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• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for Anxiety & Related Conditions: Virtual Foundational Teacher Training

  • Start
    07/15/2026
  •  
  • End
    10/21/2026
  •  
  • Schedule
    10 sessions
  • Location
    VIRTUAL

  Register

  Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). MBCT integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with contemplative wisdom practices. MBCT and its adaptations have been shown to not only reduce relapse of mood disorders, but also reduce current symptoms of PTSD, OCD, Panic, GAD, other anxiety, & related disorders (e.g., substance abuse). Through effective integration of scientific findings and theory about emotional processing and the cognitive, physical, and behavioral elements of emotion, MBCT has been shown to be a trans-therapeutic intervention of benefit to those with a range of transdiagnostic disorders. This is in part through increasing metacognition  (aka "decentering" , "deidentification", etc.) and supporting a more compassionate relationship with unwanted experiences in mind and body. Indeed, mindfulness skills are also  foundational for the range of compassion-based interventions that also have transtherapeutic benefits for those with emotional disorders.

  “Chris Molnar, Ph.D. offers a high quality MBCT training that adheres to the principles of participant experiential learning and treatment fidelity” ~ Zindel Segal, Ph.D., co-creator of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
  

  The path for competently and ethically teaching MBCT to those with emotional disorders includes, but is not limited to, participation in the traditional 8-session MBCT program in the role of "participant-observer." In this workshop, developing clinician teachers will directly experience the MBCT treatment protocol while observing a teacher and trainer fully qualified to facilitate it

  [https://www.accessmbct.com/mbct-training-organisations/ scroll to Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety & Psychological Wellness Center, Inc.] 

  This synchronous virtual workshop is followed by optional and virtual monthly meetings with past professional graduates of this training. These occur in the year following the training to support continuing development as teachers and / or implementation with clients in sessions.*

  Required reading for the MBCT teacher development training sequence.

  • The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress.
  • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition 2nd Edition
  • Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) 
  • Baer, R., Crane, C., Miller, E., & Kuyken, W. (2019). Doing no harm in mindfulness-based programs: conceptual issues and empirical findings. Clinical psychology review, 71, 101-114.
  • Molnar, C. (2025). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Curriculum, Training, and Clinician Guide. In The Palgrave Handbook of Third-Wave Psychotherapies (pp. 489-512). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. (will be provided to registrants by the author)

  Suggested Reading
  

  Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Williams, J. M. G., Bartley, T., ... & Surawy, C. (2013). Development and validation of the mindfulness-based interventions–teaching assessment criteria (MBI: TAC). Assessment, 20(6), 681-688.

  Dimidjian, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2015). Prospects for a clinical science of mindfulness-based intervention. American Psychologist, 70(7), 593.

  Kramer, G. (2007). Insight dialogue: The interpersonal path to freedom. Shambhala Publications.

  Molnar, C. (September, 2017). Playing in the ocean of awareness: Innovations in mindfulness training. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 16-17.

  Molnar, C. (June, 2014). Peer groups as a reflecting pool for enhancing wisdom. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 9-10.

  CE Learning Objectives
  

  Following this presentation, participants will be able to:

  1.   Describe the structural elements of four formal mindfulness practices that adhere to evidence-based Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) designed to teach participants to deconstruct emotion (pleasant or unpleasant) into the mind, body, and behavior elements.

  2.   Describe two examples of covert (mental) or overt (observable) behaviors that reflect the “doing mode of mind” that arises when there is a discrepancy between one’s desired verses actual internal state.

  3.   Describe one specific way that an unpleasant emotion state can contribute to the risk of recurrence of transdiagnostic emotional disorders.

  4.   Describe examples of typical automatic thoughts (ATs), measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), and how a negative / & or depleted mood / emotion state impacts retrieval processes of ATs.

  5.   Describe two examples of the “being (present) mode of mind” that serves as an antidote for the doing mode of mind’s focus on the past & / or future.

  6.   Describe one way that the being mode of mind can reduce the risk of recurrence of distress in transdiagnostic emotional disorders associated with automatically perceiving thoughts as facts.

  7.   Describe two examples of the difference between conceptual and non-conceptual information (& associated) emotional processing and how each mode of processing can reduce or increase risk of distress and / or dysphoria.

  8.   Describe the difference between an avoidance / aversion and an approach mode of relating with experience and how each can influence level of distress and dysphoria. 

  9.   Describe the concept of ruminative brooding and how it worsens mood and predicts onset, maintenance, and recurrence of transdiagnostic emotional disorders.

  10.        Describe the components of the regular three-step "breathing space" practice and how it supports implementation of MBI skills in everyday life. 

  11.        Describe the components of the responsive three-step "breathing space" practice and how it can support the application of mindfulness skills & compassionate responding in stressful situations.

  12.        Describe how the body scan practice can be viewed as a behavioral experiment with an intention of noticing the impact of non-conceptual information processing of experience; disengagement of attention from stimuli increasing distress; and a broadening of the attentional field.

  13.        Describe MBI-adherent elements of formal sitting meditation practice and how it can be considered a micro-laboratory that supports awareness of not only sensations but also habitual mental phenomena and one’s intra-personal relationship to feeling states.

  14.        Describe three of the nine “Foundational Attitudes” that are ways of relating with experience to support both formal and informal mindfulness practice implementation.

  15.        Describe elements of the informal practice of monitoring pleasant and unpleasant events and how event logs are used to support deconstruction of emotion states into their co-arising & interacting elements.

  16.        Describe the implementation of the informal practice of logging nourishing and depleting events and how this supports identification of factors associated with relapse prevention and self-kindness intra-personally.

  17.        Describe a specific way that intention and personal values clarity can reduce barriers to development, and support strengthening, of MBCT skills implementation.

  18.        Describe how brief assessments of mindfulness, ruminative brooding and compassion can be integrated into the MBCT curriculum to motivate practice and track outcome.

  19.        Describe the physiological outcome of fighting or attempting to eliminate unwanted internal experiences and how it contrasts with allowing one’s unwanted experiences and relating with kindness to the self.

  20.        Describe two specific ways that participation in the MBCT group supports the strengthening of mindfulness and compassion in relationship with self and / or others.

  21. Describe the six teaching competence domains measured by the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC)

  22. Implement the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) using examples from live formal MBCT sessions.

  23. Observe an MBCT teacher implement live formal MBCT sessions while in the role of a participant followed by relational mindfulness practice and feedback designed to strengthen teaching competence.

  24. Describe and observe the practice of mindful inquiry after formal guided practices with participants who meet diagnostic criteria for anxiety & related disorders.

  About Presenters

  Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology and is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. She teaches both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and has also developed adaptations for highly distressed clients, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RBPs), to meet the needs of people in both individual and group therapy settings. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.

  Alissa S. Yamasaki, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and the founder of Ayama Psychotherapy, located in Lemont, PA. Her practice has gained a positive local reputation for its mindful and collaborative business practices, psychotherapists who are especially effective in the area of health and mind-body conditions, and wellness events for health and wellness providers.

  Dr. Yamasaki's clinical expertise focuses on the treatment of chronic and complex anxiety, as well as insomnia. Her earliest study of the mind-body connection was as an undergraduate in an exercise psychophysiology lab investigating the effects of physical activity on how people feel and think. Dr. Yamasaki earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University in 2006 and completed her internship at Albany Medical Consortium. Her current practices reflect her belief in the importance of being fully present while drawing from empirically-driven interventions. She utilizes a blend of CBT and relational approaches, including mindfulness-based interventions. Dr. Yamasaki attended the 5-day Mindfulness-Based teacher training retreat with Chris Molnar, Ph.D., in 2022, which sparked both the deepening of her mindfulness practices and greater effectiveness in the therapy room.

  Target Audience

  This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER.

  Note: This workshop does not require attendees to have a formal mindfulness practice as a prerequisite to participate. 

  Continuing Education

  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is also approved by the NY State Education Department to offer psychology continuing education
  • This program provides twenty (20) CE credits.
    
  • PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Non-Psychologist Licensees outside of PA & practitioners outside of the USA please confirm eligibility with your specific licensing board.
    
  •  APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits.
  • There is opportunity for making-up of 2 missed synchronous meetings - please notify Dr. Molnar in advance if you will miss up to 3 of the 10 meeting dates to arrange to attend make-ups that are also synchronous. PBTA does not offer asynchronous CE.

  Show details
• Integrating Brief Digital Mindfulness Interventions Into Clinical Practice. Virtual CE

  • When
    07/20/2026
  •  
    6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    Virtual via Zoom

  Register

  Many clients struggling with anxiety and depression experience difficulties applying therapeutic skills consistently in daily life, particularly during moments of heightened stress, uncertainty, or emotional reactivity. Mindfulness ecological momentary interventions (MEMIs) represent a promising approach to addressing this gap by delivering brief, real-time mindfulness and coping exercises directly through smartphones during everyday situations. These interventions may help clients strengthen awareness, emotion regulation, cognitive flexibility, and adaptive responding outside the therapy room, while also increasing accessibility for individuals who may face barriers to traditional treatment.

  This practice-focused workshop will introduce clinicians to the clinical rationale, structure, and implementation of MEMIs and related digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) for anxiety and depressive disorders. Drawing from randomized controlled trials (RCTs), longitudinal studies, and clinical implementation research, the presentation will review how brief smartphone-based interventions can be integrated into routine care to reinforce therapeutic learning between sessions and support symptom management in real-world contexts. Particular attention will be devoted to practical strategies clinicians can use to enhance engagement, encourage skill generalization, and tailor interventions to clients with varying levels of symptom severity, motivation, and cognitive functioning.

  The workshop will also discuss how clinicians can identify clients who may be especially well-suited for brief digital interventions, including individuals who benefit from flexible, low-burden, and scalable care approaches. Common implementation challenges, such as maintaining adherence, selecting appropriate exercises, responding to low engagement, and integrating digital tools ethically into clinical practice, will be addressed through clinically grounded examples and discussion. In addition, participants will review emerging evidence suggesting that targeted digital interventions may improve anxiety symptoms, repetitive negative thinking, self-compassion, executive functioning, and emotional regulation skills across diverse populations.

  Overall, this workshop is designed to provide clinicians with concrete, evidence-based strategies for incorporating brief digital mindfulness interventions into contemporary practice. The broader goal is to help clinicians expand access to care, reinforce therapeutic skill use in daily life, and support more personalized and responsive mental health treatment models.

  CE Learning Objectives
  

  Following this presentation, participants will be able to:

  • 1.      Describe the core principles and clinical rationale underlying mindfulness ecological momentary interventions (MEMIs) for anxiety and depressive disorders.
  • 2.      Apply practical strategies to integrate brief smartphone-based mindfulness exercises into routine clinical care to reinforce therapeutic skill use between sessions.
  • 3.      Assess common factors associated with engagement and adherence in digital mental health interventions (DMHIs), including barriers experienced by diverse client populations.
  • 4.      Compare the potential benefits and limitations of mindfulness ecological momentary interventions relative to traditional in-session therapeutic approaches for anxiety and depression treatment.

  References

  Zainal, N. H., Liu, X., Leong, U., Yan, X., & Chakraborty, B. (2025). Bridging innovation and equity: Advancing public health through just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs). Annual Review of Public Health, 46(1), 46-68. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-103909

  Zainal, N. H., & Newman, M. G. (2023). A randomized controlled trial of a 14-day mindfulness ecological momentary intervention (MEMI) for generalized anxiety disorder. European Psychiatry, 66(1), e12. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.2

  Zainal, N. H., Soh, C. P., & Van Doren, N. (2024). Do the effects of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (i-CBT) last after a year and beyond? A meta-analysis of 154 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Clinical Psychology Review, 114, 102518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102518
  

  Zainal, N. H., Tan, H. H., Hong, R. Y., & Newman, M. G. (2025). Prescriptive predictors of mindfulness ecological momentary intervention for social anxiety disorder: Machine learning analysis of randomized controlled trial data. JMIR Mental Health, 12, e67210. https://doi.org/10.2196/67210

  About Presenters

  Hani Zainal , Ph.D. is a Presidential Young Professor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she directs the Optimizing Wellness (OWL) Lab. Her research focuses on digital mental health interventions, mindfulness ecological momentary interventions (MEMIs), anxiety and depressive disorders, precision mental health, and machine learning approaches to psychotherapy research. Hani has authored peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Psychological Medicine, JAMA Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology Review, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, and JMIR Mental Health, and has led multiple randomized controlled trials examining smartphone-based interventions for anxiety and depression.

  Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed doctoral training at the Pennsylvania State University and post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. Through a co-sponsorship between META Center  & PBTA she leads one of the handful of professional MBCT Teacher Training Organizations in the USA and virtually offering Continuing Professional Development. This includes the week-long professional CE retreat workshop for professionals seeking foundational training to develop competence teaching  MBCT.  She also teaches both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in individual and group psychotherapy formats. She has developed adaptations for highly distressed clients, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RMPs), to meet the needs of clients who have difficulty initially with the traditional 8-week MBSR & MBCT programs and elements. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.
  

  
  Target Audience

  This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER.

  Continuing Education

  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is also approved by the NY State Education Department to offer psychology continuing education
  • This program provides two and a half (2.5) CE credits
  • PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Non-Psychologist Licensees outside of PA & practitioners outside of the USA please confirm eligibility with your specific licensing board.
    
  • Full attendance with video display is required to obtain CE credit for this program. APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits. No refunds are provided for CE programs. No exceptions allowed.
  • All events are Eastern Time Zone 
  • Contact Claire, PBTA's CE assistant if you need any learning accommodations no later than one week before event. Email Claire at pbtacontinuingedassistant@gmail.com 

  Show details
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Teacher Foundations Retreat & Development with Relational Mindfulness

  • Start
    10/11/2026
  •  
    5:00 PM
  • End
    10/16/2026
  •  
    11:30 AM
  • Location
    OMEGA INSTITUTE in Rhinebeck, NY

  Registration IS NOW open for this 5-day residential PROFESSIONAL training at:

  https://www.eomega.org/workshops/mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy-mbct

  Scroll down for CE objectives, recommended readings, and additional event description offered as background for those considering the live & in-person training at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY from October 11 to 16, 2026. Contract chris@molnarpsychology.com with questions. Thank you.

  Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) that integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with contemplative wisdom practices. Originally developed to prevent relapse in people with recurrent depression, MBCT and its adaptations have been shown to not only reduce relapse of mood disorders, but also reduce current symptoms of PTSD, OCD, Panic, GAD, other anxiety, & related disorders (e.g., substance abuse) that can develop when disorders marked by Neuroticism remain untreated. Through effective integration of scientific findings and theory about emotional processing and the cognitive, physical, and overt and covert behavioral elements of emotion, MBCT has been shown to be a trans-therapeutic intervention of benefit to those with a range of transdiagnostic disorders. This is in part through increasing metacognition  (aka "decentering" , "deidentification", etc.) and changing how one relates habitually with unwanted internal experiences in mind and body. Moreover, the mindfulness skills developed in MBCT are foundational for the range of compassion-based interventions that also have transtherapeutic benefits for those with emotional disorders.
  

  The path for competently and ethically teaching MBCT to those with emotional disorders includes, but is not limited to, participation in the traditional 8-session MBCT program in the role of participant. The participant-observer model of competence development supports professionals in implementing MBCT with the population they already have expertise serving. It also offers the opportunity to observe experienced professionals model implementation of the MBCT curriculum elements with people exhibiting symptoms the practitioner wants to develop skills for treating.  Importantly, the model offers opportunities for receiving feedback from fellow healthcare professionals in role plays in a consultation setting to enhance competence through deliberate practice. Practitioners will develop foundational skills for implementing all elements of the MBCT curriculum. Further, through developing the habit of formal and informal personal mindfulness practice in the role of participant they can enhance both intra- & inter-personal effectiveness in responding to challenges that arise in MBCT skill development and implementation with clients. For more about the MBCT training pathway & becoming an MBCT teacher visit  https://www.mbct.com/mbct-training-pathway/ or read  article by MBCT co-developer Zindel Segal, Ph.D. at www.philabta.org/EBP about increasing access to high quality professional training Home - Access MBCT .

  In this workshop, developing clinician teachers will directly experience the MBCT treatment protocol . Professionals will then practice guiding short versions of traditional MBCT practices & receiving feedback from a novice to experienced teachers using the "teach-back" model for skill development. Feedback is offered in the context of a relational mindfulness practice that invites contemplation,  reflection, &  inquiry about implementing the "Guiding Practice" Domain of the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC). The Guiding Practice Domain outlines the "bones" or essential elements of each MBCT formal practice including: the 3 step breathing space - regular & responsive versions; body scan; mindfulness of sounds and thoughts; two ways of knowing; and sitting & movement formal practices.  Professional participants  will also practice implementing the relational mindfulness practice of Mindful Case Consultation (MCC), with a focus on implementing MBCT with cases and teaching challenges while maintaining self-care.
  

  This live & in-person (at Omega Institute) workshop is followed by optional and virtual bi-monthly meetings with past professional graduates of this training. These occur in the year following the training to support implementation with clients.  The MBI-TAC is introduced at Omega and used in the year following the training during the optional virtual follow-up meetings during which practice teaching and offering feedback continue for those interested in continuing development.

  From Zindel Segal, Ph.D., co-creator of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT):

  “Chris Molnar, Ph.D. offers a high quality MBCT training that adheres to the principles of participant experiential learning and treatment fidelity”

  “There is no better way to learn mindfulness and MBCT than to experience it for yourself. "

  Required reading for the MBCT teacher training sequence.

  • The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress.
  • Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition 2nd Edition
  • Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) 
  • Baer, R., Crane, C., Miller, E., & Kuyken, W. (2019). Doing no harm in mindfulness-based programs: conceptual issues and empirical findings. Clinical psychology review, 71, 101-114.
  • Molnar, C. (2025). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Curriculum, Training, and Clinician Guide. In The Palgrave Handbook of Third-Wave Psychotherapies (pp. 489-512). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

  Suggested Reading

  Crane, R. S., Eames, C., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Williams, J. M. G., Bartley, T., ... & Surawy, C. (2013). Development and validation of the mindfulness-based interventions–teaching assessment criteria (MBI: TAC). Assessment, 20(6), 681-688.

  Dimidjian, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2015). Prospects for a clinical science of mindfulness-based intervention. American Psychologist, 70(7), 593.

  Kramer, G. (2007). Insight dialogue: The interpersonal path to freedom. Shambhala Publications.

  Molnar, C. (September, 2017). Playing in the ocean of awareness: Innovations in mindfulness training. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 16-17.

  Molnar, C. (June, 2014). Peer groups as a reflecting pool for enhancing wisdom. The Pennsylvania Psychologist Quarterly, pages 9-10.

  CE Learning Objectives
  

  Following this presentation, participants will be able to:

  1.   Describe the structural elements of four formal mindfulness practices that adhere to evidence-based Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) designed to teach participants to deconstruct emotion (pleasant or unpleasant) into the mind, body, and behavior elements.

  2.   Describe two examples of covert (mental) or overt (observable) behaviors that reflect the “doing mode of mind” that arises when there is a discrepancy between one’s desired verses actual internal state.

  3.   Describe one specific way that an unpleasant emotion state can contribute to the risk of recurrence of transdiagnostic emotional disorders.

  4.   Describe examples of typical automatic thoughts (ATs), measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), and how a negative / & or depleted mood / emotion state impacts retrieval processes of ATs.

  5.   Describe two examples of the “being (present) mode of mind” that serves as an antidote for the doing mode of mind’s focus on the past & / or future.

  6.   Describe one way that the being mode of mind can reduce the risk of recurrence of distress in transdiagnostic emotional disorders associated with automatically perceiving thoughts as facts.

  7.   Describe two examples of the difference between conceptual and non-conceptual information (& associated) emotional processing and how each mode of processing can reduce or increase risk of distress and / or dysphoria.

  8.   Describe the difference between an avoidance / aversion and an approach mode of relating with experience and how each can influence level of distress and dysphoria. 

  9.   Describe the concept of ruminative brooding and how it worsens mood and predicts onset, maintenance, and recurrence of transdiagnostic emotional disorders.

  10.   Describe the components of the regular three-step "breathing space" practice and how it supports implementation of MBI skills in everyday life. 

  11.   Describe the components of the responsive three-step "breathing space" practice and how it can support the application of mindfulness skills & compassionate responding in stressful situations.

  12.   Describe how the body scan practice can be viewed as a behavioral experiment with an intention of noticing the impact of non-conceptual information processing of experience; disengagement of attention from stimuli increasing distress; and a broadening of the attentional field.

  13.   Describe MBI-adherent elements of formal sitting meditation practice and how it can be considered a micro-laboratory that supports awareness of not only sensations but also habitual mental phenomena and one’s intra-personal relationship to feeling states.

  14.   Describe three of the nine “Foundational Attitudes” that are ways of relating with experience to support both formal and informal mindfulness practice implementation.

  15.   Describe elements of the informal practice of monitoring pleasant and unpleasant events and how event logs are used to support deconstruction of emotion states into their co-arising & interacting elements.

  16.   Describe the implementation of the informal practice of logging nourishing and depleting events and how this supports identification of factors associated with relapse prevention and self-kindness intra-personally.

  17.   Describe a specific way that intention and personal values clarity can reduce barriers to development, and support strengthening, of MBCT skills implementation.

  18.   Describe how brief assessments of mindfulness, ruminative brooding and compassion can be integrated into the MBCT curriculum to motivate practice and track outcome.

  19.   Describe the physiological outcome of fighting or attempting to eliminate unwanted internal experiences and how it contrasts with allowing one’s unwanted experiences and relating with kindness to the self.

  20.   Describe two specific ways that participation in the MBCT group supports the strengthening of mindfulness and compassion in relationship with self and / or others.

  21.   Describe the six teaching competence domains measured by the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC)

  22.   Implement the Mindfulness-Based Interventions - Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI-TAC) using examples from live formal MBCT sessions.

  23.   Observe an MBCT teacher implement live formal MBCT sessions while in the role of a participant followed by relational mindfulness practice and feedback designed to strengthen teaching competence.

  24.   Describe and observe the practice of mindful inquiry after formal guided practices with participants who meet diagnostic criteria for anxiety & related disorders.

  About Presenters

  Chris Molnar, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinical investigator, founded Mindful Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Psychological Wellness Center (META Center) in 2007. She completed post-doctoral fellowship training in traumatic stress, neuroscience, and psycho-physiology and is an expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety, OCD, PTSD, emotional, and stress-related conditions using evidence-based practices. She teaches both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and has also developed adaptations for highly distressed clients, using Relational Mindfulness Practices (RBPs), to meet the needs of people in both individual and group therapy settings. At META Center, she offers integrative interventions grounded in findings about the brain, emotion, and learning to facilitate mental and behavioral habit change, even in the face of severe distress. Before founding META Center, she served as a clinical investigator and therapist supported by grants from the National Institute of Health and other agencies. She is also on the editorial board of Behavior Therapy and serves the public in many ways, through professional presentations, workshops, publications, and affiliations.

  Alissa S. Yamasaki, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and the founder of Ayama Psychotherapy, located in Lemont, PA. Her practice has gained a positive local reputation for its mindful and collaborative business practices, psychotherapists who are especially effective in the area of health and mind-body conditions, and wellness events for health and wellness providers.

  Dr. Yamasaki's clinical expertise focuses on the treatment of chronic and complex anxiety, as well as insomnia. Her earliest study of the mind-body connection was as an undergraduate in an exercise psychophysiology lab investigating the effects of physical activity on how people feel and think. Dr. Yamasaki earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University in 2006 and completed her internship at Albany Medical Consortium. Her current practices reflect her belief in the importance of being fully present while drawing from empirically-driven interventions. She utilizes a blend of CBT and relational approaches, including mindfulness-based interventions. Dr. Yamasaki attended the 5-day Mindfulness-Based teacher training retreat with Chris Molnar, Ph.D., in 2022, which sparked both the deepening of her mindfulness practices and greater effectiveness in the therapy room.

  Target Audience

  This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure. The instructional level of this presentation is BEGINNER.

  Note: This workshop does not require attendees to have a formal mindfulness practice. 

  Continuing Education

  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is also approved by the NY State Education Department to offer psychology continuing education
  • This program provides twenty-seven (27) CE credits, including 3 in ethics and 3 in telehealth applicable to e-passport holders through PSYPACT. There is not additional cost, above registration paid to Omega Institute, for CE credits for qualified licensed practitioners.
    
  • PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Non-Psychologist Licensees outside of PA & practitioners outside of the USA please confirm eligibility with your specific licensing board.
    
  •  APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits.
    

  Show details
• Managing Difficult and Sensitive Conversations with Clients: Principles and Practices with Cory Newman, Ph.D., ABPP

  • When
    10/26/2026
  •  
    1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Virtual

  Register

  Drawing from the literature on the therapeutic relationship, including the concept of “empathic confrontation” (from Schema Therapy), this webinar will present methods for managing delicate, challenging conversations with clients. Examples of such conversations include:

  (1) discussing differences of opinion about the client’s diagnosis and/or targets for therapeutic change,

  (2) setting limits with clients who are engaging in therapy-interfering behaviors,

  (3) addressing ruptures in the therapeutic relationship,

  (4) needing to give clients a “reality check” when their views and resultant behaviors are hazardously off the mark, and

  (5) navigating sensitive cultural matters.

  Having difficult, sensitive conversations with clients starts with the therapist’s recognition that giving the clients such feedback is necessary, along with a willingness to engage even though it may be uncomfortable. This process is further assisted when therapists are good listeners who can accurately summarize their client’s viewpoints as a prelude to expressing their own contrasting viewpoints. Therapists have to make decisions regarding “if and when” to engage in the challenging conversation and seeking a middle ground between avoiding the conversation entirely versus rushing in impulsively. The process of having difficult conversations with clients is furthered when therapists possess a repertoire of tactful statements demonstrating good will. Therapists also benefit from adopting an optimistic outlook about interpersonal problem-solving, and from having sufficient self-awareness to refrain from contributing to escalating power struggles. Clinical vignettes will be presented to demonstrate these skills in maximizing the chances that a difficult conversation with a client will have a constructive result.
  

  CE Learning Objectives
  

  Following this presentation, participants will be able to:

  1. Adopt a positive mindset that looks at a difficult conversation with a client as an opportunity to improve a situation, and that takes pride in trying to prevent or repair an  interpersonal relational strain.
     
  2. Express opinions that have both validity and utility, while having the patience and awareness to refrain from expressing opinions that are lacking in these qualities.
  
  3. Practice the skill of empathic confrontation.
  
  4. Utilize well-attuned listening skills to assist in eliciting maximum collaboration in the midst of an otherwise tense or awkward conversation.
  
  

  About Presenter

  Cory F. Newman, Ph.D., ABPP is Director of the Center for Cognitive Therapy and Professor of Psychology, in Psychiatry, at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Newman is a Fellow of ABCT, he was the recipient of ABCT’s Outstanding Clinician Award in 2019, and he was presented with the Excellence in Teaching by a Psychologist award by the University of Pennsylvania psychiatry residency program in 2024. Dr. Newman has extensive experience as a CBT therapist and supervisor at the University of Pennsylvania and through the Beck Institute’s international training programs. Dr. Newman is a global lecturer, having presented CBT workshops and seminars throughout the U.S., as well as in twenty-three other countries. Among these are invited lectures on subjects related to the therapeutic relationship at conferences of the ABCT, BABCP, EABCT, ICCP, and WCBCT. Dr. Newman is author of over 100 articles and chapters covering many CBT-related topics, including navigating the therapeutic relationship, and he has authored or co-authored six books.

  Target Audience
  

  This workshop is designed for licensed professionals & advanced graduate students with clinical experience who anticipate seeking licensure as mental health professionals. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE.

  Continuing Education

  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists*. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • This program provides two (2) hours of CE credits.
  • * PBTA offers CE to licensed psychologists licensed in the state of New York. Attestation of full attendance and provision of license number post-event required to obtain certificate that meets NY criteria for CE.
    
  • PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Non-psychologist licensees in other states should confirm with their respective boards if this meets criteria for CE in their specific non-PA states.
    
  • Full attendance with video display is required to obtain CE credit for this program. APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits. No refunds are provided for CE programs. No exceptions allowed. Registrants have the option to log in and cancel up to 48 hours before event when registration closes.
    

  Zoom video link will be sent to participants 48 hours before the event contingent upon membership being paid in full if membership rate was selected. NOTE: New membership period begins 2/1 of each calendar year. Enrollment for non-members is automatically cancelled if registration fee is not paid within 15 minutes of registration. Past members who have not renewed membership will not be eligible for no-cost CE credits.
  

  Recommended Readings

  Bennett‐Levy, J., & Finlay‐Jones, A. (2022). The role of personal practice in therapist skill development: A model to guide therapists, educators, supervisors and researchers. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 47(3), 185-205. 
  
  Chajmovic, M. L., & Tishby, O. (2023). Therapists' responsiveness in the process of ruptures and resolutions: Are patients and therapists on the same page? Psychotherapy Research, 35(1), 42-53. 
  
  Eubanks, C. F. (2022). Rupture repair. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 29(3), 554-559. 
  
  Newman, C.F. (in press). The therapeutic alliance in the treatment of patients with alcohol  and other substance use disorders. Current Addiction Reports.  

    

   

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• Health Theory of Coping: Conceptualizing Suicide Risk and Clinical Intervention & Integrating Digital Therapeutics

  • When
    11/18/2026
  •  
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Virtual

  Register

  Historical coping frameworks either omit suicidality or classify it as maladaptive, severing it from the functional continuum of emotion regulation. Both positions reflect an observer-imposed logic in which strategies are judged by their acceptability to the observer rather than understood as functional responses to overwhelming distress. Observer-imposed conceptualisation directly shapes what clinicians assess, how they construct formulations, and what treatments they select — at times resulting in harm to consumers who disclose coping strategies associated with harm, including alcohol use, self-harm, and suicidality.
  
  A consumer-centred framework requires classifying coping strategies from the consumer's perspective. The Health Theory of Coping recognises the functionality of all coping strategies and classifies them solely by whether they carry short- or longer-term adverse consequences for the person. Every strategy is located on a single continuum of coping behaviour spanning unpleasant emotions, distress, and overwhelming distress, from low intensity and low harm to high intensity and high harm. Bayesian network modelling across these distress levels confirmed this continuum structure and established that overwhelming distress does not preclude concurrent use of healthy strategies.
  
  Consumer-centred conceptualisation of coping reorients clinical assessment, formulation, and treatment toward a strengths perspective that builds on what consumers already do to manage emotion. The My Coping Plan app operationalises this reorientation — normalising coping, directing clinical attention toward what consumers want (to cope) rather than what clinicians want for them (safety), and providing a consumer-directed alternative to clinician-constructed safety planning that supports consumers to access and apply healthy strategies when distress is overwhelming.

  CE Learning Objectives
  

  Following this presentation, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe three limitations of observer-centred coping frameworks in the assessment and formulation of consumers who use coping strategies associated with harm, including suicidality

  2. Explain how the Health Theory of Coping reconceptualises suicidality and other high-harm coping strategies as functional responses on a continuum from unpleasant emotions to overwhelming distress

  3. Identify one practice change you could make in the conceptualisation of consumers that would reduce the risk of harm to consumers who disclose high-harm coping strategies.

  About Presenter

  Helen Stallman, Ph.D., serves as Founder and Director of Care  Collaborate Connect. She is an award-winning clinical psychologist whose research and clinical work spans suicide prevention, consumer-centred care, health and wellbeing. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and received 11 awards recognising her contributions to suicide prevention and university student wellbeing.
  
  She developed the Health Theory of Coping, the Coping Continuum, and the Modifiable Domains of Health and Wellbeing — three theoretical frameworks that underpin Care · Collaborate · Connect, a world-first consumer-centred approach to suicide prevention and clinical care delivered to health professionals, organisations, and schools. She also developed the My Coping Plan app, whose efficacy in reducing psychological distress has been confirmed in two randomised controlled trials.
  
  She delivers keynote addresses nationally and internationally on consumer-centred approaches to suicide prevention, clinical formulation, and health and wellbeing. Her presentations translate theoretical frameworks directly into practice — giving health professionals concrete tools to assess, formulate, and support consumers who ask for support, without causing harm.
  
  

  Target Audience
  

  This workshop is designed for licensed professionals & advanced graduate students with clinical experience who anticipate seeking licensure as mental health professionals. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE.

  Continuing Education

  • Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists*. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • This program provides two (2) hours of CE credits.
  • * PBTA offers CE to licensed psychologists licensed in the state of New York. Attestation of full attendance and provision of license number post-event required to obtain certificate that meets NY criteria for CE.
    
  • PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Non-psychologist licensees in other states should confirm with their respective boards if this meets criteria for CE in their specific non-PA states.
    
  • Full attendance with video display is required to obtain CE credit for this program. APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits. No refunds are provided for CE programs. No exceptions allowed. Registrants have the option to log in and cancel up to 48 hours before event when registration closes.
    

  Zoom video link will be sent to participants 48 hours before the event contingent upon membership being paid in full if membership rate was selected. NOTE: New membership period begins 2/1 of each calendar year. Enrollment for non-members is automatically cancelled if registration fee is not paid within 15 minutes of registration. Past members who have not renewed membership will not be eligible for no-cost CE credits.
  

  References

  Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J., & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: A review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129(2), 216–269. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.216

  Stallman, H. M. (2019). Efficacy of the My Coping Plan mobile application in reducing distress: A randomised controlled trial. Clinical Psychologist, 23(3), 206–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12185

  Stallman, H. M. (2020). Health theory of coping. Australian Psychologist, 55, 295–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12465
  

  Stallman, H. M. (2020). Suicide following hospitalisation: Systemic treatment failure needs to be the focus rather than risk factors. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(4), 303.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30528-0
  

  Stallman, H. M., Beaudequin, D., Hermens, D. F., & Eisenberg, D. (2021). Modelling the relationship between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies to understand overwhelming distress: A Bayesian network approach. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 3, 100054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2020.100054
  

  Stallman, H. M., Ohan, J. L., & Chiera, B. (2019). Reducing distress in university students: A randomised control trial of two online interventions. Australian Psychologist, 54(2), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12375 

  
  

    

   

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