LaMiss 2023

LaMiss Conference 2023 | Conferencia LaMiss 2023

From the LaMiss 2023 Program Committee:

We wanted to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for the participation and valuable contributions folks made to make the LaMiss 2023 Conference a resounding success. Your enthusiasm and engagement truly made the conference an enriching experience for everyone involved. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to the distinguished speakers and presenters who shared their expertise; your presentations were enlightening and sparked intellectual curiosity among participants, fostering meaningful conversations. We extend a special thanks to our keynote speakers, Luisa Cañón, Worner Leland, Linda Hayes, Mitch Fryling, Emily Sandoz, Evelyn Gould, and Kelly Wilson.

The diversity of perspectives and expertise represented in our esteemed attendees is truly remarkable, and it was evident in the thought-provoking discussions and insightful presentations we witnessed throughout the weekend. Each session brought a unique blend of knowledge and inspiration, creating an intellectually stimulating environment that exemplified the spirit of the community.

Allow us to highlight a few standout moments from the weekend that left a lasting impression:

Emily Sandoz offered Appetitive Learning as a goal of CBS and invited a commitment to only programming appetitive consequences - "All Appetitive All the Time."
Worner Leland oriented us to ways to use our power to create contexts of trust that support assent and dissent repertoires.
Linda Hayes and Mitch Fryling provided an overview of interbehavioral psychology as a scientific system, highlighting practical implications for behavior analysis today.
Kelly Wilson led a novel discussion on behavioral phenomenology and the poetics of behavior.
Luisa Cañón and Evelyn Gould led us in an examination of the non-technical behavior of the scientist and the profound impact it can have on our work.

To all attendees, we extend our sincere thanks for your active participation, engaging discussion, and willingness to learn from one another which made this conference a success. We would also like to acknowledge the generous values and means-based donations that supported our translator and keynote honoraria. Your commitment to fostering academic exchange played a pivotal role in bringing the LaMiss Conference to fruition and increasing accessibility, and we are grateful for your invaluable support.

As we reflect on the knowledge shared and connections formed during the conference, let us carry forward the insights gained and continue to make meaningful contributions to the field of Contextual Behavioral Science. We hope that the connections forged at LaMiss will lead to fruitful collaborations, shared discoveries, and a deeper understanding of the challenges we face as clinicians, researchers, and academics. The success of this conference is attributed to each and every one of you, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this vibrant community. Without you, we could not have done this.

We look forward to hosting you again in the future!

Until next time, LaMiss 2023 Program Committee

Schedule of Events | Programación de Eventos

LaMiss 2023 Program.docx

LaMiss 2023 Schedule.docx

LaMiss 2023 Program en Español.docx

Invited Speakers | Ponentes Invitados

Emily Sandoz, PhD

Dr. Emily K. Sandoz is the Emma Louise LeBlanc Burguieres/BORSF Endowed Professor of Social Sciences in the Psychology Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Emily is the Director of the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Sciences. They have co-authored three books on acceptance and commitment therapy for struggles with eating and body image, along with chapters and journal articles on ACT, Relational Frame Theory, values, the therapeutic relationship, and psychological flexibility. Emily has led more than 50 professional training workshops around the world, and serves as a peer-reviewed ACT trainer. They also practice as a Clinical Psychologist.

Linda Hayes, PhD

Linda Hayes is a Distinguished Faculty Emerita at the University of Nevada, Reno. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba in Canada and her graduate degrees from Western Michigan University. She was a member of the Behavior Analysis faculty at West Virginia University while completing her doctorate, after which she returned to Canada, taking a position at St. Mary’s University.

Linda co-founded the Behavior Analysis Program at the University of Nevada, Reno on a self-capitalization model and served as its director for over a decade. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the training of behavior analysts including an Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University, the Fred S. Keller Award for Teaching of Behavior Analysis from APA’s Division 25, an Outstanding Alumna Award from Western Michigan University and, for the program she founded, a SABA Award for Enduring Contributions to Behavior Analysis. Linda also founded UNR’s Satellite Programs in Behavior Analysis, currently serving students Saudi Arabia, China, and Kenya. Her efforts in this regard have earned her a Global Engagement Award from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a SABA International Development Award.

Linda is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and has served two terms as its President. Linda’s scholarly interests have ranged from the experimental analysis of animal behavior to the logic of science. She has authored 13 books and over 180 journal articles and chapters

Mitch Fryling, PhD

Mitch received his B.S. and M.A. in Psychology from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is currently interim dean in the College of Education. Mitch was previously a lecturer, professor, associate chair, chair, and associate dean at Cal State LA. Mitch's scholarly interests are diverse, including both applied/clinical and theoretical/philosophical areas.

The majority of this work centers on interbehaviorism and interbehavioral psychology and involves efforts to incorporate interbehavioral thinking in behavior analysis (e.g., conceptualizing behavior as a participant in a complex, multi-factored field rather than a linear contingency). He has published many papers, book chapters, and given numerous presentations at conferences related to these issues over the years.

Mitch is a Licensed Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral with a range of clinical experience working with children, families, consulting in schools, day programs, hospitals, and providing outpatient psychotherapy.

Kelly Wilson, PhD

Kelly G. Wilson, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Mississippi and winner of multiple awards for teaching and mentoring at the University at Mississippi. He is Past President and Fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Wilson has devoted himself to the development and dissemination of ACT and its underlying theory and philosophy for the past 25 years, and has published more than 90 articles and chapters, as well as 11 books including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change, The Wisdom to Know the Difference: An ACT Workbook for Overcoming Substance Abuse, and most recently Using ACT to Treat Anorexia and the Spectrum of Anorectic Behavior.

He has central interests in the application of behavioral principles to understanding topics such as purpose, meaning and values. In recent years, he has become fascinated by the link between ACT, evolution science, and the modern epidemic of chronic life-style illnesses. Wilson is a co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and has presented workshops and provided consultancy in 32 countries.

Worner Leland, MS, BCBA, LBA

Worner Leland (they/them pronouns) is a researcher and educator at Upswing Advocates and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at Empowered: A Center for Sexuality as well as at Precision ABA. For the past several years, Worner has also served as a sex educator with a focus on expanding affirming sexual education, consent and assent education, body autonomy education, harm reduction in behavior analysis, and maximizing autonomy and access to appetitives. Worner is also a past President and past Research and Dissemination Liaison of the ABAI Sexual Behavior Research and Practice SIG.

Luisa Cañon, PsyD, BCBA-D

Luisa Cañon is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) where she studied under the mentorship of Linda Hayes. She obtained a doctorate in Applied Clinical Psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology where she evaluated the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in a group format on Latino families with children with developmental disabilities. Before she completed her doctorate, Luisa worked as a behavioral consultant for the North Los Angeles County Regional Center, as well as the liaison to other regional centers in California. Later, in 2010, she founded the Institute for Effective Behavioral Interventions (IEBI), a behavioral agency that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, where she currently serves as the Clinical Director.

Luisa has taught ACT and Behavior Analysis courses to Ph.D. and Master’s students, frequently present at professional conferences, and conduct applied research. Other clinical experience includes working with at-risk populations in a detention facility and conducting individual, group, and family behavioral therapy using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) in Bogota, Colombia.

Her areas of interest are clinical behavior analysis, complex human behavior and the application of ACT with individuals with special needs and their families, parent training, the implementation of ACT in the workplace and the use of behavioral principles to teach ACT. Her ongoing goal is to contribute to the field through training, research, and dissemination of contextual behavioral science.

Evelyn Gould, PhD, BCBA-D

Evelyn Gould is a Licensed Psychologist and Clinical Behavior Analyst who has been working with families for almost two decades. They are passionate about taking an individualized approach to supporting children and young people, and empowering parents. Evelyn trained under Dr. Lisa Coyne, at the McLean Child and Adolescent OCD Institute (OCDI Jr.), in addition to having extensive experience supporting families of children and young people with chronic mental health and behavioral challenges across a wide variety of settings. They have particular expertise in supporting Autistic individual and strive to provide a safe, affirmative, compassionate and empowering space for both Neurodiverse and LGBTQIA youth. They are a Clinical Associate at McLean Hospital (Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), and a Research Associate in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her work reflects personal and professional values of authenticity, compassion, social justice, and cultural humility. Evelyn has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters on assessment and treatment, and frequently presents around the globe at professional conferences and other events.

Pre-Conference Workshop

Emily Sandoz, PhD

Nurturing Roots to Reach New Heights: Revisiting Foundations of ACT as Clinical Behavior Analysis for Mastering Flexible, Process-Based Implementation

Dates: Monday July 10th, Tuesday July 11th, & Wednesday July 12th

Times: 1PM-5PM (CST)

Location: Zoom

Registration Fee: $150

This pre-conference workshop is a 12-hour workshop split into three 4-hour chunks across three days: Monday, July 10th – Wednesday, July 12th from 1PM-5PM CST.

Click here to read more about the Pre-Conference Workshop

Nurturing Roots to Reach New Heights: Revisiting Foundations of ACT as Clinical Behavior Analysis for Mastering Flexible, Process-Based Implementation

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is defined by its behavior analytic roots and its focus on building flexibility into the behavioral repertoire. Many ACT clinicians, however, find behavior analytic language lacking in its ability to capture and inform the clinical work they do every day. Instead, ACT assessments and interventions are typically guided by less specific, “mid-level terms,” such as acceptance, defusion, and values. While mid-level terms certainly reduce the barriers to learning ACT as a new approach, they may unnecessarily limit the clinicians’ application of ACT to the creation and use of techniques, exercises, and metaphors that target flexibility components. This workshop offers practice with an alternative approach to ACT mastery - ACT as clinical behavior analysis.

ACT as clinical behavior analysis is simply the direct clinical application of functional contextual behavioral science and behavior analytic theory, typically in a talk therapy format. Many have dismissed behavior analysis as cold, rigid, and overly technical. However, practicing ACT as clinical behavior analysis tends to bring clinicians closer to practicing in a way that is connected, compassionate, and closely attuned to the therapist-client interaction. Far from building in rigidity, practicing ACT as clinical behavior analysis fosters innovation and therapist growth.

Using an experiential approach that progressively builds skills across three half days, participants will practice the functional analysis of moment-to-moment therapy process in service of building clients’ psychological flexibility. These practice opportunities will begin with only the most basic philosophical assumptions underlying ACT and move through principles that are increasingly specific, converging on the ACT components that are typically described in mid-level terms. Participants will leave the workshop with a simple but effective behavioral framework in hand for providing clients opportunities to develop flexible, adaptive, and expansive patterns of behavior that extend far beyond the therapy room.

Learning Objectives:

Following this workshop participants will be able to:

Describe three clinical implications of functional contextualism for clinical behavior analysis.
Analyze talk therapy interventions in terms of the function game vs. the correspondence game.
Analyze talk therapy interventions by tracking the functional relationship between context and behavior.
Analyze talk therapy interventions by tracking behaviors under aversive and appetitive control.
Demonstrate clinical behavior analytic interventions based on analyses of aversive and appetitive control.
Describe the psychological flexibility model of clinical behavioral intervention in behavioral terms.
Demonstrate interventions that manipulate immediate conditions to build psychological flexibility.

Target Audience: Intermediate, Advanced, ClinicalComponents: Conceptual analysis, Experiential exercises, Case presentation, Role play

Call for Submissions | Convocatoria para enviar presentaciones

This year, the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group will be hosting the LaMiss (Louisiana-Mississippi) Conference online July 14 & 15, 2023. We are hoping to have a combination of symposia, panel discussions, and mini workshops. We also invite folks to get creative and submit something in a unique format! Our conferences typically include behavior analysts, psychologists, counselors, coaches, social workers, academics, and other folks who get jazzed about behavior. All topics related to Contextual Behavioral Science will be considered and we strongly encourage people from all educational, professional, and personal backgrounds to consider submitting! This year, we are aiming to maximize accessibility of our work by running the conference online, and including Spanish (to and from English) translation.

Event Information

What: 2023 Louisiana-Mississippi (LaMiss) Virtual Conference

When: July 14th- July 15th

Where: All conference sessions will be held virtually through Zoom.

Who: Everyone interested in presenting their work related to Contextual Behavioral Science.

Para acceder a esta información en español, ¡haga clic aquí!

Registration | Inscripción

Registration for the LaMiss 2023 Conference is closed.

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La inscripción para la Conferencia LaMiss 2023 ya está cerrada.

The LaMiss Conference will take place virtually, with pre-conference taking place July 10th through 12th and the convention taking place July 14th through July 15th. We are aiming to showcase a range of conceptual discussions, empirical findings, and clinical trainings that represent the cutting edge of Contextual Behavioral Science. Invited speakers include Emily Sandoz, Linda Hayes and Mitch Fryling, Kelly Wilson, Worner Leland, and Luisa Cañon and Evelyn Gould.

**All proceeds will go towards compensating invited speakers and translators for their time and generosity.**

Open Book Accounting

We at LaMiss do things a little differently than most conferences. Basically, we are not interested in using these conferences to make anyone money. We use values-and-means-based registration fees (i.e., pay what fits your budget for what it’s worth for you) and open-book financials. However, the pre-conference workshop being offered for LaMiss (July 10th-July 12th) does require a $150 registration fee. You can view our Open-Book Accounting details below for more information

**All proceeds will go towards compensating invited speakers and translators for their time and generosity.**

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