Not Just Another Conference: A Different Kind of Mental Health Summit

Ryan M. Sheade, LCSW
18 hours ago
3 min read

There are a lot of conferences in our field.

You can sit in rows, take notes, collect CEUs, and leave with a folder full of ideas that never quite make it back into your real life or your real work.

This isn’t that.

The 3rd Annual Mental Health Summit, happening June 11–14, 2026 at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise Valley, was never meant to be just another event. It was built to be a space where the work actually lands. Where the conversations continue after the session ends. Where something in you shifts, not just intellectually, but personally.

I’ll be opening the Summit this year with a keynote on Calm, Clear, Connected: The Bridgework Framework for Turning Conflict into Growth. It’s work that has come out of decades in the therapy room, and it’s as practical as it is personal. My hope is that it doesn’t just give you something to think about, but something to use.

And that’s really the heartbeat of the entire weekend.

A Space That Supports the Work

The Summit takes place on the campus of the Franciscan Renewal Center, tucked into Paradise Valley. It’s quiet in a way that’s hard to find. There’s space to walk. Space to think. Space to breathe.

This is a two-night experience, not a one-day sprint.

Your stay includes:

On-site accommodations
All meals
Time and space between sessions to actually integrate what you’re learning

And for mental health professionals, the Summit offers up to 10 CEUs.

But even that doesn’t fully capture it. Because what people tend to remember most isn’t just the content, it’s the feeling of being in a room where people care deeply about this work.

Who This Is For

This Summit is for mental health professionals who want to deepen their craft.

And it’s also for anyone with a genuine interest in mental health. You don’t need a license to care about relationships, healing, or understanding yourself and others more fully.

We’ve intentionally built something that bridges both worlds.

What We’re Exploring This Year

The topics this year reflect the complexity of what we’re all navigating, both in our work and in our lives:

Calm, Clear, Connected: The Bridgework Framework for Turning Conflict into Growth
Healing in Motion: Reclaiming Connection Through Intentional Movement
Where Healing Begins: The Art and Ethics of Therapeutic Rapport
Intergenerational Trauma: Restoring Optimal BIPOC Mental Health
Self-Care in Online Settings
Compassion in a Fast World: Supporting Children’s Development in a Culture That Won’t Slow Down
Social Determinants, Structural Stress, and the Mental Health of Black Men
Understanding Our Public Mental Health System
Returning to Wholeness: Using Internal Family Systems to Heal Insecure Attachment and the Pattern of Losing Yourself in Relationships
Understanding Alcoholism and Addiction: Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery

And more still unfolding.

This isn’t surface-level content. These are the conversations that actually matter when you’re sitting across from someone in pain. Or when you’re trying to make sense of your own life.

The Value of Stepping Away

One of the hardest things about this field is that we rarely step out of it. We move from session to session, from responsibility to responsibility, often without a moment to reflect on what we’re carrying or how we’re showing up.

This Summit is an opportunity to step back in order to step forward differently. To reconnect with the work. To reconnect with yourself. To reconnect with others who understand the weight and the privilege of what we do.

Worth It

For everything that’s included, the Summit is intentionally priced to be accessible. Not because it’s “cheap,” but because it’s meant to be within reach.

When you consider the accommodations, meals, CEUs, and the depth of the experience, it’s hard to find something comparable that offers this much, in this kind of setting, with this kind of intention.