Connection, Courage, and Change
People who practice, teach, study, and love Relational-Cultural Theory will gather at Wellesley College from October 16–18, 2026, for Toward a New Psychology of Women: 50 Years of Connection, Courage, and Change.
This three-day 2026 Relational-Cultural Theory conference will honor the legacy of Jean Baker Miller’s Toward a New Psychology of Women while exploring how RCT continues to grow across therapy, education, leadership, community work, and social justice.
For those working in the paradigm that we grow through and toward connection, this gathering offers a chance to reflect on where RCT has been—and to participate in imagining what it might become next.
BCC sends panelists to the 2026 Relational Cultural Theory Conference
The Bloomington Center for Connection will be represented by three panelists:
- Amy Makice, BCC founder, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and advanced practitioner and teacher of Relational-Cultural Therapy. Dedicated to walking the talk of RCT through play, connection, and authentic communication. Amy is also co-facilitator of the International Center for Growth in Connection’s Psychotherapy Affinity Group
- Kevin Makice, Relational experience designer, creator of the RCT Toybox, and longtime explorer of RCT through play, community, technology, and civic life. Currently developing accessible approaches to relational gaming.
- Meenaxi Palaniappan, psychologist, certified sex therapist, RCT practitioner, supervisor, and trainer, and co-facilitator of the International Center for Growth in Connection’s Psychotherapy Affinity Group
Amy, Kevin, and Meenaxi have helped create many of BCC’s Relational Summits, trainings, conversations, and playful experiments in bringing RCT out of the textbook and into lived relationship. We are glad to have BCC’s work included in this larger gathering of people carrying RCT forward.
BCC sends panelists to the 2026 Relational Cultural Theory Conference
The Bloomington Center for Connection will be represented by three panelists:
- Amy Makice, BCC founder, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and advanced practitioner and teacher of Relational-Cultural Therapy. Dedicated to walking the talk of RCT through play, connection, and authentic communication. Amy is also co-facilitator of the International Center for Growth in Connection’s Psychotherapy Affinity Group
- Kevin Makice, Relational experience designer, creator of the RCT Toybox, and longtime explorer of RCT through play, community, technology, and civic life. Currently developing accessible approaches to relational gaming.
- Meenaxi Palaniappan, psychologist, certified sex therapist, RCT practitioner, supervisor, and trainer, and co-facilitator of the International Center for Growth in Connection’s Psychotherapy Affinity Group
Amy, Kevin, and Meenaxi have helped create many of BCC’s Relational Summits, trainings, conversations, and playful experiments in bringing RCT out of the textbook and into lived relationship. We are glad to have BCC’s work included in this larger gathering of people carrying RCT forward.
Keynote speakers from BCC Relational Summits present
People who have participated in earlier Bloomington Center for Connection events will recognize two especially meaningful presenter at the 2026 Relational-Cultural Theory Conference.
Dr. Amy Banks will present the keynote, Leading with Relationships in Mind: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go. Amy Banks was the special guest for BCC’s 2024 Relational Summit, Playful Connections, where she helped us explore relational neuroscience and the ways play supports connection, resilience, and growth.
Dr. Maureen Walker will present the keynote, Embracing Relational Complexity. Maureen’s writing and teaching about power, culture, mutuality, controlling images, relational possibility, and productive conflict have deeply influenced how we understand and practice RCT at BCC.
Learning with Amy Banks and Maureen Walker has helped shape our community. We are looking forward to being with them again, this time alongside founding scholars, longtime practitioners, and people developing new applications of Relational-Cultural Theory.
What the RCT Conference Will Explore
The conference will include keynotes, panels, experiential workshops, plenary sessions, and opportunities to connect with other RCT practitioners.
Topics include:
- The founding voices and early development of Relational-Cultural Theory
- Relational neuroscience
- The Five Good Things and connection with the natural world
- RCT across the lifespan and in different areas of life
- Applications of relational-cultural practice across disciplines
- Power, social injustice, resilience, and relational healing
- The future of RCT
The gathering is intended for therapists, counselors, social workers, psychologists, educators, students, consultants, community practitioners, and others interested in deepening their understanding of relational-cultural theory.
Conference Details
Toward a New Psychology of Women: 50 Years of Connection, Courage, and Change
Dates: October 16–18, 2026
Location: Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts
Continuing education: 15 CE credit hours for full attendance
Early-bird registration: $349 through August 1, 2026
Standard registration: $399
Scholarships: Available through the conference organizers
The conference is hosted by the International Center for Growth in Connection and Brain Based EMDR Training, with the Wellesley Centers for Women serving as a co-sponsor.
We hope to see many people from the extended BCC and Relational-Cultural Therapy communities at Wellesley as we celebrate what has grown through 50 years of connection—and help shape what comes next. We're so excited for a 2026 Relational-Cultural Theory Conference we can hardly stand it.