Symposium

The Science of
Resilience & Optimism

How to Grow through Surprises, Setbacks, & Challenges

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 • 8:00AM - 4:00PM CDT • $175
Valparaiso University/Harre Union • 1509 Chapel Drive • Valparaiso, IN
Hosted by the Porter-Starke Services Foundation

Resilience & Optimism Keynote Breakfast • 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Explore the science of resilience and learn practical skills to navigate adversity and grow through challenges. Review the meaning of resilience, describe the factors that contribute to it, and focus on the role of optimism in coping with setbacks. Take away six strategies that create an optimistic mindset.

Avoid Thinking Traps Session 1 • 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
In the therapy room, we often encounter thinking traps that undercut resilience, making it difficult to maintain an optimistic mindset. Learn to recognize common thinking traps, understand how they arise, and develop mental cues to challenge them. 

Real-time Resilience Session 2 • 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Counter-productive mental chatter can zap our strength and willingness to move through the challenges before us. Discuss four strategies - useful in individual, group and family sessions - that are helpful in developing resilience in the moment, enabling greater focus and confidence.

Multiplying Joy Session 3 • 2:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Learn 'savoring strategies' that lengthen and strengthen one's experience of positive emotions. Learn a communication strategy that builds trust and connection when sharing positive experiences. Discuss four common ways people respond to another person’s positive experiences and how to utilize this in helping people grow.

Continuing Education Units • The Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board has approved this organization to provide Category I Continuing Education for LSW, LCSW, LMFT, LMHC, LAC, LCAC and HSPP. However, licensees must judge the program's relevance to their professional practice. Indiana CEU Provider #98000555A. HSPP Provider #98000597A.