July 17-18, 2026

The Louisiana Body Speak Symposium is a two-day immersive event designed to bring together clinicians, creators, healers, educators, somatic practitioners, and interdisciplinary artists who believe in the power of the body as a site of expression, integration, and repair. Held on the stunning campus of Southeastern Louisiana University, this symposium blends academic depth with experiential practice, inviting participants to explore the intersections of embodiment, creativity, mental health, ritual, and innovative therapeutic approaches.

Hosted at Southeastern Louisiana University

Student Union Ballroom
303 Union Ave., Hammond, LA 70402

CE Approval for Social Workers: This event is approved for 11 clinical CE hours. Cornerstone Counseling is an approved Continuing Education Provider by the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE).

CE Approval for Counselors: This event has been approved 11.0 CE clock hours in Diagnosis by the Louisiana Counseling Association as authorized by the Louisiana Mental Health Law (R.S.37:1101-1123).  

Each ticket provides full access 2-day pass, 11 CE hours, catered lunch for both days, 7 presenters, and 6 chances to win raffle prizes.

USE CODE: EARLYBIRD AT CHECK OUT TO SAVE $50 BEFORE MAY 1st

This link will redirect you to Teachable, our online learning and registration platform. There you’ll find important event information, presenter bios, access to presentation slides, and instructions for receiving your certificate. 

We recommend downloading the free Teachable app for easy access before, during, and after the symposium.

Across two days, attendees will engage in workshops, live demonstrations, embodied lectures, movement-based learning, and collaborative conversations that honor the intelligence of both body and imagination. From somatic therapy to expressive arts, nervous system science to cultural storytelling and movement traditions, the Body Speak Symposium celebrates the many languages through which the body speaks and heals.

MEET YOUR PRESENTERS

FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2026

9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Keynote: Introduction to Internal Family System

In this introduction, you’ll learn the core ideas of IFS in simple, usable terms. We’ll explore how the mind is made up of different “parts”— some that protect us, some that react when we’re overwhelmed, and some that carry old wounds. You’ll also learn about Self Energy— the calm, grounded, compassionate state inside all of us that can lead healing.

This training will show you how to help clients identify where their reactions begin, understand why protective behaviors make sense, and start building a healthier relationship with their inner world. You’ll leave with a clear framework, practical language you can use in session, and tools you can begin applying immediately.

Whether you’re new to IFS or simply curious about parts work, this training will give you a powerful foundation you can build on right away.

 Yoga Therapy and Disordered Eating

Presented by Eleanor McAuliffe & Katherine Quayhagen, this training explores the role of yoga therapy as a supportive intervention in the treatment of disordered eating and body image concerns. Participants will begin with a brief experiential yoga therapy practice followed by guided discussion. The session will review key statistics related to eating disorders and body image, provide an overview of the history and definition of yoga therapy, and examine how yoga therapy can be applied within treatment settings. The training will also highlight research outcomes from a yoga therapy program, offering insight into its potential benefits for individuals recovering from disordered eating.

Training Description 

• Brief Yoga Therapy Practice and Discussion
• Eating Disorder Stats and Body Image
• History and Definition of Yoga Therapy
• Application of Yoga Therapy in Residential Treatment of Disordered Eating
• Research Outcomes of Yoga Therapy Program

Metabolic Mental Health: Emerging field of Metabolic Therapy

This 1-hour lunch & learn introduces clinicians to the emerging field of metabolic mental health and its relevance to therapeutic practice. Participants will explore the foundational relationship between metabolism and mental health, including the roles of nutrition, sleep, and movement. Through examples and discussion of current research, attendees will gain a basic understanding of metabolic therapy and how metabolic factors may influence mental health. The session will also address common barriers to improving metabolic health and provide practical ideas for integrating metabolic mental health concepts into clinical sessions.

Warning Label: Restoring Self-Energy When Diagnosis Becomes Identity

This 2-hour continuing education workshop, “Warning Label: When Diagnosis Becomes Identity” explores the clinical and neurobiological impacts of over-pathologizing and rigid identification with mental health diagnoses & symptoms. Participants will examine how diagnostic labeling can inadvertently reinforce disconnection from self-relationship, embodied experience, and agency, and will learn evidence-based strategies to restore connection and presence. Through didactic instruction, and experiential somatic exercises, clinicians will gain practical tools for integrating explorative interventions into therapy. This training emphasizes the ethical and effective use of diagnosis while fostering flexibility, curiosity, and self-energy within therapeutic practice.

SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2026

9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Keynote: Community Healing Begins with Autonomy: Expanding Emotional Wellness Beyond Clinical Spaces

This keynote explores how trauma-informed care can move beyond traditional, individually focused therapy models by centering autonomy, co-regulation, and collective healing. Drawing on doctoral research in self-determination, person-centered care, and the ethics of autonomy in complex care environments, this presentation highlights how communities can play a transformative role in promoting emotional regulation and long-term resilience.

This presentation will examine how autonomy, often viewed only as an individual construct, is deeply shaped by cultural identity, relational dynamics, and community belonging. The session introduces practical, accessible approaches that social workers, counselors, and mental health professionals can use to foster shared regulation, build culturally grounded practices, and empower communities as active partners in healing.

Through case examples, experiential reflection, and evidence-based frameworks, attendees will learn how to integrate collective healing strategies into their work with individuals, families, and groups. This presentation ultimately invites practitioners to expand the edges of therapeutic practice by honoring both the individual and the community as essential agents in the healing process.

Natural Dreamwork: A Somatic Approach to Integrating Dreams into Therapy

In this presentation, clinicians will receive an introduction to the role of dreams in social and cultural contexts, and the unique opportunities dreams provide to engage with our client’s somatic and emotionally intense material. The goal of the session is to empower clinicians to use dream material within a clinical setting, particularly when integrated with somatic approaches. This presentation will be hands-on, with exercises geared towards allowing the participants to experience in real time how dream material can help one access embodied and somatic experiences.

This workshop will begin providing context to how dreams have been understood socially, culturally, and psychologically. This will include a historical overview of the role of dreams in indigenous and animistic culture and how dreams have been understood in the context of Western psychology. This overview aims to do some myth busting about what dreams have to offer and situate them within the broader conversation of somatics and embodiment in healing.

Inviting the Unspoken: Card Imagery in Trauma-Informed Care

This session offers practical strategies for incorporating imagery tools into clinical work while maintaining a trauma-informed and ethically grounded therapeutic framework. Participants will learn the clinical foundations behind why symbols and images can be particularly effective when working with trauma, and how these tools can be integrated into evidence-informed approaches. The training will also address ethical considerations, scope of practice, cultural sensitivity, and how to frame these tools in a non-predictive, client-centered way that maintains professional boundaries.

Join us this summer as we shape trauma-informed, embodied and creative care in Louisiana.

OPEN TO ONLY 150 ATTENDEES. Purchase your all access pass EARLY for EARLYBIRD savings with the code at checkout.

The first 25 registrations receive reserved seating and bonus raffle ticket.

SEEKING SPONSORS