Reno (Reno proper)

After my interesting mindfulness/meditation "workshop" (aka silent retreat), I met up with Amanda in Reno for the ACBS conference itself. The conference hotel was the Silver Legacy, which is actually a "resort casino" - which basically means that the entire first floor was a big casino, the second floor was all buffet restaurants, the interior was garishly decorated, and only the hotel rooms themselves had an iota of natural light. But the beds were comfy, the price was right, and the location was only about 1.5 miles from conference venue on the UNR campus.



The view from our hotel room (of - surprise! - another casino):

If we stood against the wall and craned our necks, we could see the mountains in the distance:

Most of our time was spent here at UNR's new Joe Crowley Student Union:

I went to so many interesting sessions! You can probably figure out why I loved the conference so much, just by seeing some of the session titles...

-Mindfulness and Acceptance Processes in Relation to Weight-Related Difficulties and Diabetes
-ACT for Addiction
-ACT-based Family Intervention for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa
-Improving CBT: Problems and Prospects
-ACT and the Full Spectrum of Disordered Eating
-ACT with Depression
-The Art and Science of Thought Suppression
-ACT for Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment of Disordered Eating

It was a fascinating conference. I met so many interesting people, learned a lot, and figured out that Amanda and I travel pretty well together. The other great part of the conference was the "extras" they had planned each night. Sunday was a poster reception, Monday was a BBQ, Tuesday was a minor league baseball game, and Wednesday was the "follies" (i.e., psychology- and ACT-related skits). So much fun!

This balloon popped up in the 7th inning stretch to "sing" _Take Me Out to the Ballgame_:

The weird thing about Reno is that no one walks anywhere - conference attendees were basically the only people I ever saw out walking. I'm thinking it might be related to the number of men who leered, propositioned, or otherwise objectified everyday women such as myself and Amanda. It was more than a little creepy. So, as interesting as the conference was, I'm hoping that the next time I attend, it will be in a different city!

(Next up: A weekend in Philly! Stay tuned!)

P.S. Mike and Anne - Reno needs your skills!