Toward a Shared Goal: Uniting Researchers, Providers, and Community to Promote a Better Understanding of MAPs
Friday-Sunday, June 12-14, 2026 (The registration deadline has passed.)
Join us in the beautiful American Southwest to network and learn from each other. We welcome clinicians, researchers, educators, students, and professionals from diverse fields, as well as minor-attracted people (MAPs) and their family members and friends.
- Clinicians will learn to apply evidence-based therapeutic skills when working with MAPs.
- Scholars will share emerging research, discuss research methodology, and gain a vision for future directions.
- MAPs will strengthen skills for coping with the effects of stigma.
- All attendees will gain an improved understanding of MAPs’ needs and lived experiences, and apply it to their professional work or personal lives.
Practitioners can receive 11.25 CEUs through the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners. If you’re outside of Maryland, check whether your professional licensing board accepts them.
Virtual attendance is provided for four sessions, beginning at 8:30 am local time on Saturday, June 13, with 15 minute breaks between sessions and a one hour lunch break (12:30-1:30), and ending at 2:30 pm local time. Practitioners who attend virtually will receive 4.25 CEUs.
Read what others have said about the impact of our past conferences.
Program
General Interest Sessions
- Our Shared Goal: Understanding MAPs & Addressing Anti-MAP Bias*
- Humanizing Care: A Collaborative Training Model to Reduce Stigma Toward MAPs among Mental Health Professionals*
- Outside Looking In: A MAP’s Experience as a Mandated (“Sex Offender”) Treatment Provider
- The Questions That Matter: A Collaborative Workshop on MAP Support and Understanding
- The Impact of MAP Non(Exclusivity) on Mental Health
- The Influence of Moral Panic on Treatment
Clinical Sessions
- Standards of Care for Therapeutic Work with MAPs*
- Clinical Case Studies in MAP-Affirming Therapy*
- The Rising Tide of Compassionate Care: Addressing the Care Deficit for MAPs with Disabilities and How This Helps all MAPs
- Supporting Change: Ethical Treatment Approaches for MAPs with Illegal Image Use Histories
- Maintaining Trust Under Legal Constraints: Mandated Reporting in MAP Clinical Work
- Sex Positive Approaches to Working with MAPs
- Does Your Mother Know? The Experiences of Parents of MAPs
Research-Oriented Sessions
- Special Methodological and Ethical Considerations for Research with MAPs
- Improving Psychologists’ Willingness to Treat Minor Attracted Persons
- Sex Exceptionalism in Implicit Attitudes Toward Child-Attracted Persons
- Facilitating Dialog and Collaboration between Researchers and MAPs
- Future Directions for MAP Research
MAP Self-Help Sessions
- Distress Tolerance Skills-Building Workshop
- Challenging Anti-MAP Biases Without Outing Yourself
- Acceptance and Commitment Training: Skills for Everyday Life that MAPs Can Learn and Therapists Can Teach
*Virtual attendees will be able to attend the following sessions, starting at 8:30 am local time Saturday, June 13, and ending at 2:30 pm local time, with 15 minute breaks between sessions and a one hour lunch break (12:30-1:30).
- Our Shared Goal: Understanding MAPs & Addressing Anti-MAP Bias
- Standards of Care for Therapeutic Work with MAPs
- Clinical Case Studies in MAP-Affirming Therapy
- Humanizing Care: A Collaborative Training Model to Reduce Stigma Toward MAPs among Mental Health Professionals
Schedule
Friday evening, June 12
| 6:30 – 9:30 | Check-in |
| 7:30 – 9:30 | Meet-and-greet with hors d’oeuvres |
Saturday, June 13
| 8:00 – 8:30 | Check-in & continental breakfast |
| 8:30 – 12:30 | Morning sessions |
| 12:30 – 1:30 | Lunch provided |
| 1:30 – 5:15 | Afternoon sessions |
| 5:15 – 6:00 | Optional processing session |
| 8:00 – 10:00 | Social event |
Sunday, June 14
| 8:00 – 8:30 | Continental breakfast |
| 8:30 – 12:00 | Morning sessions |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Lunch provided |
| 1:00 – 3:45 | Afternoon sessions |
| 3:45 – 4:45 | Optional processing session |
Registration
The conference will be attended by professionals, researchers, educators, and graduate students in the fields of mental health, human sexuality, and other relevant fields. Mental health practitioners who attend can receive 11.25 CEUs (4.25 CEUs if attending virtually) through the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners.
MAPs and their family members and friends also attend, and they may register under pseudonyms to protect their identities.
We’re committed to increasing diversity at our conferences. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), Trans/Non-binary/gender diverse attendees, and Minor-Attracted women receive a 10% discount on the standard tier conference fee.
Financial Assistance: We provide financial support to a limited number of attendees with unique backgrounds or perspectives not previously represented at the conference and to those who would consider future B4U-ACT involvement but cannot reasonably afford to attend. The application deadline for financial assistance has passed, but we encourage supporters who are able to do so to donate to the financial assistance fund.
Registration fees:
- Sustainer Tier: $299: This tier is for those who can comfortably meet their basic needs and have discretionary income. Your support helps subsidize lower-cost registrations for others and sustains our ability to host future conferences. If you’re able to give a little more, we invite you to choose this tier with gratitude.
- Standard Tier: $229: This tier reflects the estimated true per-person cost of the conference. If you can attend without significant financial strain, we encourage you to register at this level. Your participation helps us minimize losses while keeping the event accessible to others.
- Access Tier: $129: This tier is for up to 20 individuals with limited financial resources for whom paying the standard fee would prevent them from attending — due to student status, unemployment, or other financial challenges.
- Virtual Attendance: $99: This option allows online attendance at four sessions (Our Shared Goal, Standards of Care, Clinical Case Studies, and A Training Model to Reduce Stigma Toward MAPs among Professionals), on Saturday, June 13 from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm local time, with breaks between sessions and a one hour lunch break. Clinicians who attend virtually will receive 4.25 CEUs.
- Pay It Forward (optional): If you’re able, please consider adding a donation of any amount to your registration. Your contribution will help cover the cost for someone who might not otherwise be able to attend. Thank you for helping build a more inclusive and supportive space.
The registration deadline has passed, so no registrations are being accepted.
Holding this conference requires considerable financial resources, and B4U-ACT is a 501(c)(3) organization operated solely by volunteers on donations. If you believe in the value of this conference, please consider donating toward conference expenses or to the financial assistance fund to permit attendance by those who otherwise would be unable to attend. U.S. donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.