Upcoming Events
*NEW* Events Calendar!
Fall Socials
Join us on the following Fridays from 5:30-7:30pm at Strangebird to socialize, network, and connect with our organization.
- September 25, 2026
- October 23, 2026
Fall Community Consultation Groups
Connect and consult with colleagues about your clinical work, led by an RAGPS board member. Consultation groups are free to members, and require registration.
- Monday, September 21, 2026
- Wednesday, October 21, 2026
- Saturday, November 21, 2026
2026 Fall Conference
Joining Psyche and Soma in Group Therapy:
The Use of Immediacy as Emotional Bridge
Chap Attwell, MD & Liz Stewart, ASPI, EMCC, BCSI
The Use of Immediacy as Emotional Bridge
Chap Attwell, MD & Liz Stewart, ASPI, EMCC, BCSI
Friday November 6, 2026
- Artisan Church 1235 S Clinton Ave, Rochester, NY 14620
8:15 - 9:00 a.m. Registration & breakfast
9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Welcome, Announcements, & Introduction
9:15 - 10:30 a.m. Part 1
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. Morning break & snack
10:45 - 12:00 p.m. Part 2
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 - 2:45 p.m. Part 3
2:45 - 3:00 p.m. Afternoon break
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Part 4
5:00 - 5:15 p.m. Evaluations & sign-out
Saturday, November 7, 2026
- 1577 South Avenue Rochester, NY
10:00am - 11:30am
A 90-minute, small group, experiential training to deepen exploration of the conference themes with our presenter.
- Artisan Church 1235 S Clinton Ave, Rochester, NY 14620
8:15 - 9:00 a.m. Registration & breakfast
9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Welcome, Announcements, & Introduction
9:15 - 10:30 a.m. Part 1
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. Morning break & snack
10:45 - 12:00 p.m. Part 2
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30 - 2:45 p.m. Part 3
2:45 - 3:00 p.m. Afternoon break
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Part 4
5:00 - 5:15 p.m. Evaluations & sign-out
Saturday, November 7, 2026
- 1577 South Avenue Rochester, NY
10:00am - 11:30am
A 90-minute, small group, experiential training to deepen exploration of the conference themes with our presenter.
Rates
Full-Day Workshop
Standard Rate: $180
Agency Rate: $120 *
Student Rate: $40 **
* Discount for anyone working in a non-profit setting.
** Discount for anyone who is currently enrolled in a degree program.
Consultation Group
All participants: $70
Racial Equity Rate: RAGPS’ purpose is to provide high quality training in group psychotherapy to the Western New York community. Since people who identify as members of racial and ethnic groups have historically been denied equal access to education and training, we offer a Racial Equity Rate for our conferences and trainings. If you so identify, regardless of financial need, we invite you to email us to be provided with a discount code.
Other Need: If you are unable to attend a training due to financial constraints and are not eligible for the Racial Equity Rate, please email us to see if a mutually beneficial solution can be reached.
No refunds issued after November 3rd, 2026.
Onsite registration is available.
Full-Day Workshop
Standard Rate: $180
Agency Rate: $120 *
Student Rate: $40 **
* Discount for anyone working in a non-profit setting.
** Discount for anyone who is currently enrolled in a degree program.
Consultation Group
All participants: $70
Racial Equity Rate: RAGPS’ purpose is to provide high quality training in group psychotherapy to the Western New York community. Since people who identify as members of racial and ethnic groups have historically been denied equal access to education and training, we offer a Racial Equity Rate for our conferences and trainings. If you so identify, regardless of financial need, we invite you to email us to be provided with a discount code.
Other Need: If you are unable to attend a training due to financial constraints and are not eligible for the Racial Equity Rate, please email us to see if a mutually beneficial solution can be reached.
No refunds issued after November 3rd, 2026.
Onsite registration is available.
Continuing Education - PENDING APPROVAL
NYSED CEs are provided by the UB School of Social Work Office of Continuing Education. 6 live in-person
contact hours are approved for LMSW/LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, LCAT, and PSY. Full attendance is required;
no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.
NYSED CEs are provided by the UB School of Social Work Office of Continuing Education. 6 live in-person
contact hours are approved for LMSW/LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, LCAT, and PSY. Full attendance is required;
no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.
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Dr. Chap Attwell served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine (adjunct), where he directed the group therapy curriculum and the NYU/Bellevue Psychiatry Residency Process Group Program for 10 years. For 16 years he also served as the Clinical Director of the Medical Student Mental Health Service.
Dr. Attwell obtained his MD degree from Baylor College of Medicine and his MPH degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, Texas; pursued residency training in Psychiatry at NYU/Bellevue in New York City; and graduated from the adult program in psychoanalysis at the Psychoanalytic Association of New York (PANY, affiliated with the NYU School of Medicine). Dr. Attwell is an advanced candidate at the Center for Group Studies in New York City. Dr. Attwell works from his private practice in Dobbs Ferry, NY where he specializes in the training group function for psychiatrists, physicians, and all manner of mental health professionals at the national level. He enjoys blending the practice of medicine, the soul of psychiatry, and the art of group therapy in his favorite research area—decoding body language as bridge to emotional immediacy. Dr. Attwell is also passionate about the interface of the peripheral retina with its multiple connections to the limbic, proprioceptive, and auditory systems, specifically re: photonic modulation and therapeutic interventions. When not at work, Dr. Attwell enjoys down time through a yoga practice and hanging out with his family, large hounds, and writing notebooks. |
Chap Attwell, MD
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Liz Stewart is a Rolfing® Structural Integration practitioner, somatic educator, and group supervisor based in Boulder, Colorado. She has been in practice since 1992, with foundational training through the Guild for Structural Integration and later study in supervision through Oxford Brookes University.
Liz’s professional roots are in the body. For more than three decades, she has taught Structural Integration primarily through continuing education, while also offering mentoring and supervision in both individual and group formats. Over time, group work has become a central part of her practice. Her work now centers on supporting people in the helping professions, including embodiment-based practitioners, bodyworkers, and coaches. She facilitates supervision groups and reflective spaces for those who want a deeper, more grounded relationship to their work. She helps practitioners slow down and listen not only to what is being said, but to what is happening in the body, the nervous system, and the space between people. Her approach integrates somatic awareness, attachment theory, nervous system regulation, group dynamics, and psychoanalytic perspectives, including modern psychoanalysis and Lacanian thought. She pays close attention to what is carried in the body and what emerges in relationship, especially in moments shaped by authority, uncertainty, belonging, exclusion, and change. Liz’s work supports practitioners in becoming more aware of how they listen, respond, hold emotion, and take up space in their professional roles. Her work is known for being attuned, relational, and quietly transformative, creating space for people to feel met, supported, and more fully present in what they do. |
Liz Stewart, ASPI, EMCC, BCSI
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2027 Spring Conference
Save the Date!
Carlos Canales, Psy.D., CGP, FAGPA, SEP™
April 2 and 3, 2027
Carlos Canales, Psy.D., CGP, FAGPA, SEP™
April 2 and 3, 2027
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Dr. Carlos Canales, Psy.D., CGP, FAGPA, SEP™, is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, Certified Group Psychotherapist, and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner in private practice since 2011. He received his graduate degree from Rosemead School of Psychology in 2007. He is fluent in Psychodynamic Therapy, Gestalt therapy, Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, and Emotionally Focused Therapy. He has worked at multiple counseling centers such as the Biola Counseling Center, Fuller Psychological and Family Services, and the University of California–Davis Counseling and Psychological Center (UC-Davis, CAPS) for seven years. He has also worked in inpatient and outpatient hospitals and community mental health centers. He is bilingual and bicultural, and has developed an emphasis in the treatment of Latino/Latina clients and working with affect. He provided many psycho-educational workshops and seminars to university communities and various professional agencies, local hospitals, and professional conferences.
Dr. Canales has been facilitating a variety of psychotherapy groups for almost two decades, including a training group for psychotherapists. He served in the board for the Northern California Group Psychotherapy Society (NCGPS), Hispanic Educational Resources (HER), and currently serves in the Iowa Psychological Foundation (IPF) board. He is also a clinical member of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), organization that gave him the honor of fellowship (FAGPA), nomination for outstanding professional competence and leadership capacities. Dr. Canales is part of the distant learning committee of AGPA. At Vida Psychotherapy, Dr. Canales treats individuals, couples, and families in addition to providing psychological testing and immigration reports. He also facilitates four psychotherapy, growth-oriented groups for adults and a dynamic reading/case consultation group for clinicians. |
Carlos Canales, Psy.D., CGP, FAGPA, SEP™
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