Keynote Speakers

Robert Emmons, Ph.D.
UC Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons has made a science out of Thanksgiving. In the past decade, his research has shown that people who count their blessings -- not just on the fourth Thursday of November each year, but in daily gratitude journals -- exercise more regularly, complain of fewer illness symptoms and feel better about their lives overall.

Compared with those who chronicle daily hassles, people who take time instead to record their reasons for giving thanks also feel more loving, forgiving, joyful, enthusiastic and optimistic about their futures. Their family and friends report that they seem happier and are more pleasant to be around.

"Gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change people's lives," Emmons says.

He is the author of three books about gratitude. The most recent, "Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier," was published earlier this year. It outlines 10 research-based strategies for cultivating a feeling of thanksgiving throughout the year, including keeping a daily gratitude journal.

Emmons said anyone can cultivate a more grateful approach to life, but he warns that the effort is not for the "intellectually lethargic."

"Far from being a warm, fuzzy sentiment, gratitude is morally and intellectually demanding," he says. "It requires contemplation, reflection and discipline. It can be hard and painful work."

Barry L. Duncan, Psy.D.
is a therapist, trainer, and researcher with over 17,000 hours of clinical experience. He is co Director of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change (ISTC) and practices in Boca Raton, Florida. Dr. Duncan has received numerous awards for his contributions to the mental health field, including the Wright State University School of   Professional Psychology’s first annual “Outstanding Alumnus Award,” the Menninger Foundation’s 15th Annual Award for Scientific Writing for the book The Heart and Soul of Change, and the Psychotherapy Networker “20th Anniversary All Time Top Ten Award” for the  article “Exposing the Mythmakers,” recognizing it as one of the most influential features in the magazine’s history. Barry has over one hundred publications, including thirteen books. His latest books: The Heroic Client (2nd edition) with Scott Miller and Jacqueline Sparks (Jossey Bass, 2004) offers both a critique of mental health practice and suggests an alternative based in outcome management; Heroic Clients, Heroic Agencies: Partners for Change, with Jacqueline Sparks (ISTC Press, 2002), details the “how-tos” of involving clients as valued partners and provides down-to-earth suggestions for transforming mental health services into client directed practices; and finally the American Psychological Association’s (APA) best selling, The Heart & Soul of Change, with Scott Miller and Mark Hubble (APA Press, 1999), provides a thorough treatment of “what works” in therapy from the most noted scholars in psychology. After seven years of research, Barry co-developed with Scott Miller a scientifically tested outcome management system designed to provide clients, front line mental health professionals, administrators, and payers with feedback about the client’s response to mental health services, thus enabling more effective care at a substantial cost reduction.

Because of his self help books, he has appeared on "Oprah,” “The View," and several other national TV programs and has been featured in Psychology Today and USA Today. His latest self help book, What’s Right With You, challenges the business as usual mentality of “What’s wrong with you” and instead demonstrates how to rally natural resources and resiliencies to overcome life challenges. Barry conducts seminars internationally in client directed, outcome informed therapies in hopes of inciting insurrection against practices that diminish