Bridging Counseling and Wellness;
Holistic Mental Health Solutions
Holistic Mental Health Foundations for Today’s
Mental Health Professionals
October 16-18, 2025 in Bismarck, ND
October 16: 8:30-4:30
Optional Evening: 6:30-8:30 pm
​​
October 17: 8:30-4:30
Optional Evening: 6:30-8:30 pm
​
Bonus Day! Walk through case studies
October 18th 11-4:30
Daytime conference at:
North Dakota Heritage Center
612 E Boulevard Ave
Bismarck, ND 58505
​
Night workshops pending location.
​
CEUS pending.
If you’re feeling like you’ve done all the right things—diagnostics, evidence-based interventions, trainings—but still sense something’s missing, this is for you. Maybe you often wonder about root causes; you’re not alone and you're in the right place.
In this live class, you’ll discover how to integrate natural tools
into your mental health practice using an ethical, whole-body approach.
You’ll walk away with:
-
A new understanding of the gut-brain connection
-
How to spot nutritional deficiencies in your clients
-
What gene mutations like MTHFR and COMT really mean
-
Safe, legal ways to talk about supplements and food sensitivities
-
Ways hormones impact mental health symptoms
-
How to incorporate exercise to regulate mental health symptoms
-
And so much more-check out the agenda!
Why Join?
​
✔ You’re seeing clients with anxiety, ADHD, depression, and trauma—who aren’t fully improving with talk therapy alone.
✔ You’re ready to stop guessing and start using functional tools to get to the root.
✔ You want training that’s ethical and evidence informed.​
​
You're ready to educate your patients on:
- How food impacts mood?
- How stress affects the nervous system?
- How whole-body plans allow us to feel better faster?
- What their genes or environment might reveal?
- The hope there is to heal at a deeper level.
Who Should Attend?
​
Mental health professionals, NPs, OTs, chiropractors, and anyone in the helping field ready to look deeper.
​​​
Includes:
​
- Certificate of Completion. CEU Hours Pending
- Downloadable Handouts + Checklists
- Live Q&A
- Holistic Mental Health Provider CERTIFIED at Level 1!
​
​​​Join the Movement!
​
This is the future of mental health; rooted in education, collaboration, and compassion.
​
Meet the Presenters
Valerie Meyers Bitz, MS, LPCC-S is a licensed professional clinical counselor, national speaker, and leading educator in integrative mental health. She is the founder and CEO of The Kid’s Therapy Center, founder of The Round Table; a children’s mental health association, co-founder of First Responders Recovery, and 2024 Business Woman of the Year in Bismarck-Mandan.
Valerie specializes in child, teen, and family mental health, blending traditional therapies such as play therapy, sandtray, art therapy, and Brainspotting with a holistic, whole-body approach. Her work integrates genetics, nutrition, and functional wellness to uncover root causes and empower clients to heal beyond symptom management. She is an expert witness for family and criminal cases in North Dakota.
Beyond her clinical work, Valerie is a mentor to her staff and mental health professionals nationwide, helping others step into their full potential. She guides them with encouragement and hands-on coaching, often inspiring them to launch their own educational programs within The Kid’s Therapy Training Institute. Her people-first approach creates an environment where dreams are nurtured, growth is celebrated, and success is shared.
Valerie’s passion is rooted in one belief: there is hope for everyone. Her innovative programs and trainings are changing how mental health is understood; transforming lives by combining compassion, creativity, and cutting-edge science.
Dr. Deedra Rae Wells, ND is an integrative medicine strategist, naturopathic physician, and CME-accredited educator with more than two decades of experience across clinical practice, product development, and professional training. She is the founder of Practice with Purpose, a platform dedicated to advancing evidence-based, genetically informed, nutrition-forward care through accessible continuing medical education. Her teaching centers on hormone health, functional lab interpretation, and the application of nutrigenomics in clinical settings—with a special focus on cognitive longevity and menopause-related care.
Dr. Wells has led educational programming for thousands of practitioners worldwide, including her leadership roles as Vice President of Product Development at Market America–SHOP.COM and Director of Clinical Education at nEI. Her work includes development of tiered membership curricula, hybrid courses, and expert consultation for complex cases referred by MDs, NDs, DCs, and functional medicine providers. A recognized voice in the evolving field of personalized medicine, Dr. Wells empowers clinicians with tools that are both scientifically rigorous and operationally realistic—bridging the gap between clinical insight and implementation.
Dwight Franklin, MSOM, AP is an Eastern Medicine Physician, the founder of The Franklin Family Wellness Institute, and author of "The Elementary Method - How To Solve Your Child’s ADHD Case Through Natural, Science-Backed Solutions". He is a graduate and former Professor at the Florida College of Integrative Medicine, where he received a Master’s of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine and a Bachelor’s of Professional Health Studies.
​
Over the course of his career Dwight has worked alongside both Pediatricians and Psychiatrists in developing wellness programs for common childhood health concerns through the practice of Eastern and Functional Medicine, Supplementation, Food Therapy, and Lifestyle changes. Dwight has worked alongside numerous non-profits whose mission was in helping children of various backgrounds and circumstances and has been very blessed in being a part in positively impacting the physical and mental health of hundreds of children and their families.
​
Public speaking is a passion of Dwight's and he has had the opportunity to speak to medical students at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine as well as various other universities and institutions.
​
When not working with families who have children with ADHD, Autism, or other brain and physical health concerns, Dwight spends his time reading one book after another and supporting his home state’s basketball and football teams…The Kentucky Wildcats.