DANGEROUS

STORIES

A THERAPY SALON

October 1–3, 2026 · Irvine, CA

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MORE THAN A CONFERENCE.
A SALON.

Dangerous Stories is a bold gathering where mental health meets culture, art meets activism, and healing meets the hard questions we're afraid to ask.

This is not your typical clinical conference. It's three days of provocative keynotes, intimate dialogues, live art, and late-night salsa—all designed to challenge how we think about therapy, identity, and what it means to be human in a fractured world.

Hosted by California Family Institute, 100% of proceeds support our mission to bring sliding-scale therapy to Orange County families who need it most.

PROVOCATIVE KEYNOTES

Thinkers who challenge the status quo on mental health, culture, and society.

INTIMATE DIALOGUES

Small-group conversations where disagreement is welcome and growth is possible.

LIVE ART & PERFORMANCE

Experiences that move you beyond the intellectual into the visceral.

LATE-NIGHT SALSA

Because dangerous ideas deserve dangerous dance floors.

KEYNOTES

Traumatized

Catherine Liu

Cultural critic and author of Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering. Professor of Film and Media Studies at UC Irvine.

Decolonizing Therapy

Marcela Polanco

Psychologist and researcher exploring the intersection of colonialism, mental health, and liberation psychology in Latin American communities.

Cultural Architecture

Chris Hoff

Founder of California Family Institute and creator of the Cultural Architecture framework. Chris closes the keynote trilogy with the question no one else is asking: What domesticates the would-be critics?

More speakers to be announced

Get Tickets

Starting at $399 · Up to 20 CEU hours

PRESENTERS

Escaping Blame

Larry Zucker, LCSW

Therapist and clinical supervisor for 30 years. 'Escaping Blame' is about what happens in the room when couples stop debating who's right—and how a therapist can get them there.

Scribble

Jonny Kosmo

Musician, therapist, founder of Scribble—a Highland Park nonprofit where sliding-scale therapy sessions happen alongside live shows, breathwork, and overdose prevention training.

Toward Suicide

Will Sherwin

LMFT and narrative therapist. Co-host of BANTR. Will presents on what happens when a therapist facing suicide stops reaching for protocols and starts reading instead.

Classified

Finishing School

LA-based socially-engaged artist collective creating interventions where praxis, play, and activism collide since 2001. They've built military bunkers inside museums, launched 'Little Pharma,' and made bike tours where people dressed as their favorite drugs—participatory work that treats audiences as co-creators, not consumers.

More presenters to be announced

SECURE YOUR SEAT

Three days of bold conversation, up to 20 CEU hours (subject to final schedule), and 100% of proceeds supporting CFI's sliding-scale therapy mission.