Toward a Shared Goal: Uniting Researchers, Providers, and Community to Promote a Better Understanding of MAPs

Friday-Sunday, June 12-14, 2026
Location: A scenic, vibrant, and historic city in the southwestern U.S. – Due to the sensitive nature of the conference and our need to prevent disruption by those who may misunderstand its purpose, we’re not publicizing its exact location. Click here if you need more specific location information.

Proposals Due: January 15, 2026

This conference will facilitate the exchange of ideas among researchers, scholars, mental health professionals, minor-attracted people, and others who have an interest in research on people who are attracted to children or adolescents (MAPs).

Conference Goals:

  • Researchers will share emerging research and gain a vision for the direction of future research.
  • Clinicians will learn to apply evidence-based therapeutic skills when working with MAPs.
  • Both will gain an improved understanding of MAPs’ needs and lived experiences, and apply it to their professional work.

Attendees will have the opportunity to address ethical issues encountered in their work and barriers to research and accessible care, such as courtesy stigma and lack of trust. They’ll also be able to network with colleagues for mutual professional support, mentoring, or other forms of professional learning.

Keynote Speakers:

  • Ian McPhail, PhD, CPsych, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
  • David Ortmann, MSW, LCSW, author of Sexual Outsiders

Note: Click here for information about submitting graduate student poster proposals.

Process for Submitting Contributed Session Proposals
Proposals Due: January 15, 2026

B4U-ACT is soliciting session proposals from researchers, scholars, practitioners, and minor-attracted people. All sessions will be presented in person, will be 50 minutes long, and can be in any of the following formats:

  1. Speaker presentation (please leave at least 15 minutes for Q&A/discussion)
  2. Panel presentation/discussion (please leave at least 15 minutes for audience Q&A/discussion)
  3. Round table discussion
  4. Interactive workshop (involvement of attendees to develop knowledge, skills, shared understandings, and/or some kind of product)

Please submit your session proposal via this submission form. (You will be asked to log into your Google account to upload files; if you cannot or do not wish to do this, use this form instead and email the files to proposals@b4uact.org.) You will be asked if you are willing to have your session recorded and live-streamed for remote attendees. This is optional and does not affect the chances of your proposal being selected. You will also be asked for your goal(s) for the audience, a current CV in Word or PDF format for each presenter (or discussion leader), and a session description or abstract with session title in Word or PDF format (1/3 to 2/3 page single-spaced, or 200-400 words) as described below:

  • For a speaker presentation, provide an overview of the information and/or argument that will be presented. If you are presenting a research paper, the abstract should contain the study’s purpose, theoretical perspective, methodology, findings, and/or intended results. If the presentation is clinical or scholarly, preferably include two or more sample references if relevant to the topic.
  • For a panel presentation, describe the topic to be addressed by the panel.  Follow this by a short description of each panel member’s perspective or area of expertise relevant to the topic.
  • For a roundtable discussion, describe the discussion topic with sample discussion questions or other information about how the discussion will be structured.
  • For an interactive workshop session, describe the knowledge and/or skills the workshop will address, any product that will be developed, and the activities that will be used to accomplish this.

Criteria for Acceptance

Proposals will be selected based on the following four criteria:

  • Relevance to Conference Theme
    • How well does the proposal align with the overall theme or goals of the conference?
  • Clarity of Purpose
    • Is the focus, argument, or research question clearly stated?
  • Inclusion of MAP Perspectives
    • Does the proposal consider the voices or lived experiences of MAPs, and their diversity, either directly or indirectly?
  • Originality and Significance
    • Does the proposal offer new insight, address an underexplored topic, or advance existing knowledge? Does the presentation have the potential to inform research, clinical practice, or collaboration?

Please also keep in mind the following points before submitting your proposal:

  • Ethical Awareness
  • Fit for Session Format
    • Can the content be effectively presented in the allotted time?
  • Quality of Writing
    • Is the proposal well-written, clear, and organized?
  • Methodology (applies to presentations of studies)
    • Is the approach (qualitative, quantitative, theoretical, etc.) appropriate and clearly explained?

Click here to submit your proposal. (You will be asked to log into your Google account to upload files; if you cannot or do not wish to do this, use this form instead and email the files to proposals@b4uact.org.)

The deadline for submission of session proposals is January 15, 2026, and notification of acceptance will occur by February 1, 2026.

If you have any questions, contact proposals@b4uact.org.