2026 Conference Schedule

Check in, pick up your name badge and tote bag, and enjoy coffee or tea while browsing the vendor expo and networking with colleagues before sessions begin.

Kick off the conference with an energizing welcome from YCMHA, an overview of the event, and key updates on the state of mental health in Montana. This session sets the tone for two days of connection, learning, and collaboration.

Rural communities often face significant barriers to accessing timely mental health care, especially for children and adolescents. This session explores integrating private practice therapy into rural school settings as a practical solution to bridge gaps in care. Participants will examine the benefits and challenges of school-based services, including ethical considerations and collaboration with key stakeholders. 

Drawing from current research and real-world application, we’ll cover how to navigate complex systems while maintaining clear roles and professional boundaries. Attendees will leave with actionable insight into implementing school-based models that effectively support youth mental health in rural communities.

Somatic Integration offers a body-centered approach to healing that connects cognitive insight with patterns held in the nervous system, tissues, and breath. This session introduces Somatic Integration through a trauma-informed lens, drawing from practices such as Reiki, Craniosacral Therapy, and intuitive somatic assessment. Participants will learn to recognize subtle somatic cues—like changes in breath, muscle tone, and body language—and understand how they relate to trauma and nervous system dysregulation. 

Through guided discussion and practical application, attendees will explore techniques such as grounding, sensory tracking, and nervous system stabilization. Participants will leave with a clear, adaptable framework and practical tools to support deeper, embodied healing in clinical practice.

Join small-group conversations designed to spark practical ideas and collaboration. Eight roundtables, each limited to 8 participants will focus on specific topics such as rural access, trauma-informed care, telehealth, workforce well-being, and more. Attendees will participate in two 25-minute discussions, choosing different tables each round.

Pause to recharge with coffee or tea and take time to explore the vendor expo. This is a great opportunity to connect with sponsors, gather resources, and network with colleagues before heading into the next round of sessions.

The rising use of GLP-1 medications has introduced new considerations for clinicians, particularly when working with clients vulnerable to eating disorders. While often presented as a simple solution for weight management, these medications can mimic or intensify restrictive patterns and complicate assessment. 

This session explores the risks associated with GLP-1 use, including how weight-focused metrics can obscure early warning signs and reinforce bias in clinical decision-making. Through case-based discussion, participants will learn to identify red flags, apply weight-inclusive assessment strategies, and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration. Attendees will leave with practical tools to support client safety, informed consent, and ethical, client-centered care.

Working in helping professions can be deeply meaningful, but it can also take a significant personal toll. When self-care remains abstract or idealized, stress, burnout, and secondary trauma can quietly build over time. 

This session moves beyond buzzwords to explore what sustainable self-care looks like in real life, both inside and outside of professional roles. Participants will learn practical strategies to shift their relationship with stress and recognize and prevent the impact of secondary trauma. Attendees will leave with realistic tools to support resilience, healthy boundaries, and long-term balance.

Join small-group conversations designed to spark practical ideas and collaboration. Eight roundtables, each limited to 8 participants will focus on specific topics such as rural access, trauma-informed care, telehealth, workforce well-being, and more. Attendees will participate in two 25-minute discussions, choosing different tables each round.

Recharge with a catered lunch and take time to connect with colleagues. This mid-day break is a chance to relax, share insights from the morning sessions, and continue building connections with providers from across Montana.

Hear directly from Montana providers who are finding innovative ways to overcome barriers and expand access to care in their communities. This interactive panel will highlight practical examples of collaboration, creativity, and resilience, followed by audience Q&A to spark conversation and connection.

Vulnerability sits at the core of both mental health and mental illness, with the power to foster connection or deepen shame and isolation. In Montana’s largely rural landscape, limited access to resources can lead to vulnerability being misunderstood, increasing disconnection. 

This session explores research on vulnerability and shame and translates it into practical, clinically relevant interventions. Participants will break down these concepts into approachable language that promotes curiosity, compassion, and connection. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools that can be applied across ages, populations, and clinical settings.

Working with individuals who have experienced complex trauma requires careful awareness and intentionality. Without attention to language, treatment approaches, and interpersonal demeanor, clinicians may unintentionally hinder progress. 

This workshop uses interactive discussion and activities to explore what complex trauma is and how it presents in clinical work. Participants will identify common mistakes and deepen their understanding of effective interventions and relational approaches. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to support safe, effective, and trauma-informed care.

Supervision plays a critical role in developing competent, ethical, and confident counselors. When supervision lacks structure or clear ethical grounding, it can hinder growth and compromise professional readiness. This workshop supports counselors, supervisors, and educators in strengthening supervision practices through ethical, developmental, and competency-based approaches. 

Participants will explore best practices across key areas, including roles, feedback, case conceptualization, cultural responsiveness, and preparation for independent practice. Attendees will leave with practical tools to enhance supervision quality and support effective, ethical clinical work.

Take advantage of this final opportunity to visit the vendor hall, explore resources, and connect with sponsors and exhibitors before the conference wraps up for the day.

This presentation focuses on practical coaching and mentoring techniques for identifying and developing leadership skills in emerging clinicians. Emphasis will be placed on supporting growth beyond clinical competence to include confidence, initiative, and professional identity. 

Participants will explore strategies for passing on best practices while also creating opportunities for ongoing learning and development. The session highlights the importance of mentorship in strengthening the future of the profession. Attendees will leave with actionable approaches to foster leadership and growth in the next generation of clinicians.

Accurate assessment and appropriate placement are essential for effective substance use treatment. This session provides an overview of the ASAM Criteria as they apply to Chemical Dependency Evaluations, helping clinicians interpret findings and make informed level-of-care recommendations. Participants will explore distinctions between levels of care and how these decisions guide treatment planning. 

The session will also highlight local recovery and self-help resources in Billings and surrounding communities to support continuity of care. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of ASAM-guided evaluations, community resources, and emerging substance use trends relevant to practice.

The digital landscape has transformed how sex and porn addiction develops and how betrayal trauma is experienced by partners. This session explores key shifts, including dating apps, digital infidelity, and the rise of AI companion technology and synthetic content. 

Clinicians will gain a clear understanding of how these factors accelerate the addiction cycle and create unique forms of betrayal trauma often missed in traditional assessment. The presentation covers concepts such as the “real person defense,” partial digital discovery, device transparency, and emerging patterns of AI attachment. Participants will leave with expanded intake questions, practical clinical language, and tools ready for immediate use.

Join us as we close out the first day with key highlights, important announcements, and a preview of what's ahead on Day 2, including a sneak peek at our keynote session.

Unwind after a full day of learning with light appetizers, a cash bar, and great company. This casual mixer is the perfect chance to connect with colleagues, build new relationships, and enjoy some fun together before Day 2.

Start your morning with coffee and informal networking. This relaxed time gives you a chance to reconnect with colleagues, meet new peers, and get energized before diving into the keynote session.

Engagement is essential in working with individuals and communities experiencing trauma, overwhelm, and deep distress. As professionals engage in this work, they are often impacted by secondary trauma within their own brain, body, and nervous system. Traditional self-care models have placed the burden solely on the individual, often pathologizing these responses rather than fully understanding them. 

Drawing from neuroscience, trauma, and attachment theory, this keynote offers a new perspective on how awareness and connection can transform this impact. Attendees will learn how to harness these experiences to build resilience and create more sustainable, connected approaches to their work.

Take a quick pause to recharge with coffee or tea and enjoy informal networking. A few of our vendors are still set up in the expo room—stop by to explore resources and connect before they wrap up.

Perinatal mental health concerns affect approximately one in five birthing individuals, yet many families in Montana face barriers to timely, coordinated care—especially in rural communities. This session explores practical ways clinicians can help bridge these gaps using evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive approaches. 

Participants will learn strategies for identifying perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, strengthening referral networks, and supporting families during times of transition. Through case examples and interactive discussion, attendees will be introduced to resources from Postpartum Support International. Participants will leave with tangible frameworks to enhance continuity of care and increased confidence in supporting perinatal mental health.

As the need for mental health support continues to outpace available resources, professionals can no longer afford to work in isolation. This session invites clinicians and helping professionals to explore the power of ethical, collaborative care across disciplines. Drawing from research and lived experience, participants will examine how collaboration can improve outcomes, expand access, and reduce burnout. 

The session offers practical strategies for building trusting partnerships while maintaining clear roles and ethical responsibility. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to foster connection and strengthen both individual practice and broader systems of care.

Codependency and boundary diffusion often appear in clinical work—not only in clients, but within clinicians themselves. This session explores how these patterns develop, how they show up in therapy, and how well-intentioned helping behaviors can reinforce over-functioning and burnout. Participants will examine common clinical traps such as rescuing, emotional over-responsibility, blurred roles, and avoidance of rupture. 

The session also addresses parallel process and how a clinician’s own attachment and boundary patterns can shape the therapeutic relationship. Attendees will leave with increased self-awareness, practical strategies, and tools to support healthy boundaries and sustainable clinical practice.

Recharge with a catered lunch and take time to connect with colleagues. This mid-day break is a chance to relax, share insights from the morning sessions, and continue building connections with providers from across Montana.

This session brings everyone back together to explore system-level strategies for strengthening Montana's mental health network. Presenters will highlight opportunities for interagency collaboration, policy innovation, and cross-discipline partnerships that can expand access, reduce barriers, and create a more connected continuum of care across the state.

In high-stakes moments of crisis, mental health professionals must go beyond de-escalation to support regulation, restore agency, and guide informed decision-making. This session explores advanced, field-tested strategies for engaging individuals in acute distress. 

Through interactive learning, including case examples, role-play, and reflective discussion, participants will practice nuanced approaches in a supportive environment. Emphasis will be placed on promoting safety while honoring autonomy, dignity, and emotional containment. Attendees will leave with practical tools to navigate complex crisis situations with greater confidence and clinical clarity.

Sensory processing plays a critical yet often overlooked role in mental health across the lifespan. When sensory needs go unrecognized, they can present as anxiety, avoidance, restlessness, or behavioral challenges, leading to misinterpretation or misdiagnosis. This session explores the connection between sensory processing and mental health through a trauma-informed, interdisciplinary lens. 

Participants will examine how different sensory systems influence emotional regulation, stress responses, and behavior. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to support accurate assessment and integrate sensory-informed care into treatment and everyday interactions.

Join small-group conversations designed to spark practical ideas and collaboration. Eight roundtables, each limited to 8 participants will focus on specific topics such as rural access, trauma-informed care, telehealth, workforce well-being, and more. Attendees will participate in two 25-minute discussions, choosing different tables each round.

Take a moment to recharge and connect with colleagues one last time before the closing session. This is your final chance to network, exchange contact information, and reflect on the ideas you'll carry forward from the conference.

Mental health is deeply influenced by the body, particularly the nervous system, breath, and responses to stress over time. This experiential session introduces Qigong as a gentle, evidence-informed practice using slow movement, breath awareness, and focused attention to support regulation and clarity. 

Participants will be guided through an accessible sequence designed to calm the nervous system, release tension, and promote grounding. Brief educational insights will highlight how movement impacts brain function, stress response, and emotional balance. Attendees will leave with practical, adaptable tools to support both personal well-being and professional practice.

Breathwork can be a powerful tool for regulation, emotional release, and self-awareness when grounded in a nervous system-informed, body-led approach. This session emphasizes safety, choice, and attunement rather than performance or control. 

Through guided experiential learning and discussion, participants will explore how breathwork supports emotional processing and nervous system regulation. The session will distinguish therapeutic breathwork from more activation-focused practices and highlight ethical, effective application. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of body-led breathwork and practical ways to integrate it into personal and professional settings.

Sound has a powerful impact on the brain and nervous system, supporting regulation, clarity, and emotional balance. This session explores how sound influences neural rhythms and stress responses through principles of frequency, vibration, and cymatics. 

Through experiential learning and brief psychoeducation, participants will gain insight into sound’s role in nervous system regulation. Attendees will also be guided through a restorative sound bath using a variety of instruments to promote relaxation and internal coherence. Participants will leave with a grounded understanding of how to use sound intentionally to support well-being across settings.

We'll close the conference with final thank-yous to our sponsors, speakers, and volunteers, and share upcoming YCMHA initiatives so you leave with inspiration and a clear sense of what's ahead.