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2026 SEL and Student Well-Being Conference

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
8:00 AM - 2:30 PM (CDT)

* Registration open until 4/20/26 at 4:00 PM (CDT)

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About

Student disengagement has become one of the most urgent challenges facing independent schools. In an era of heightened anxiety, achievement pressure, technologies designed to distract, and stressors absorbed from a polarized and unsettled world, many students are struggling to stay connected to learning, to one another, and to themselves. For educators across the developmental spectrum, fruitful classroom engagement hinges on a strategic, holistic groundwork of social-emotional support and student well-being.

Returning by popular demand, Dr. Dave Verhaagen of Southeast Psych will open the day with a keynote that examines this disengagement crisis through a brain-based lens and offer practical, research-aligned strategies for helping students re-engage with greater clarity, resilience, and connection. 

keynotes, breakouts, and roundtables

  • Brain-Aligned Strategies for School Counselors Navigating the Disengagement Crisis
  • Healthy Eating and Body Image
  • Understanding Challenging Behaviors Developmentally
  • Utilizing AI Tools for a Data-Based Approach to Student Well-Being
  • Smartphones and Social Media as Digital Coping Mechanisms and Disruptors of Emotional Regulation
  • Supporting Parents of Anxious Children
  • Exploring Peer Programs and Shared Pain Points
  • Cultivating Resilient Learning Communities

Proudly Offered in Partnership with Southeast Psych
Enjoy exhibitions from Embrace U, Rogers Behavioral Health, and Southeast Psych.

Keynote Speaker

Dave Verhaagen, PhD, ABPP
Founder, Southeast Psych Nashville

Dave Verhaagen is a licensed and nationally-board certified psychologist who founded Southeast Psych Nashville and Southeast Psych Charlotte. He is the author or co-author of ten books, including “Therapy with Young Men” and "Parenting the Millennial Generation" and several book chapters. He has spoken over 600 times around the country and worked on-air in broadcasting for 6 years. He served as the host of an award- winning podcast and as the executive producer of two feature-length documentaries. He is the director of the Artists & Athletes program at Southeast Psych Nashville and primarily sees young adult men who are navigating struggles with anxiety, stress, career direction, identity, relationship issues, trauma, and substance use. He has been married to Ellen for over 30 years, and they have four adult children.

Featured Speaker
Jessica Meléndez Tyler, PhD, LPC, is a professor, licensed counselor, and community helper. Dr. Tyler's professional focus explores the nuances of suffering and the mechanisms by which individuals triumph over adversity. Her professional work involves working with harmed individuals who are stuck in their lives, cultural resilience, perfectionism, healthy social media behaviors, and fostering a sense of belonging. 
 

Breakout Facilitators

Steve Berry PhD, LPC, is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program. He has over 35 years’ experience as a school counselor, mental health counselor, special education teacher, counselor supervisor, and counselor educator.  His primary research interests are in school crisis management and trauma-informed schools.  As a licensed professional counselor and former school counselor, he frequently acts as a consultant to schools experiencing crises and presents nationally on this topic.

 

Rebecca Gilliland, MS, is a counselor who walks alongside children, teens, families, and adults as they navigate life's challenges and discover hope. She holds a Master of Science in Counseling from Lee University and is pursing a Ph.D. in Counseling at Belmont University. Rebecca has worked in school and church settings, including as a K-12 social-emotional counselor at an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. Her approach is client-centered and integrative, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Play Therapy, trauma-informed care, and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).

 

Katie Herrington, PhD, HSP, is the Clinical Director of Green Hills Family Psych, as well as a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Herrington specializes in providing evidence-based therapy to children and adolescents ages 2+ with a wide variety of presenting concerns, which includes but is not limited to: depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, trauma, and adjustment to life transitions.

Janet Hicks, PhD, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified School Counselor. She serves as Chair & Professor for the Mental Health Counseling Program at Belmont University. She has researched and written extensively on child and adolescent counseling. Her specialties include child and adolescent counseling, stress management for teachers and administrators, as well as the integration of solution-focused brief therapy into both the counseling and teaching settings.

Lauren King, PsyD, is a psychologist committed to helping girls and women (ages 7  and up) triumph over challenges such as eating disorders, body image concerns, negative self-esteem, anxiety, OCD, depression, and trauma. Lauren adopts a positive, optimistic approach, focusing on her clients’ strengths to instill confidence and help them achieve their objectives. Lauren’s educational journey began with a BA from Samford University, leading to her Doctorate from the Fuller School of Psychology.

 

Jessie Klamar, LCSW, is a licensed clinic social worker whose clinical practice employs an array of specialized therapies such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, Trauma-Focused CBT, and Emotionally Focused Therapy. Jessie works with individuals, couples, and families to strengthen attachment, improve communication, and create meaningful change. Using trauma-informed and evidence-based approaches, she helps clients build resilience, deepen connections, and move toward lasting healing.

 

 

Alyssa Sebastian, MA, LPC-MHSP, is a licensed professional counselor and mental health service provider. She is Embrace U’s Tennessee Regional Director. Before joining Embrace U, Alyssa was the executive director at Connections Wellness Group (Vertava Health) in Nashville, TN. She is trained in EMDR, including a wide range of trauma-focused interventions. Alyssa enjoys work with adolescents and family units, and she believes everyone deserve the opportunity for a fresh start.

Agenda

April 22
8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Registration and Coffee - Lowry Building Hall
8:00 AM Exhibitions - Lowry Building Hall
8:35 AM - 9:30 AM Opening Keynote: "Navigating the Student Disengagement Crisis" with Dave Verhaagen, PhD, ABPP - Dead Poets Society Room From apathy and shrinking attention spans to rising anxiety and digital dependency, today's students are disengaging in ways that alarm educators at every level. This keynote explores the neuroscience behind these intersecting trends, examining what's happening in developing brains amid a perfect storm of screens, stress, and disconnection. We'll move beyond diagnosis to focus on practical, brain-aligned strategies within the school counselor's locus of control across the K-12 spectrum.
9:45 AM - 10:35 AM Breakout I, Path A: "Your Body Rocks! Helping Students Develop a Healthy Relationship with Their Bodies and Food" with Lauren King, PsyD - Paschall Theater Having the perfect body is at the forefront of culture. Social media, AI, and extreme societal trends make a healthy relationship with food and body image seem almost impossible. Students are exposed to nutritionally inadequate diets and impossible expectations. In this session, you'll learn practical strategies to teach your students to analyze the information around them in an effective way, decrease comparison, and have a healthy relationship with their own bodies and food.
9:45 AM - 10:35 AM Breakout I, Path B: "What to do with Anxiety: Supporting Students (and their Parents) when Anxious Emotions Want to Rule" with Katie Herrington, PhD, HSP - Dead Poets Society Room School counselors sit at the crossroads of classroom and home, balancing students' real fear and worry with the aim of fostering resilient, self-advocating learners. When students struggle with anxiety, parents often need guidance for this balance, too. This session introduces the SPACE Model — an evidence-based approach that empowers parents to reduce anxiety-reinforcing behaviors at home and build student resilience for school.
10:45 AM - 11:35 AM Breakout II, Path A: "Utilizing AI Tools for Student Well-Being" with Janet Hicks, PhD, LPC, CSC; Dr. Stephan Berry, LPC; and Rebecca Gilliland, M.S. - Dead Poets Society Room This presentation explores the use of AI in school counseling settings. AI can assist school counselors in identifying early signs of mental health and educational concerns, tracking emotional and psychological patterns, and providing personalized support to students. The session addresses ethical considerations, privacy concerns, and the potential for AI to enhance rather than replace human intervention, promoting a balanced approach to mental health monitoring in educational settings.
10:45 AM - 11:35 AM Breakout II, Path B: "Beyond the Typical Stress: Identifiers and Supports for Unmet Coping Needs" with Alyssa Sebastian, MA, LPC-MHSP - Paschall Theater Adolescent students often struggle beyond typical developmental stress—and in ways that can be difficult for school-based support to identify and support within the school setting. Participants will explore common emotional and behavioral indicators of dysregulation, trauma exposure, suicidal ideation, and unmet coping needs in the upper grades. We will offer strategies for responding in the moment, embedding supportive practices into existing school rhythms, and seeking external support.
11:35 AM - 12:30 PM Lunch - Zimmerman Hall With optional roundtables
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM Breakout III, Path A: "Translating Tricky Behaviors: A Developmental Perspective" with Jessie Klamar, LCSW - Paschall Theater Child therapist and parent Jessie Klamar knows how hard it can be to know when behavior is developmentally appropriate, when it is problematic, and how (or whether) to intervene. This presentation will outline some of the common tricky behaviors we see in kids and how to view them from a developmental perspective, which ultimately helps us to build compassion and avoid burnout.
Target Audience: Lower and Middle School Practitioners
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM Breakout III, Path B: Phones Aren’t the Problem: Leveraging Technology for Student Regulation, Connection, and Wellbeing with Jessica Meléndez Tyler, PhD, LPC - Dead Poets Society Room For many adolescents, phones and social media serve as primary tools for emotional regulation, connection, and identity development. As schools increasingly implement phone restrictions and bans, a critical question remains: how do we help students build healthy, intentional relationships with technology in a world where it is not going away? This session draws on current research to move beyond monitoring and restriction to offer a more nuanced, developmentally informed approach.
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Closing Plenary: "Beyond Performance: Cultivating Resilient Learning Environments in an Age of Pressure" with Jessica Meléndez Tyler, PhD, LPC - Dead Poets Society Room Today’s students are navigating unprecedented levels of pressure. They are learning to perform, but not always to cope, connect, or develop a stable sense of self. This plenary invites educators to reexamine the environments we create for students and the messages those environments convey about worth, success, and belonging. Built on contemporary research and clinical insights, we'll explore a practical, relational framework for cultivating resilience in school communities.

Registration Options

Credits Price
Member- 2026 SEL and Student Well-Being Conference
6.00 (Professional Development Hours) $245.00
Guest - 2026 SEL and Student Well-Being Conference
6.00 (Professional Development Hours) $325.00

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Kara Vaughn
TAIS
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