Speaker Bios In order of Presentation
Erik Peper, Ph.D.
Erik Peper is an international authority on biofeedback and self-regulation and professor of Holistic Health Studies at San Francisco State University. He is President of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe and past President of the AAPB. He has a biofeedback practice at Biofeedback Health (www.biofeedbackhealth.org). In 2013 was received the AAPB’s Biofeedback Distinguished Scientist Award in recognition of outstanding career & scientific contributions. He is an author of numerous articles and books such as Make Health Happen,Fighting Cancer-A Nontoxic Approach to Treatment, Healthy Computing with Muscle Biofeedback, and Biofeedback Mastery. His is co-author of the newly published book, TechStress: How Technology is Hijacking Our Lives, Strategies for Coping, and Pragmatic Ergonomics. He publishes the blog, the peper perspective-ideas on illness, health and well-being (www.peperperspective.com). His research interests focus on self-healing strategies to optimize health, the effects of posture and respiration, and learning self-mastery with biofeedback.
Jamie McHugh, MA, RSMT
Jamie McHugh, MA, RSMT is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (ISMETA), somatic movement specialist, and interdisciplinary artist living on the northern California coast. He is the creator of Somatic Expression® - Body Wisdom for Modern Minds, an integrative approach to the art and craft of embodiment. www.somaticexpression.com as well as the developer of NatureBeingArt, abstract contemplative photography of the natural environment for both fine art reproductions and video streams. www.naturebeingart.org
In the San Francisco Bay Area, McHugh was faculty at Tamalpa Institute, a Center for Movement-Based Expressive Arts Therapy from 1987-2017, and adjunct faculty in the Master’s Program in Holistic Health Education at John F. Kennedy University from 1991-2015 where he taught practicums in somatic movement education. On an international level, McHugh has presented his work since 1989 in Europe, Latin America and Asia. He was a consultant for the Swiss AIDS Federation and annual presenter of "Movement as Medicine" workshops for HIV+ people and their caregivers from 1997-2007. He also directed a Healing Arts Training Group in Dusseldorf, Germany from 1997-2007. Additionally, McHugh has been a guest teacher in diverse educational, artistic and healthcare settings, including L’Atelier de Paris, the Bristol (England) Cancer Center, Esalen Institute, Kobe University, Stanford University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Alanus University.
McHugh has been published in various periodicals, including Contact Quarterly, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities and Yogi Times, and had a monthly column from 1996-97 in The Monthly Aspectarian. His oral history "Alive at the Edge: A Life in Dance" was documented by the Legacy Project and is housed at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library. McHugh also contributed a chapter to “Hope Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Our Place in the Natural World” edited by Martin Keogh (2010, North Atlantic Books) and was included in “Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond” (2017) by Emmaly Wiederholt.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, McHugh was faculty at Tamalpa Institute, a Center for Movement-Based Expressive Arts Therapy from 1987-2017, and adjunct faculty in the Master’s Program in Holistic Health Education at John F. Kennedy University from 1991-2015 where he taught practicums in somatic movement education. On an international level, McHugh has presented his work since 1989 in Europe, Latin America and Asia. He was a consultant for the Swiss AIDS Federation and annual presenter of "Movement as Medicine" workshops for HIV+ people and their caregivers from 1997-2007. He also directed a Healing Arts Training Group in Dusseldorf, Germany from 1997-2007. Additionally, McHugh has been a guest teacher in diverse educational, artistic and healthcare settings, including L’Atelier de Paris, the Bristol (England) Cancer Center, Esalen Institute, Kobe University, Stanford University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Alanus University.
McHugh has been published in various periodicals, including Contact Quarterly, Journal of Dance, Movement and Spiritualities and Yogi Times, and had a monthly column from 1996-97 in The Monthly Aspectarian. His oral history "Alive at the Edge: A Life in Dance" was documented by the Legacy Project and is housed at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library. McHugh also contributed a chapter to “Hope Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Our Place in the Natural World” edited by Martin Keogh (2010, North Atlantic Books) and was included in “Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond” (2017) by Emmaly Wiederholt.
Dr. Ilene A. Serlin, Ph.D, BC-DMT
Ilene A. Serlin, Ph.D, BC-DMT is a licensed psychologist and registered dance/movement therapist in practice in San Francisco and Marin county. She is the past president of the San Francisco Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, past-president of the Division of Humanistic Psychology. Ilene Serlin is Associated Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, has taught at Saybrook University, Lesley University, UCLA, the NY Gestalt Institute and the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. She is the editor of Whole Person Healthcare, co-editor of Integrative Care for the Traumatized, over 100 chapters and articles on body, art and psychotherapy, and is on the editorial boards of PsycCritiques, the American Dance Therapy Journal, the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Arts & Health: An International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice, Journal of Applied Arts and Health, and The Humanistic Psychologist. In 2019, she received the Rollo May award from APA’s Society for Humanistic Studies, and the California Psychological Association Distinguished Humanitarian Contribution award.
Jake Ernst, MSW, RSW
Jake Ernst, MSW RSW, is a therapist and writer from Toronto, Canada. He is the Clinical Director of Straight Up Health which is a clinic for young people and their families. In his work, Jake is interested in unexplored feelings, unprocessed trauma, and unmet attachment needs in childhood and adolescence as catalysts for mental unhealth and unwellness in adulthood.
Cherie Spehar, LCSW, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor & Certified Trauma Consultant-Supervisor
Cherie Spehar is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Facilitator, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and Certified Trauma Consultant-Supervisor. A sought after national speaker and trainer, Cherie provides trauma-informed trainings across the country, and has served as the Keynote Speaker for several organizations including the NC School Social Worker's Association. In 2012, she was awarded the National Trauma Consultant of the Year Award from The National Institute for Trauma and Loss. A clinician since 1994, she has dedicated her life to the well-being and healing of children, women and families. With her extensive clinical background, her professional path has found her in longstanding roles such as Executive Director of The Child Abuse Prevention Center in Raleigh, NC and Training Coordinator and Developer with the North Carolina State University Social Work Department. Now, she can be found at her Trauma Treatment and Training Center, Smiling Spirit Pathways: The Apex Center for Trauma Healing LLC, where she has developed a haven for consultation, trauma services, community debriefings, mentorship and education. Specializing in trauma-informed care, life transitions, grief, and attachment, her healing approach is highly focused on resiliency principles, particularly child-caregiver connections from birth through the lifespan. Her noted expertise in these areas brings her to wonderful opportunities to supervise, teach, train, and speak on these areas locally and nationally. An author of multiple training curricula, she is currently involved in several exciting projects at Smiling Spirit Pathways, including the writing of a parent publication on supporting children in the aftermath of trauma, and a course Trauma Journaling. Cherie works in close collaboration with The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children and serves as their Lead Blogger, Certified Department Trainer, and is engaged in multiple projects with this leading organization in best practice trauma services. Cherie considers herself an avid, daily student of life and finds the people with whom she has held the privilege of sharing the healing journey to be her greatest, most humbly inspiring teachers.