Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 4. Source pages: 17.
Dr. John Pickering, organizer of the Baton Rouge based Mindfulness Day workshop, presented in conjunction with Thay Dao Quang and the Tam Bao Buddhist Temple, declared the recent April gathering one of the largest turnouts and especially of psychologists he’s seen.
“This was the biggest turn-out of psychologists we’ve had in our eight years of doing the workshop,” Dr. Pickering noted.
The Tam Bao Buddhist Temple and the Meditation Hall in Baton Rouge is the location for the day long workshop every year, usually in April. Like this year, the event is attended by social workers, counselors, and others in the broader community.
Dr. Emily Sandoz and Mr. Corey Porche were presenters for this year’s seminar, along with Thay Dao Quang.
Dr. Sandoz is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the Psychology Department, University of Louisiana, Lafayette. She is an expert in ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She presented on “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Shaping Psychological Flexibility for Mindful, Meaningful Living.”
She presented at last year’s Mindfulness Day, and has co-authored three books on ACT, along with having written numerous chapters and journal articles on the topic. Sandoz has led more than 40 professional training workshops around the world on ACT concepts.
Mr. Porche is a Licensed Professional Counselor who also holds a master’s degree in Interpersonal/ Organizational Communication, is co-owner of Camilia House Counseling and Educational Services where he employs ACT in his work with couples, dyads and families. He has lead and co-led
professional trainings in ACT both locally and internationally since 2011.
Attendee Dr. Richard Flicker captured the rare event with a photo. “I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to round up a group of psychologists for a photo––of course you have, but after several aborted attempts––there was always someone in the bathroom, talking away from the location, getting something to eat/drink, etc., I was able to gather every last one of them for a group photo.”
Attendees at the Annual Mindfulness Day, Saturday, April 1, in Baton Rouge held at the Tam Bao Buddhist Temple. Front Row (L to R): Dr. Christiane Creveling-Benefield, presenter Dr. Emily Sandoz, Dr. Gail Gillespie and Dr. Charles Burchell Second Row (L to R): Presenter Corey Porche, Dr. Sumer Ledet, Dr. John Pickering, Dr. David Weibel, presenter Thay Dao Quang and Dr. Jeanne George. Back Row (L to R): Dr. Richard Flicker, Dr. Randy Lemoine and Dr. John Brun. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Flicker.)
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.