In the last few years, most clinicians have felt a shift not only in the larger culture but the therapy room as well. With so much suffering and isolation surfaced by the pandemic and other large-scale injustices, the idea of healing in therapy has moved beyond a focus on the individual and, in many ways, beyond traditional clinical practice. How can we promote a sense of belonging and address core issues of loneliness outside of a individualized, pathologized approach? How can we think about bringing “spirituality,” however we conceive of it, into ethical clinical practice as a means of connection? And how can we begin to respond to the rippling effects of collective trauma? This special Sunday panel will explore:

• How prosocial affects like love and compassion can expand our capacity for social openness and connection, and what this means for clinical practice
• What kinds of training can help clinicians unlearn implicit biases that may get in the way of accurate empathy for the lived experience of others
• The ways in which our estrangement from nature affects our sense of belonging and contributes to environmental stress
• How inequity undermines well-being no matter which side of the inequity people are on

Rev. angel Kyodo williams has been bridging the worlds of transformation and justice since her critically acclaimed book, Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace was hailed as “an act of love” by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, and "a classic" by Buddhist pioneer Jack Kornfield. Her newest work, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love & Liberation, is igniting communities to have the long overdue conversations necessary to become more awake and aware of what hinders liberation of self and society.

Joseph (Joe) Loizzo, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist, clinical researcher, and meditation scholar-teacher who integrates neuroscience with contemplative practice to help people cultivate personal well-being, interpersonal compassion, and transformational leadership. Assistant Professor at Weill-Cornell Medical College and founder of the educational nonprofit Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, he's published dozens of chapters and articles on the benefits and mechanisms of meditation in peer-reviewed publications. His books include Boundless Leadership, Sustainable Happiness and Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy.

Doris F. Chang, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at New York University's Silver School of Social Work. Her research seeks to improve the well-being of racial and ethnic minorities by examining strategies for improving interracial processes and outcomes in clinical contexts, and developing culturally informed interventions that integrate mindfulness and other contemplative traditions. Much of her work has centered on issues facing Asian American communities, most recently examining Asian Americans’ experiences of discrimination since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the role that critical consciousness, solidarity and allyship with other BIPOC communities may play in promoting more resilient coping.

Broderick Sawyer, PhD, is an activist, clinical psychologist, author, and meditation teacher in Louisville, KY. He specializes in helping historically oppressed populations develop self-compassion, despite ongoing intersectional oppression. Using principles from Eastern philosophy, learning theory, and liberation psychology, he teaches all beings to actively unlearn internalized oppression, practice mental health hygiene, and engage in heart-opening practices.