Integrative Mental Health University

Emma Bragdon is the Founder and Executive Director of Integrative Mental Health University, IMHU.org. She earned her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology in 1987 and was licensed in California as a Marriage, Family, Child Therapist in 1988. As a pioneer who has helped define the field of spiritual emergency, Emma has published 7 books and co-produced 2 documentary films. Within IMHU Emma has trained over 110 Spiritual Emergence Coaches• who are available to support individuals disoriented or in distress as they open spiritually. She also leads a small group of healthcare providers to Brazil once a year to learn about the Spiritist paradigm of mental healthcare from Spiritist practitioners. Emma maintains a private practice, consulting internationally via zoom. See imhu.org/store for more info. on books/films. See EmmaBragdon.com for personal consultations.

Janis Whitlock is a developmental psychologist and emerita research faculty at Cornell University, where she founded the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery and co-founded the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury. With decades of experience in youth mental health research and clinical intervention development, she has pioneered evidence-based approaches to understanding and supporting young people navigating psychological distress. Beyond her academic work, Janis has deep roots in consciousness exploration and spiritual practice, which she brings to her teaching and to her spiritual coaching work through training and support services offered through My Soul Song. This unique combination of rigorous scientific training and consciousness-centered practice allows her to bridge clinical understanding with transformative, empowering frameworks for navigating extreme states. Her approach honors both the vulnerability and the potential for growth that these experiences hold.