Pre-Conferences

Balm for the Bold: Thriving at the Intersection of Purpose & Well-Being

Presented by Dr. PaQuita R. Pullen, LPC-MHSP, NCC, RYT-200

Those who are called to serve, lead, disrupt, and care for others are often expected to do so at the expense of their own well-being. Balm for the Bold: Thriving at the Intersection of Purpose & Well-being is a reflective and experiential wellness session designed for professionals navigating burnout, compassion fatigue, leadership strain, and systems-level stress while doing purpose-driven work. Participants will explore the cost of chronic survival mode in helping professions, the connection between nervous system regulation and leadership capacity, rest as a protective factor against burnout and vicarious trauma, practical micro-rituals that support resilience in high-demand roles, and sustainable approaches to purpose-driven work that interrupt depletion cycles. Participants will leave with accessible, immediately applicable tools to support their personal well-being and extend wellness practices within their teams and organizations.

Objectives:

• Participants will be able to identify at least three indicators of survival-based functioning in professional roles.
• Participants will be able to describe the relationship between nervous system regulation and sustainable leadership capacity.
• Participants will learn and implement at least two restorative micro practices to mitigate burnout and compassion fatigue.

Dr. PaQuita R. Pullen, LPC-MHSP/S, NCC, RYT is an innovative and quick thinker who uses her expertise and skills to better benefit others and the implementation of key wellness processes. Dr. P, as she is affectionately known, is an award winning mental health professional with over a decade of experience. She is creative in all endeavours and has a natural ability to see many different ways of getting things done. Dr. P’s zone of genius lies in empowering individuals to get busy living and leading authentic lives. She has a keen ability to speak truth and tailors her words

Susan Lahey, PhD is the Director of Graduate Counseling Trevecca Nazarene University, where she has served as full-time faculty since 2007 and director since 2017. In her various roles at Trevecca, Susan has provided leadership in her role as the Doctoral Program Coordinator since 2009 as well as CACREP liaison during the accreditation process. She is also the co-faculty sponsor for Theta Nu Upsilon, the program Chi Sigma Iota honor society. Dr. Lahey previously served as secretary and Middle TN representative within the TN Marriage and Family Therapy Association for 6 years. Dr. Lahey has also trained supervisors for many years through the TLPCA and AAMFT organizations. She is a licensed marital and family therapist with a private practice. Dr. Lahey is committed to the mentoring and development of counselors, supervisors, and educators. In her work as dissertation chair over the last 13 years, her desire to serve her students’ pursuit of counselor identity has only deepened. Dr. Lahey’s research interests involve, but are not limited to, clinical supervision, counselor educator training, marital crisis, family cohesion, and leadership skills.