The Importance of Belonging in 2025

Join us for an inspiring online symposium that will transform your professional and personal world. This year's symposium brings together health professionals from all disciplines to explore the vital theme of "Belonging." In a world increasingly marked by hyper-individualism, this event aims to cultivate community and connection as essential components of well-being.

Hosted by STAR, this symposium will feature renowned speakers, including Drs Brigit Carter, Gail Whiteford, Amy Pearson, Georgia Pavlopoulou and Lovette Jallow. Together, they will share insights and practical strategies to foster belonging in healthcare settings, emphasizing the importance of collective well-being over isolation.

Throughout the event, attendees will engage in a variety of sessions, including:

• Keynote Lectures: Hear from leading experts on the significance of community in health care and the detrimental effects of loneliness and hyper-individualism.
• Interviews: Interviews with authors and researchers will explore innovative approaches to supporting belonging.
• Breakout Discussions: Collaborate with fellow attendees in breakout sessions designed to share experiences and strategies for promoting connection in your practice.
• Q&A Opportunities: Engage directly with our speakers to address your questions and deepen your understanding of the topic.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn practical tips for intentionally fostering belonging in your professional environment.
• Understand how to combat loneliness and promote community as a priority in health care.
• Discover how connected relationships can guide your practice and enhance the well-being of those you serve.
• Recognize that self-care is not just an individual pursuit but a connected and collective act that strengthens our communities and supports our shared resilience.

This symposium is a call to action for all health professionals dedicated to creating inclusive, supportive environments that prioritize the well-being of individuals and communities. Join us in this essential conversation and take a stand against the loneliness epidemic.

 

Register now and be part of a movement that champions connection and belonging in health care!

GET 60-DAY ON-DEMAND ACCESS TO THE FULL EVENT!

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What We'll Be Discussing - CONFIRMED TO DATE

Symposium Day 1 | Friday, October 17 | 8am - 5:20pm MT

8:00am-8:15am | WELCOME

8:15am-9:50am | Understanding Belonging in a Changing World | Dr. Karen Gravett

Dr. Gravett will share some of my recent research and practice thinking about key notions of connection and belonging, exploring how we might understand the complexity of these ideas in contemporary times. Specifically, I examine how university students’ and staff situated experiences of belonging and participation speak back to simplistic conceptions of equity, diversity and inclusion, and sketch a more nuanced depiction of what it is to experience moments of connection and belonging. LEARN MORE>>>

9:50am-11:05am | A Conversation on Burnout and the Communality of “Self” Care | Interview with Amelia Nagoski

In this lively and illuminating interview, Dr. Virginia Spielman sits down with New York Times best-selling author Amelia Nagoski, whose book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle presents a fresh, fierce, and feminist approach to dealing with the emotional and psychological toll brought about by working in high-stress professions.  LEARN MORE>>>

11:05am-11:20am | BREAK

11:20am-1:30pm | Agency, Belonging, Collaboration: The ABC of Experience-Sensitive Practice | Drs Amy Pearson & Georgia Pavlopoulou

In this session, we will present data from multiple projects exploring experiences of belonging among neurodivergent young people. We will talk about how to move from 'including' young people, addressing barriers to belonging and creating truly welcoming spaces. We will address how issues like masking impact on the mental health and attainment of young people, and how we can create safer spaces for them to be themselves. LEARN MORE>>>

1:30pm-2:00pm | LUNCH

2:00pm-2:30pm | Mini Lecture: Professional Isolation |  Dr. Patrick Bowman

2:30pm-3:20pm | Breakout Sessions | Confronting Isolation in Clinical Practice

3:20pm-3:30pm | BREAK

3:30pm-3:55pm | Sponsor Highlight | Landscape Structure Inc */**

4:00pm-5:15pm | Doing, Being, Becoming and Belonging: Towards a Justice of Participation | Dr. Gail Whiteford

Whilst the links between Doing, Being and Becoming have been explored widely to date - especially with respect to individual identity formation - the link to belonging as part of a collective has deserved less attention. These ideas will be explored and developed in the presentation with a discussion of the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework, which was originally developed by Whiteford & Townsend in 2005 and has been utilized in diverse contexts. LEARN MORE>>>

 

Symposium Day 2 | Saturday, October 18 | 8am - 5:20pm MT

8:00am-8:10am | WELCOME

8:10am-9:40am | Belonging by Design: Precolonial African Approaches to Collective and Neurodivergent Belonging | Lovette Jallow

Belonging in 2025 cannot be reduced to inclusion rhetoric or surface-level diversity. For neurodivergent people, belonging is the ability to enter a system without masking, shrinking, or absorbing harm. This keynote draws on research into precolonial African societies that curated belonging through care circles, women’s councils for repair, and griot memory that preserved difference as continuity rather than deficit. LEARN MORE>>>

9:40am-9:55am | BREAK

9:55am-11:00am | Wired for Connection: How Isolation Derails Cognitive Growth in Adolescence | Interview with Dr. Livia Tomova

In this engaging and in-depth presentation, Dr. Virginia Spielmann engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Livia Tomova, a leading researcher exploring the profound effects of loneliness on the brain. LEARN MORE>>> 

11:00am-11:45am | Workshop | Belonging Builds Resilience: Actionable Therapeutic Strategies

11:45am-12:15pm | LUNCH

12:15pm-1:45pm | Being Seen: Why Belonging Requires Epistemic Justice | Dr. Amandine Catala

This presentation explains why belonging requires what is called ‘epistemic justice’, i.e., being taken seriously by others and having shared concepts to be able to understand and communicate your experience to others. The presentation addresses the question of belonging and epistemic justice in the context of neurodiversity. LEARN MORE>>>

1:45pm-1:55pm | BREAK

1:55pm-2:25pm | Sponsor Highlight | Theratrak */**

2:25pm-3:45pm | From the Margins to the Center: The Journey Toward Belonging | Dr. Brigit Carter

Explore the concept of belonging through the lens of individuals and communities who have experienced exclusion. It examines how systems of exclusion operate in society, institutions, and culture, and what it takes to move from exclusive environments to environments that foster genuine belonging. LEARN MORE>>

3:45pm-4:45pm | Cultivating Belonging: Enhancing the LGBTQ+ Experience in Healthcare | Drs Fadi Adel & Patrick Decker-Tonnesen

This presentation will explore the critical importance of fostering a sense of belonging for LGBTQ+ patients within healthcare. We will examine the negative impacts of exclusion and discrimination on health outcomes, highlighting the need for inclusive practices. LEARN MORE>>>

4:45pm-5:15pm | From Idealism to Action: Reclaiming Our Collective Purpose on Healthcare | Dr. Virginia Spielmann

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Get to Know Our 2025 Speakers | Speaker Disclosures

Virginia Spielmann PhD, OTR/L (she/her) Executive Director STAR Institute Host	Brigit M. Carter PhD, RN, FAAN (she/her) Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer American Association of Colleges in Nursing	Karen Gravett  PhD (she/her) Associate Professor University of Surrey	Livia Tomova  PhD (she/her) Assistant Professor in Psychology Cardiff University
Lovette Jallow (she/her) Author, Advocate	Amy Pearson PhD (she/her) Assistant Professor Durham University	Amelia Nagoski DMA (they/them) Author	Patrick Bowman DMD, MS (he/him) Dentist Wash Park Pediatric Dentistry
Georgia Pavlopoulou PhD (she/her) Associate Professor University College London	Gail Whiteford BApp.Sc.,MHSc.,PhD (she/her) Emeritus Professor Charles Sturt University	Patrick Decker-Tonnesen MSW, PhD (he/him) Belonging Advisor	Fadi Adel MD (he/him)   Fellow in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology
Amandine Catala PhD (she/her)  Full Professor Université du Québec à Montréal

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Thank you to Our Sponsors

To register, please visit https://bit.ly/star-sponsorship or contact: Crystal Hays, Marketing Manager at marketing@sensoryhealth.org or Tory Englund, Assistant Director, at development@sensoryhealth.org or 303-221-7827 (Ext: 143) with any questions.

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Who Should Attend: 

Healthcare and education professionals, as well as caregivers, who want to better support neurodivergent individuals through neurodiversity-affirming, sensory-informed, and trauma-informed practices. 

Level: Introductory

Learning Objectives: 

• Define the concept of belonging within health and educational care settings and summarize its relevance to mental health, adolescent development, neurodivergence, and community well‑being, as framed in the symposium’s theme and sessions. 
• Recognize the potential health implications of loneliness and hyper‑individualism across contexts (e.g., adolescence, neurodivergence, professional practice) and summarize how connection supports resilience.  
• Describe at least six Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) relevant to OT practice and explain how sociocultural, socioeconomic, diversity, and lifestyle factors influence occupational participation.  
• Explicate (introductory explanation) intersectionality—how race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability interact to shape individuals’ opportunities and occupational experiences.  
• Explain health and wellness as comprehensive constructs (physical, mental, emotional, social) that extend beyond the absence of disease, consistent with an occupation‑centered view.  
• Identify core interventions to support occupations (e.g., self‑regulation techniques, assistive technology, environmental modifications, orthotics/prosthetics, wheeled mobility) and describe how they can be used to foster belonging and participation for neurodivergent clients.  
• Describe basic steps to integrate belonging goals into the occupational profile, screening, and intervention planning (e.g., co‑regulation routines, sensory‑informed environmental set‑ups, peer/group activities) to support daily participation.  
• Recognize at least three practical, occupation‑focused strategies practitioners can implement in clinics, schools, or community programs to counter isolation and enhance connection (e.g., group‑based occupations, collaborative routines with families/caregivers, environmental adaptations that cue social engagement).  
• Explain that ethical, effective self‑care in OT includes meeting basic physiological and relational needs (co‑regulation/connectedness) to support practitioner resilience and capacity to deliver occupation‑centered services.  
• Summarize why interventions to support occupations should be paired with purposeful, occupation‑based activities rather than used in isolation, at an introductory rationale level.  
• Discuss how belonging and inclusion relate to core ethical principles of the profession (e.g., beneficence, justice) and to neurodiversity‑affirming, sensory‑informed, and trauma‑informed practice.  
• Identify simple, actionable ways to leverage professional privilege to advocate for equity and inclusion in healthcare and educational systems (e.g., inclusive policies, accessible environments, respectful language).  
• Describe introductory strategies to reduce professional isolation and build peer connection (e.g., reflective groups, mentorship, interdisciplinary communities of practice) that mirror symposium breakout formats.  
• Summarize key takeaways from keynote and panel content to recognize evidence‑informed approaches that address loneliness and promote community across diverse populations served by OT. 

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Group Discount
Register 5 or more participants in a group and automatically receive a 10% discount!

Use the promotional code SYMGROUP25 upon checkout to automatically receive the discount on 5 or more registrations.

If participants of the group must pay separately, please:

1. Register all participants separately.
2. Send the names of all participants in your group to Education Team at education@sensoryhealth.com by October 1, 2025.
3. Once at least 5 registrations are received, each person will be partially refunded for the discounted amount.

Groups must be determined and paid in full before the start of the conference. 

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Continuing Education

 

ASHA CE Provider approval and use of the Brand Block does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures.

Add-on ASHA CEUs Option Available for an Additional $90
Includes Certificate of Completion and reporting your credits to the ASHA CE Registry*
*This is a separate fee from the annual ASHA CE Registry fee that is processed by ASHA

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Attendance Policy

Participants may join the conference at any time during the live broadcasts and/or view the recorded presentations for 60 days after the livestreamed event.

To receive the Certificate of Completion, participants must meet the following criteria:

• Purchase the AOTA/ASHA CEU Add-on
• Attend the live event or watch the recordings
• Complete and pass brief quiz for each approved presentation by November 17, 2025.
  • A passing score is 80% or higher
  • Quizzes must be completed in the order of the presentations.
  • Quizzes may be retaken as needed

If you would like STAR Institute to report your credits to the ASHA CE Registry, please submit the ASHA CE Registry Reporting Form by November 17, 2025.

Please note:

1. All participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance
2. You will have access to the recordings until December 31, 2025

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Do you have a disability that would require special accommodations?

Please contact us at education@sensoryhealth.org and describe how we can help accommodate your needs.

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Cancellation Policy

Since this program is recorded and available for on-demand access, cancellations are generally not accepted. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with education@sensoryhealth.org.

In the rare event that this program must be canceled due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, fire, strikes, war, acts of God, or other disruptions beyond our control, STAR Institute will make every effort to reschedule. If rescheduling is not possible, all registration fees will be refunded.