Saturday April 13th 2019 | 8:30am - 4:15pm | Lunch Included

Presented by and Hosted at Christ Presbyterian Church

This Integrated Health Conference is open to the public and features the evidence-based merging of conventional and complementary therapies with Christian spirituality by respected specialists in their fields related to integrated mental and physical health.

Christian spirituality envisions a much more comprehensive concept of human health than merely biological health.  In the story of human flourishing and renewal, there is a notable correlation between inward (spiritual) and outward (biological) health.  This correlation is now being recognized in the growing  field of integrative medicine wherein the correlation is being confirmed by a mounting number of highly respected evidence-based medical studies.  

Click here to indicate interest in joining a support group on the conference topics!

 

Conference Schedule

  • 8:30am: Check-In and Light Breakfast
  • 9:00am: Welcome | Preston Graham D.Min.
  • 9:10am: Plenary Including Q&A | Joseph "Skip" Ryan M.Div., D.D.
  • 10:00am: Children in the Digital Age | Cliff Bogue M.D.
  • 10:45am: Break
  • 11:15am: Relational Health | Jeff White Ph.D., LMFT
  • 12:00pm: Lunch
  • 1:00pm: Substance Abuse | Joseph "Skip" Ryan M.Div., D.D.
  • 1:45pm: Anxiety and Depression | Andrea Kim M.D.
  • 2:30pm: Break
  • 2:45pm:  Dignity and Dementia | John Dunlop, M.D
  • 3:30pm: Creating Capacity | Dawn Madsen
  • 4:15pm: End

   

Plenary: Proposing a Model for Being an Integrated, Whole and Even Happy Person

How does it look and feel to move into one's world with a united sense of personhood, who yet takes joy the varying hues within that unity? How do we begin to see ourselves as whole people, who think, feel and act out of our own identities rather than ones imposed upon us by the reductionism of identity politics? What gives us the hope, and maybe just a beginning of a path, to being whole? 

Dr. Joseph Fischer Ryan (“Skip”), M.Div., D.D., is the former Chancellor and Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Redeemer trains men and women for a variety of Christian ministries, seeking to develop its students’ capacities for devotion, integration of life and faith, and a deepening sense of their own callings, all within a biblical framework.  Prior to his work at Redeemer, from 1992 until 2006, Dr. Ryan was the Senior Minister of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas which, when he left had 5,500 members and a staff of nearly 100.  Dr. Ryan graduated from Harvard College and also studied at Union Seminary in Richmond and the L’Abri Institute in Huemoz, Switzerland. He holds Master of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

 

Children in the Digital Age

Media should work for you & work within your family values & parenting style. When media is used thoughtfully & appropriately, media can enhance daily life. But when used inappropriately or without thought, media can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime & sleep. In his talk, Dr. Bogue will review the scientific evidence of what we know and don’t know about the effects of various forms of media on children and adolescents.  He will provide a framework for developing concrete plans for your family to maximize the benefits of digital media while minimizing the potential harms.

Clifford W. Bogue, MD, a pediatric critical care specialist, is the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor and Chairman of Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, where he has been on the faculty since 1993.  In 2014, he was also named the inaugural Chief Medical Officer of Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, where he provides strategic and operational leadership for the Children’s Hospital’s clinical delivery systems. Dr. Bogue was named Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics in August, 2017.  Dr. Bogue received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia (UVA). He was a resident and chief resident in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University before completing a fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at Yale.  Dr. Bogue is also a Ruling Elder in the PCA and a member of Christ Presbyterian Church.

 

Relational Health

This talk will take participants “under the microscope” and “into the lab” to see how couples gain satisfaction in their relationships. Additionally, this talk will provide an overview of current research related to healthy relationships and how such relationship principles can be applied to your relationship immediately.

Jeff White, Ph.D., LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He is also a Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. He is a Certified Gottman Therapist and a Certified Gottman Educator. He has been in practice in for 20 years and currently developing a counseling center in New Haven, CT. He earned his Ph.D in Couple and Family Therapy from Drexel University and also holds an M.Div (Christian Education) and M.A. (Family Therapy) from Reformed Theological Seminary.

 

Substance Abuse: Addiction and the Undoing of Personhood

Nothing steals one's own soul like the ruthlessness of addiction which is set upon our destruction. Fighting addiction with knowledge, emotions and discipline is necessary but not sufficient to find the wholeness of personhood which provides a path, not just to recovery narrowly understood, but to the transforming freedom to be an altogether different person.

Dr. Joseph Fischer Ryan (“Skip”), M.Div., D.D., is the former Chancellor and Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Redeemer trains men and women for a variety of Christian ministries, seeking to develop its students’ capacities for devotion, integration of life and faith, and a deepening sense of their own callings, all within a biblical framework.  Prior to his work at Redeemer, from 1992 until 2006, Dr. Ryan was the Senior Minister of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas which, when he left had 5,500 members and a staff of nearly 100.  Dr. Ryan graduated from Harvard College and also studied at Union Seminary in Richmond and the L’Abri Institute in Huemoz, Switzerland. He holds Master of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

 

Anxiety and Depression

Depression and anxiety result from a complex interaction of the brain, body, mind, and soul. To neglect one aspect is to not fully understand the disorder. This talk will discuss a Christian worldview on depression and anxiety, diagnosis, and integrated treatments that include the brain, mind, body, and soul.

Andrea Kim, MD is a board-certified private practice psychiatrist in Dallas. She practices general adult and adolescent psychiatry, with a strong emphasis on holistic self-care and talk therapy as essential pillars of mental health, along with medications if needed.  Dr. Kim attended Harvard University for her undergraduate degree, then UT-Southwestern Medical Center for her medical degree. She stayed at UT-Southwestern for her psychiatry residency, and was chief resident her final year. Dr. Kim was then a clinical associate professor at UT-Southwestern for 5 years, serving the Dallas inpatient population. She then opened up a private practice 5 years ago and has been practicing there since. Two years ago Dr. Kim partnered with an anesthesiologist and opened a second practice, Texas Ketamine Specialists, which offers a novel infusion treatment for treatment resistant depression. 

 

Dignity and Dementia

An estimated 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia, including more than 5 million Americans. The disease also affects the 16 million Americans – mostly family members – who provide unpaid care for people living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.  Given the lack of effective medical treatment, the best way to increase the quality of life for those with dementia is to respect their dignity. Join Dr. Dunlop as he shares practical ways to do that and at the same time make the burden born by a caregiver lighter.

Dr. John Dunlop earned his MD at Johns Hopkins where he stayed for residency training in internal medicine. He practiced for 38 years in Chicago Illinois during which time he was certified in Geriatrics and completed a masters in Bioethics at Trinity International University. In New Haven he practices half time with the Yale geriatrics group and teaches some at the medical school. John has a deep interest in helping people come to the end of their lives well. He has written several books that blend his Christian faith with some of the issues faced in geriatrics. These include: Finishing Well to the Glory of God, (2011), Wellness for the Glory of God, (2014), and Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia (2017).

 

Creating Capacity

Most of us think "if I could just find the right organization system, app, or planner THEN I could stay on top of things!! THEN I could get everything done!!"   The problem? We're simply attempting to manage TOO much! It leaves us stressed, guilty, and vulnerable to the temptations of this world. But as we work to pare down what we have to "manage" each day, we find that we're brilliant parents, effective employees, empathetic spouses, and joyfully  obedient children of God. Join Dawn, The Minimal Mom, as she shares about how we can triple our capacity by clearing out the clutter and making room for what matters most!

Dawn Madsen worked in marketing for 10 years prior to starting her blogs and YouTube channel. She left her marketing career to become a stay-at-home mom to her four children. She was a busy wife and mom and was really trying to appreciate the sometimes very challenging new role of caring of her family full time. She also started her first blog, https://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com, where she and her contributing authors (which includes licensed therapists) offer information to support happy homes and healthy relationships. It was during this time that Dawn realized she felt deeply unsettled but was unsure why. This was also when she was introduced to the idea of minimalism. Through her decluttering, simplifying, and purging, she found herself feeling settled in a new simplicity that was free from the burdens of "stuff", where parenting was a joy, marriage wasn't as hard, and there was plenty of time to pursue her faith and the things that mattered most to her.  She's gone on to encourage others to own less through her blog and YouTube channel: The Minimal Mom, where she shares tips and ideas about how to simplify quickly. Dawn considers it an incredible honor to get to inspire over a half million people each month.