Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky: Mental Health Matters Breakfast

Join us for Help Group’s Mental Health Matters Breakfast, an inspiring morning dedicated to resilience, connection, and well-being. Professionals can earn 2.5 continuing education credits.

This special event brings together leading insights from neuroscience and positive psychology to help you better support young people—and yourself—in today’s increasingly stressful world.

Enjoy a complimentary breakfast while gaining practical, research-based strategies you can immediately apply in your work and daily life. This event is ideal for clinicians, educators, and caregivers seeking meaningful tools and connection during Mental Health Awareness Month.

Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 8:30am - 12pm
Location: Help Group’s Autism Center – 13164 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA
Continuing Education: 2.5 Credits
Price: $49

Keynote: From Reactivity to Resilience: Helping Young People Regulate in an Anxious World

Dr. Dan Siegel, Renowned Psychiatrist, New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, and Founding Co-Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA

Presentation Description:

In today’s world, many young people are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm. In this presentation, Dr. Daniel J. Siegel will explore how relationships, emotional attunement, and everyday interactions with caring adults can help young people build resilience and develop the skills needed for emotional regulation.

Drawing on insights from interpersonal neurobiology, attachment research, and decades of clinical and parenting work, Dr. Siegel will translate key concepts about brain development into practical strategies that parents, educators, and clinicians can use to support young people during moments of stress and dysregulation.

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how connection, co-regulation, and emotional awareness help shape the developing mind, and how adults can respond to challenging behaviors in ways that strengthen resilience and well-being.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the core principles of interpersonal neurobiology and how brain development is shaped by relationships and early experiences.
• Explain the role of attachment, emotional attunement, and co-regulation in supporting young people’s ability to manage stress and regulate emotions.
• Identify key signs of emotional dysregulation in children and adolescents, and how these relate to underlying brain processes.
• Apply at least three practical, relationship-based strategies to support emotional regulation and resilience in young people during moments of stress.
• Differentiate between reactive behavioral responses and regulation-supportive approaches that promote integration, resilience, and overall well-being.

Speaker Biography:

Dan Siegel, MD, is the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute and Founding Co-Director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, where he has also served as Principal Co-Investigator of the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development and as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine.

An award-winning educator, Dr. Siegel is the author of five New York Times bestsellers and more than fifteen other books, which have been translated into over forty languages. As the founding editor of the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB), he has overseen the publication of over one hundred books within this transdisciplinary framework, which explores the intersections of mind, brain, and relationships in shaping mental health.

A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Siegel completed his postgraduate training at UCLA, specializing in pediatrics as well as adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry. He was trained in attachment research and narrative analysis through a National Institute of Mental Health research fellowship, focusing on how relationships shape our autobiographical understanding of our lives and influence development across the lifespan.

Featured Presentation: What I Learned About Increasing Well-Being From 36 Years of Happiness Science

Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Bestselling Author, Leading Expert on the Science of Happiness, and Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Riverside

Presentation Description:Happiness not only feels good—it is good. Happy people tend to be more creative, productive, and helpful; they have more stable marriages and higher incomes, and they boast stronger immune systems. Furthermore, research suggests that feeling socially connected is a key driver of happiness. Fortunately, experiments have shown that people can intentionally increase both their happiness and their sense of connection. In this presentation, Sonja Lyubomirsky will describe both classic and brand-new research revealing when and why practices such as expressing gratitude, performing acts of kindness, and engaging in more social interactions work best. Specifically, she will highlight the critical factors that increase the likelihood of success—for example, how to determine the right “dosage” or type of gratitude or kindness, and how to have deeper conversations that help people feel more loved.

Learning Objectives:

• List three intentional activities that have been shown to increase happiness and describe at least one study that supports the efficacy of each.
• Explain why a 15-minute conversation is one of the most effective happiness interventions and how to structure that conversation to maximize happiness.
• Describe at least three mindsets people can adopt to help themselves and their conversation partners feel more loved.

Speaker Biography:

Sonja Lyubomirsky earned her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude, and her PhD in psychology from Stanford University. She is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside and author of the bestselling books The How of Happiness, The Myths of Happiness, and How to Feel Loved (with Reis), published in 39 countries.

Lyubomirsky and her research, focused on the possibility of lastingly increasing happiness through gratitude, kindness, and connection interventions, have received numerous grants and honors, including election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Basel, the Diener Award for Outstanding Midcareer Contributions in Personality Psychology, the Christopher Peterson Gold Medal, and a Positive Psychology Prize.

Regional Center Registration

Help Group is an official Regional Center vendor with NLARC. Through your local Regional Center you can receive funding to apply towards one conference per year by contacting your Regional Center Service Coordinator.

Ticket price is $49.00 per person. One authorization per person. Adult Only.

Call your Service Coordinator and request an authorization to attend Mental Health Breakfast using our courtesy vendor number # PL0230, Parent Training Code 102 and subcode for this event MHM.

Once you receive an authorization from your Regional Center return to this ticket and complete your registration to secure your spot.

Continuing Education

For Professionals Seeking Continuing Education Credits

In accordance with accrediting guidelines, attendance will be tracked at both the start and conclusion of this in-person, live event. All participants will be asked to complete an online evaluation. CE certificates will be emailed to registrants following the event.

PSYCHOLOGISTS

The Help Group is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Help Group maintains responsibility for the program and its content. This course is eligible for up to 2.5 hours of live in person programming and 2.5 continuing education credits.

SOCIAL WORKERS & THERAPISTSThe Help Group is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. The Help Group maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. This course is eligible for up to 2.5 hours of live in person programming and 2.5 continuing education credits for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. (Provider #64310)

NOTE: If you are attending this event from any other state, outside of California, please check with your state board to see if you can receive continuing education for this event.

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS

This course is eligible for up to 2.5 hours of live in person programming and 2.5 continuing education credits for Speech-Language Pathologists as required by the California Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology Board. (Provider #PDP86).

NOTE: If you are attending this event from any other state, outside of California, please check with your state board to see if you can receive continuing education for this event.

CERTIFICATES OF ATTENDANCEThe Help Group will provide Certificates of Attendance for attendees.

*Breaks and Breakfast are not counted toward CE credit.

Info: Breakfast will be served.
Morning Book Signing with Dr. Daniel J. Siegel

Info: Dr. Susan Berman, Help Group CEO

Info: Presentation (75 minutes)
Q&A (15 minutes)

Info: Presentation (50 minutes)
Q&A (10 minutes)

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

13164 Burbank Blvd, 13164 Burbank Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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