2024 ASMW Pre-Conference/Plenary Faculty
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Elvira Lang, MD, PhDPre-Conference Workshop FacultyElvira Lang, MD, PhD, is an award-winning interventional radiologist known for researching the effectiveness and cost savings of rapid nonpharmacologic techniques in medicine and dentistry. She crystallized these techniques and founded Comfort Talk®. Her large-scale clinical trials demonstrated that the Comfort Talk® skills, including guidance in self-hypnotic relaxation, reduce pain, anxiety, drug use, and complications during invasive medical procedures and improve patients' satisfaction and ability to complete MRI examinations. She (co-)authored "Patient Sedation Without Medication," "Managing Your Medical Experience," and >150 research papers. She received multiple awards and has been featured extensively in the press and on television. | Eric B. Spiegel, PhDPre-Conference Workshop FacultyBryn Mawr & Philadelphia psychologist Eric Spiegel, Ph.D. works with adolescents, adults, couples, and groups. He enjoys helping his clients recognize, develop, and master their inner strengths and resources to deal with a number of concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship issues, and physical psychosomatic symptoms. His relational approach is influenced by attachment theory and self psychology; he also enjoys integrating experiential techniques such as clinical hypnosis into therapy, as applicable. Clients describe Eric as possessing a calm, consistent, and curious demeanor that allows them to feel understood and build self-awareness. They also note that he brings a sense of energy and humor to the room that is active, engaging, and present. This combination allows him to be direct and interactive with clients while maintaining a soothing and collaborative empathic connection. |
Stephen Porges, PhDPlenary Session FacultyStephen W. Porges, PhD is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He has published more than 400 peer‐reviewed scientific papers that have been cited in more than 50,000 peer-review publications. He is the creator of the Polyvagal Theory and a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™, currently used by approximately 3,000 therapists to reduce hearing sensitivities, improve language processing, and increase spontaneous social engagement. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe (Norton, 2017), and Polyvagal Safety, as well as co-author with Seth Porges of Our Polyvagal World (Norton, 2023), and co-editor with Deb Dana of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). Dr. Porges is a founder of the Polyvagal Institute. | Charles H. Bombardier, PhDPlenary Session FacultyDr. Charles Bombardier is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He has worked as a clinician on the inpatient rehabilitation at Harborview Medical Center for over 30 years. He has devoted his scientific career to improving health and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis. His funded research has focused on assessing and treating depression, pain, physical inactivity, grief, substance abuse, and cognitive impairment in people with disabilities. He and his colleagues have conducted more than 20 randomized controlled trials of telehealth interventions, medications, various forms of counseling, and physical exercise. He extends his appreciation to his colleagues Joseph Barber, Dave Patterson, and Mark Jensen, who facilitated his understanding and application of hypnosis. |
Douglas Flemons, PhD, LMFTPlenary Session FacultyProfessor Emeritus of Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University, Douglas Flemons is author of two recent articles in AJCH—“Toward a Relational Theory of Hypnosis” and “Unravelling Depression: Principles and Practices of Clinical Hypnosis”—and of several books, including Of One Mind: The Logic of Hypnosis, the Practice of Therapy and The Heart and Mind of Hypnotherapy (both published by W. W. Norton). He is currently completing a clinical guide to empathy, to be published by APA. Flemons lives in Asheville, NC with his wife, where they maintain a telehealth and consulting practice (www.contextconsultants.com). | [Duplicate] Douglas Flemons, PhD, LMFTPlenary Session FacultyProfessor Emeritus of Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University, Douglas Flemons is author of two recent articles in AJCH—“Toward a Relational Theory of Hypnosis” and “Unravelling Depression: Principles and Practices of Clinical Hypnosis”—and of several books, including Of One Mind: The Logic of Hypnosis, the Practice of Therapy and The Heart and Mind of Hypnotherapy (both published by W. W. Norton). He is currently completing a clinical guide to empathy, to be published by APA. Flemons lives in Asheville, NC with his wife, where they maintain a telehealth and consulting practice (www.contextconsultants.com). |
