Speaker Talks and Expert Panels

Struggling with boundaries—or wishing “no” came more easily? This presentation offers a clear, practical roadmap for reclaiming personal peace by mastering the full spectrum of boundaries, including emotional, mental, time, and material limits. Participants will gain ready-to-use communication scripts to navigate difficult conversations with confidence. By reframing boundary-setting as a sustainable, empowering practice, this session helps reduce stress, prevent burnout, and prioritize meaningful self-care.

Dawn McCord, filmmaker Vince Dixon, and Mark Strauss will share the story that brought them together—Dawn’s belief that Wilderness Therapy saved her son Carson’s life, and Vince’s realization that he had never heard of this intervention despite his own family’s struggles with addiction and loss. Their experience highlights how often Wilderness Therapy is misunderstood or overlooked.

Dr. Reedy will discuss what it means to give up the need to be good, right, or to win, in favor of being a true self. He will explain that in recovery from codependency, the key shift is moving from trying to control others to engaging in behaviors that support self-care. Drawing on attachment theory, Brad will highlight that the most important predictor of a child’s resilience is the parent’s self-awareness. He will also explore why accepting one’s issues is more important than trying to fix them. Finally, he will teach that parental mistakes or struggles do not cause the real harm—rather, it is the defenses parents set up to protect their ego that create lasting impact.

When does helping become enabling? How do you support your young adult without rescuing, controlling, or walking on eggshells?

In this one-hour webinar, Not Therapy — a coaching company founded by former “troubled teens” turned mentors — and parent coach, Beth Hillman, break down the fine line between support and enablement. You’ll learn what enabling looks like in everyday parenting, how fear and guilt drive those patterns, and practical ways to shift toward healthy, empowering support.

You’ll leave with clear tools, relatable insight, and a renewed sense of confidence in your parenting. No shame, no jargon, just real strategies that work.

We all need something to guide us through the ups and downs of life. The concept of the expedition is a helpful metaphor. Expeditions have different parts to them, and we need to be different people at those different turns. The individuals with us on the journey matter, and we don’t always get to choose the team. How do we treat them? How do we expect to be treated on the way? How do we set ourselves up for success in the long term, so we can all arrive at the end of the expedition together? It’s not magic. It’s method.