Program Highlights

Jump into this 25TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM and embark on an adventure! You will enjoy a deluge of topics which will challenge you, enhance your knowledge, and sharpen your skills to, ultimately, improve your own daily practice and patient outcomes.
To start, you will enjoy a program offering a VAST OPTION OF TIMELY TOPICS facing youth and families daily. In this HYBRID OPTION, you will be able to select a topic of interest during each time block totaling 13.75 credit hours whether you are attending in-person at the Salt Lake Sheraton or via the livestream on November 1st and 2nd. Then, you will be able to watch additional presentations at your convenience (on-demand) through December 31st. This EXTENDED VIEWING TIME and ADDITIONAL CREDIT HOURS is a BENEFIT NOT POSSIBLE DURING A LIVE-ONLY EVENT.

Information about professional continuing education can be found under the “Continuing Ed” tab with special credits such as ethics, suicide prevention and BCBA noted on the “Agenda“.

In addition to these two-packed days, you can opt to capture additional training by registering for specialized workshops on November 3rd. These programs will provide more in-depth training (and CEU/CME hours) on

• High-Conflict Divorce
• Cultural Responsiveness
• Person-Centered Practices in Brain Injury Treatment
• Evaluator Training: Understanding Evaluation & Treatment Needs of Safety Sensitive Healthcare Professions with SUDs

This training is a first, required step toward approval as an evaluator and/or treatment provider of healthcare professionals with SUDs for the Utah Division of Occupational & Professional Licensing (DOPL).

After searching packs far and wide, two internationally recognized experts soared to the top of the program committee’s wish list to headline this exceptional year. Find out how their different topics – violence and brain-heart connections, hook together and can impact your own life. You won’t want to miss out on meeting either of these keynote experts.

James R. Doty, MD
Director and Founder, CCARE
Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University

Join this inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist as he takes you on his trip INTO THE MAGIC SHOP: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart – also the title of his latest best-selling book which is now translated into 31 languages.

Dr. James R. Doty, MD, is a clinical professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford of which His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the founding benefactor. He works with scientists from many disciplines examining the neural bases for compassion and altruism.

He holds multiple patents, is the former CEO of Accuray, supports research, provides scholarships and endowed chairs at multiple universities. He is a consultant to medical device companies and is an operating partner and advisor to venture capital firms. Dr. Doty serves on the Board of several non-profits and is the vice-chair of the Charter for Compassion International and the former chair of the Dalai Lama Foundation. He is on the Senior Advisory Board of the Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions and serves on the Board of Governors of Tulane University School of Medicine and the President’s Council at Tulane University. He is senior editor of the recently released Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science. On a broader plane, Dr. Doty has given support to charitable organizations supporting peace initiatives and providing healthcare throughout the world.

Dr. Doty attended U.C. Irvine as an undergraduate, received his medical degree from Tulane University and completed neurosurgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Doty served 9 years on active duty in the U.S Army attaining the rank of major. He completed fellowships in pediatric neurosurgery and electro-neurophysiology.

“Critical Issues” is honored to welcome Dr. James R. Doty as this year’s star and are confident that you will walk away from your time together with messages that can change your life and your professional practice.

James Densley, PhD

Wait until you hear how this engaging speaker on mass shooters has insights that will directly connect to life’s ‘Magic Shop’.

Born and raised in England, Dr. James Densley is Professor of Criminal Justice and Chair of the School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University, part of the Minnesota State system. He is also co-founder and co-president of The Violence Project Research Center. Densley has been an invited or plenary speaker on three continents and has received global media attention for his work on street gangs, criminal networks, violence, and policing. He is the author if six books, more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in leading social science journals, and 70 book chapters, essays, and other non-refereed works in outlets such as CNN, LA Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Densley earned his doctorate in sociology from the University of Oxford.

The founders and organizers of ‘Critical Issues’ are pleased to host Dr. Densley in his ‘encore’ visit to professionals in Utah. He will lead out day one with a captivating address and then meet with invited stakeholders working in various areas of crisis response to explore ideas for system improvements.

A complete outline of this year’s program and faculty may be found under the “Agenda” tab.

Following these highlighted leaders, you will be turned loose to enjoy trailblazers in other topics of interest. You can connect with them randomly or within special tracks such as

• Brain Injury
• Early Childhood Behavioral Health & Development
• Integration / Psychiatry in Primary Care
• Movies on Life Topics
• Neurodiversity – including the Autism Spectrum
• School-Focused Issues

This year’s special track on Brain Injury is hosted by the Brain Injury Alliance of Utah. In a unique partnership, this Alliance is joining resources to reach specialists they serve along with the professionals attending ‘Critical Issues’. They envision a world where everyone with brain injury has the resources and support needed to thrive. To this end, their mission is to improve the lives of individuals with brain injury by supporting, educating, inspiring, advocating, and engaging a global community.

Returning partners and track hosts this year include
* Summit Community Counseling – hosts of the Movie Track bringing issues to life
* The Children’s Center – hosts of the Early Childhood Behavioral Health & Development Track
* University of Utah Department of Psychiatry – hosts of the Psychiatry in Primary Care / Integration Track
Utah Division of Substance Abuse & Mental Health – hosts of the School-Focused Issues Track

Today’s world has been like a jungle and navigating it has been an ever-changing process. To give you a break from all this, every step has been taken to make your experience at this event easy, enjoyable, and valuable. In addition to the variety of topics available to you, they will be presented in a variety of formats. Single or co-presenters will make up the bulk of presentations, however, panels, ‘lightening rounds’, snap-talks, movies and discussions, other AV supported sessions, experiential exercises, role plays, Q&A, and other formats will fill the agenda.

Don’t sacrifice the quality of your professional development and education Overall, the format options will be targeted for your needs. Professional companies will be working behind-the-scenes to bring you the highest quality of AV, on-site comfort, production, web access and more. Logistical details for those attending in-person, via livestream, or on-demand will all be top-of-the-line so you can focus on your own professional development void of any frustration with technical issues often encountered in other programs, free webinars, or even on mass conference calls via common networks which we have all been forced to experience.

Kick back and enjoy this state-of the-science event in the comfort of an all new venue for this event at the Salt Lake Sheraton with your colleagues and event partners, or your own space!