Black Mental Wellness sets 2026 healing conference for November 6 in Silver Spring

Black Mental Wellness will hold its 2026 "Healing Across Generations" conference on Nov. 6 at the Silver Spring Civic Building, bringing together mental health professionals, community leaders and families to focus on trauma, resilience and Black mental wellness. The event adds expanded youth programming, healing sessions and pre-conference virtual events in October, with registration now open.

Why it matters: - The conference is designed to address how trauma, resilience and healing move across generations in Black communities. - Black Mental Wellness is using the event to connect clinical education, community conversation and experiential healing in one place. - The in-person gathering aims to give attendees practical tools they can apply in families, schools, faith spaces and professional settings.

What happened: - Black Mental Wellness announced the 2026 Black Mental Wellness Conference, "Healing Across Generations." - The conference will take place on November 6, 2026, at the Silver Spring Civic Building in Silver Spring, Maryland. - The event will bring together mental health professionals, healers, educators, community and faith leaders, advocates, families, students and people with lived experience. - Registration is open through the conference website: Conference website

The details: - The program will include professional education, panels, roundtables, healing experiences and community conversations. - This year's theme focuses on how trauma, wisdom, resilience and mental health approaches move across generations. - Planned sessions include "Freedom Within: Psychoanalysis, Racial Trauma, and Black Liberation in the Face of Injustice" with Dr. Justin S. Hopkins. - Another featured session is "From Inherited Survival to Intentional Regulation: Breaking Intergenerational Trauma Patterns" with Khiara "Mills" Mills, LCPC-LPC. - Youth-focused sessions will include "Breaking Survival Mode: Happiness Triggers for Black Youth Mental Health and Generational Healing" and "Seen but Unheard: Understanding Trauma and Mental Wellness in Black Youth." - The conference will also offer Black men’s and Black women’s mental health panels, a student poster session, faith and healing conversations, lived-experience discussions and professional learning opportunities. - Expanded healing sessions will cover holistic mental health, somatic healing, sound healing and meditation. - Dr. Nicole L. Cammack said the conference reflects the idea that healing is interconnected across generations. - Dr. Jessica S. Henry said intergenerational healing means carrying forward strength without carrying forward wounds. - Dr. Dana L. Cunningham said the conference is meant to help attendees interrupt harmful cycles and create pathways for families and communities to thrive. - Virtual pre-conference programming begins Monday, Oct. 5, with online sessions held Mondays at 7 p.m. throughout October. - October virtual sessions will focus on ancestral healing, mental wellness, generational patterns and preserving the professionals who help others heal. - The November 6 conference will not have a virtual component.

Between the lines: - The expanded youth programming signals a sharper focus on the next generation as both a priority audience and a source of insight. - The mix of clinical education and experiential healing suggests Black Mental Wellness is aiming to bridge formal mental health practice with culturally grounded community care. - The October virtual series broadens access for people who cannot travel, while the main conference remains an in-person community experience.

What's next: - Black Mental Wellness will hold virtual pre-conference sessions every Monday in October at 7 p.m. - The organization will host the in-person conference on Nov. 6, 2026, at the Silver Spring Civic Building. - The event is open to mental health and healthcare professionals, educators, students, community and faith leaders, parents, caregivers, wellness practitioners, researchers, advocates, families and others interested in Black mental wellness. - Black Mental Wellness says the conference continues its broader work of advancing mental health in Black communities through culturally responsive education, resources and community engagement.