Become a Presenter

How to Submit a Proposal

Thank you for your interest in being a presenter. We are now accepting session proposals for our 2026 NJIMHC “Integrated Mental Wellness Across the Lifespan, Integrated Care for Every Season of Life”

Overview

Integrated mental wellness approaches have unique benefits for every season of life, and each life stage, “from acorn to oak.” There are seasons in every life stage; the spring and winter of childhood, the spring and summer of older adulthood. Each stage and season presents challenges, discoveries, and lessons; the wanted and unwanted, the agreeable and the disagreeable. This idea is taken from the foundational lessons of the Buddha: “life is a series of agreeable and disagreeable moments in an endless cycle”. The instruction here is to stop protesting and running to some other perfect moment of happiness, but to get still and get curious and to seek to understand what is being asked in each moment; to lean into what is hard in each season with open spaciousness and compassion. Integrated mental wellness approaches, in their vision of supporting the whole person in relation to their environment, are uniquely positioned to assist in the gathering of one’s self up in every stage and season as a practice of wholeness and not pathology.

No person experiences these life stages alone. Each life stage includes the life stage of the family, traveling alongside each member. It is the job of the integrated mental wellness clinician to provide not only the individual but also the family a framework of understanding that recognizes the unique story of each member and the family as a whole. This understanding incorporates top-down and bottom-up approaches as well as allopathic and expressive arts that empower the healing and protective forces of belongingness which are the foundational function of family. Integrated mental wellness offers more complete and comprehensive ways of support in its ability to find approaches that work for each member rather than using a commoditized list of standard modalities. Dr. Marsha Linehan, PhD, in her innovation with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, states the essence of this: “In DBT, the principle is that clients cannot fail, and if a client doesn’t progress or drops out, it’s seen as a failure of the therapy or therapist, not the client”. The client is having experiences, the family is having experiences throughout their lives, their seasons, their stages, it is not about failure; it is about experience and understanding. It is the work of the integrated mental wellness clinician to find an approach that helps the individual and family understand the lesson in front of them and not label them failures due to our own failure to understand them.

The focus of this year’s conference is to bring understanding, conversation, and curiosity to bear in elevating the work with the individuals and families we find in all different seasons and stages. We will explore how to customize integrated mental wellness approaches that support the unique tasks and experiences faced in the journey from “acorn to oak”, and possibly help answer the most important question along the way – asked by the patron poet of our profession, Mary Oliver: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Explore how a unified approach to mental wellness can support individuals through every life stage-from early development to aging. This conference will emphasize the importance of continuity, community collaboration, and adaptive strategies that meet evolving psychological needs over time, fostering resilience and quality of life throughout the human experience.

Please complete the form located at the link below to apply. You will need to submit your background, credentials, and contact information, as well as the title, course description, learning objectives, and logistics related to your proposed session, course, or workshop. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

View the Proposal Submission Form.

The deadline to be considered as a presenter is August 30, 2025.

About Presenting at NJIMHC 2026

The 2026 NJIMHC will be held in-person on May 27, 2026, at The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, NJ.

All presenters must be available to deliver their session in-person.

All submissions will be reviewed by the NJIMHC Conference Review Committee, and all session decisions are final. You will be notified no later than September 15, 2025 if you have been selected as a conference presenter.

The committee is composed of social work volunteers from a diverse group of specialties. The group draws on recent member and conference attendee feedback, as well as their own working knowledge of emerging practices and high-priority social justice issues when making session selections.

The group also aims to compose a conference agenda that is diverse, meaningful, inclusive, engaging, and as timely as possible for social workers in all specialties. Plan on presenting for 90 minutes.

The committee is particularly interested in reviewing proposals on the following topics that reflect an integrated mental health and wellness approach:

• Trauma
• Trauma Sensitive Yoga
• Breathwork
• Sand Play
• Sound Therapy
• Art Therapy
• Somatic and Embodiment Work
• Eco Therapy
• Equine Therapy
• Telehealth
• Energy Work
• Ethics
• Psychopharmacology
• TMS
• MAT
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• New techniques and approaches
• Addiction
• Grief and bereavement
• Technology
• Child and youth issues

As you draft your proposal, keep in mind that the typical conference audience is:

• Composed of 250+ practitioners of mental wellness approaches, social workers including students and other allied behavioral health professionals who work in a wide variety of practice settings including community mental health, private practice, hospital settings, school settings, administration and supervision settings, and child welfare.
• Session proposals should be geared toward the intermediate and advanced level of learning. Please note that in order to accommodate the majority of our professionals advanced-level learning is preferred, as indicated by past surveys. All submissions must come through our online submission process. Please note there is a limit of 3 proposal submissions per presenter and a maximum of 2 proposal acceptances per presenter.

Criteria for Presenters

1. Five years of experience in the particular area of instruction; or a graduate degree in the particular area (an MSW is sufficient); and,
2. Certification or licensure as a social worker, psychologist, Board certified psychiatrist, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor or Medical Doctor is preferred.

Guidelines for Submission

Limit of 3 proposal submissions per presenter

ONLINE SUBMISSION ONLY. If you require a medical accommodation for submission, please contact Tristin Fleck tfleck@integratedcareconcepts.com

The title page and proposal must be double-spaced. The format is as follows:
Title page – List workshop title (12 words or less) and the proposed CEU credit classification (clinical/general/social-cultural/ethics) on this page. For a workshop to qualify for clinical credits, at least 1 presenter must be an LCSW, LPC, LMFT or clinical psychologist.

Abstract – Submit an abstract of 50 words or less, which summarizes your workshop. If selected, the abstract will appear in the conference brochure and all advertising materials, so make it descriptive and appealing for potential attendees.

Workshop Description – The workshop must be 90 mins in duration and applicable to in person learning. The proposal must be between 300-500 words, excluding the abstract and the bibliography. All proposals must demonstrate integration of anti-racist theories and practice in social work. In keeping with NASW‘s nondiscriminatory policies, language must be bias-free. Each page should have the title of the proposal at the top.

• A detailed description of the workshop content; and
• A clear statement of the workshop’s relevance to social work practice or knowledge; and
• A clear statement of how this information ties into power, privilege and dimensions of social identities, and how the knowledge gained will relate to social justice
• 2-3 learning objectives or goals for attendees of the workshop, with specific skills to be obtained from participating in the workshop; and
• Resume – A vita or resume for each presenter must be submitted. There is a maximum of 2 presenters per 90 min workshop. Presenters cannot be changed or added later, unless approved by NJIMHC. Please include full name, all academic degrees, certification or licensure status, job title and employer, work phone, home address, e-mail address, and home phone as well as a listing of previous workshop or presentations. Workshop topic dates and sponsoring organizations must be included in this list. One copy of each presenter’s resume must be submitted.
• Mandatory Presenter Orientation – A mandatory orientation is required to present at our 2026 Annual Conference. If your proposal is selected, dates will be made available to you at least three months in advance.

Please comply with all the above criteria for your proposal to be reviewed.

If you have questions, please reach out to Tristin Fleck at tfleck@integratedcareconcepts.com.