Dear Colleagues:
We hope that you are still feeling the warm vibes from our virtual AGPA Connect 2022. Although not the full in-person experience we had hoped for, we gathered nonetheless and continued our annual ritual of connecting, inspiring, learning, sharing and relating. We are grateful to be a part of this vibrant community.
It is now time to begin the planning for AGPA Connect 2023 and with a plan to be in-person. The dates are March 6-11. New York is our host city and our theme is “Group as a Catalyst for Reimagining and Embracing the Future”
Imagine being back in person in the Big Apple with your colleagues at AGPA. Once again, we can dine in restaurants, catch a Broadway play, or stroll the streets between sessions looking for a French pastry or a new pair of must-have shoes. Whatever your interests, Manhattan has something for everyone to be refreshed and entertained after a long day of meetings. Whether a walk-through Central Park, an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or a subway ride to Soho, the Gotham City will not disappoint.
AGPA Connect is about connection. We gather and engage closely with people from all over the world in our conference events, in the hallways of the hotel, in coffee shops, the hotel bar, and at social events. Our training events are world-class and have a focus on interaction that encompasses conversations about research, theory, and the latest in clinical application. Professional and personal friendships develop in Connect that last a lifetime.
We offer our attendees a wide array of learning opportunities that include formal presentations and lectures, experiential learning and demonstration groups, courses, and plenary presentations. We are open to multiple theoretical perspectives and embrace recent research findings. Our attendees come from diverse disciplines and backgrounds and serve a variety of populations within a wide range of settings.
Some of the questions we address at AGPA Connect are:
- How do groups make a difference in the world within which we live?
- What are the challenges that we face and how does group address them?
- How might we reimagine the group experience so that it is a catalyst for change?
- If group is about relationships and connection, then how do we deepen people’s experience of each other in a world that seems increasingly disconnected, disembodied, and polarized?
- How can group more effectively respond to peoples’ complex identities?
- How can group contribute to making the changes to cultures that fall short of embracing diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism?
- What is the research that supports the idea of group having the power to make a difference and bring about change?
- What are the future directions in research that will help us meet the challenges before us?
- How do the creative arts enrich our relational experience?
- What have we learned from the latest findings in neuroscience and how do we apply them to groups?
- What are we learning from the COVID 19 pandemic and the role of group in helping people and communities work through the impact of the enduring limitations to our lives?
These questions are just a few of the ones that can be addressed in the submission of proposals for the Institute’s Specific Focus Sections, Workshops, Courses, and Open Sessions that are relevant to our theme: “Group as a Catalyst for Reimagining and Embracing the Future.” We welcome all proposals that might focus on research findings, or theoretical approaches, or techniques and interventions geared to specific populations, or models of group therapy. Be creative! We are here to expand our knowledge-base and our interactive experiences. We encourage you to be bold.
The dynamics of diverse identities are integral to all the work we do as group psychotherapists. A culturally responsive approach to group therapy respects peoples’ complex identities. In your proposal, it is mandatory that you explain how you will address and incorporate issues related to diversity (e.g., differing ages, races, sexual orientations, religions, gender identities, cultures, body size, abilities, or socio-economic realities). Helpful resources may be found on our website here: https://www.agpa.org/home/practice-resources/dei-tf-resources.
Program Proposals Submissions are due by June 13, 2022. The online submission form is located on our website at:
