NOTE: This is NOW A VIRTUAL EVENT from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET to accommodate more attendees who cannot travel to Philadelphia. Zoom link will be emailed 48 hours before event & morning of it.
A Social Problem-Solving Framework for Suicide Treatment and Prevention
Suicide continues to be a major public health problem both nationally and across the world. We will describe a model of suicidality that underscores the importance of three major factors in its etiopathogenesis: negative stressful life events, negative emotional reactions to such stress, and ineffective social problem solving. In addition, we will present Emotion-Centered Problem-Solving Therapy (EC-PST), the updated and revised version of Problem-Solving Therapy, as a potentially efficacious approach for the treatment and prevention of suicidality based on this framework.
CE Learning Objectives
Following this presentation, participants will be able to:
Recommended readings
Nezu, A. M., & Nezu, C. M. (2018). Emotion-centered problem-solving therapy: Treatment guidelines. Springer Publishing Company.
Stay tuned for more recommendations!
Christine Maguth Nezu, PhD, ABPP
Dr. Nezu is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Professor of Medicine at Drexel University. She is a past-president of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Society for Clinical Psychology), and has maintained a clinical practice for three decades, often serving as a site for Drexel PhD students to train. She is a current member of the editorial board for both the American Psychologist and Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. Dr. Maguth Nezu also previously served on the editorial board of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, as well as being a consulting editor for several additional scientific and professional journals. She has received awards from numerous university and professional organizations, including the 2015 Russell J. Bent Distinguished Service and Contributions to the American Board of Professional Psychology Award, and the 2016 Outstanding Contribution by an Individual for Education and Training Activities Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).
Dr. Maguth Nezu has held several leadership positions in several private and professional organizations, including founding Director of Training for an APA-accredited Internship/Residency program (Hahnemann University Hospital), Associate Provost for Research (MCP and Hahnemann University), Board Member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Deputy Chair of the World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, and Board Member of the American Board of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology. She has published over 150 journal articles and book chapters, as well as 22 books. Many of her scholarly writings have been translated into various foreign languages.
In addition, Dr. Maguth Nezu is the Founding Director of Full of Possibilities, Inc., a women-led 501c3 charity that provides educational opportunities and psychological resources for young African girls. The financial award for this presentation is being donated to this charity.
Arthur M Nezu, PhD, DHL, ABPP
Dr. Nezu is Distinguished University Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Public Health at Drexel University. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, previous Editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, previous Associate Editor of American Psychologist, previous Editor of the Behavior Therapist, and previous Associate Editor of the Archives of Scientific Psychology. Dr. Nezu also served as Chair of the Council of Editors of APA, was a member of the Task Force to Revise the 7th edition of APA’s Publication Manual, and a member of the Task Force to Revise APA’s Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) for Quantitative Research. In addition, he served as a member of the following committees: APA’s Clinical Practice Guideline Development Panel for the Treatment of Depressive Disorders, International Committee to develop the CONSORT Guidelines for Social and Psychological Interventions, and APA’s Presidential Advisory Work Group on the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice (EBPP) in Health Service Psychology. Dr. Nezu also held the following offices in various professional associations: President of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT, now ABCT), President of the American Board of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, Secretary of the American Board of Professional Psychology, Board of Directors’ Member of the Society of Clinical Psychology, and Chair of the World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies. He was also a member of APA’s Board of Scientific Affairs.
Dr. Nezu has published over 225 journal articles and book chapters and 26 books, the majority of which focus on clinical and empirical aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapies. He has received awards from numerous professional organizations, including ABCT, the Society of Clinical Psychology, the American Board of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, the American Academy of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, and the World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology. He received an honorary doctoral degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and had an annual award named in his honor by the American Board of Professional Psychology that is given for doctoral research focused on issues of diversity. Dr. Nezu is co-founder of Full of Possibilities, Inc.
About The Nezu's Work Together
Drs. Nezu are best known for their joint work as co-developers of Problem-Solving Therapy and the more recent revision, Emotion-Centered Problem-Solving Therapy (EC-PST). EC-PST is a clinical intervention designated by numerous agencies and professional organizations as an evidenced-based, transdiagnostic psychotherapy approach that has been effectively applied to a wide range of clinical populations and problems both nationally and internationally. Their specific work has focused on depressed adults, cancer patients and their caregivers, intellectually disabled adults experiencing psychological difficulties, sex offenders, and adults suffering from heart disease and other medical diseases. In addition, during the past several years, as consultants to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the U.S Air Force, they co-developed various versions of Moving Forward, a problem-solving based program geared to enhance the mental health of Veteran and active service member populations. This program is implemented in military and Veteran medical centers across the U.S. These programs have recently led the VA to develop suicide reduction protocols for Veterans. Their research and program development activities have been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Cancer Institute, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Justice, the New Jersey Division of Mental Retardation, the Agency for International Development, the Pew Charities Trust, and the Infinite Hero Foundation. They both have held honorary and visiting faculty appointments in Japan and the United Kingdom and are frequent guest speakers at national and international professional conferences. They have collectively trained thousands of mental health professionals in PST-based interventions and supervised scores of graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows. They have each been designated by ABCT as “pioneers” of behavioral and cognitive therapy.
On a personal note, "Chris" and "Art" cherish spending time (especially on Long Beach Island, New Jersey) with their three adult children, Frank, Ali, and Linda, their respective significant others, Jessica, Trevor, and Bryan, and their awesome grandkids, Alex, Jacob, Elle, and Max.
Target Audience
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and graduate student trainees. The instructional level of this presentation is Beginner.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) that integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with much-older wisdom practices. Originally developed to prevent relapse in people with recurrent depression, MBCT and its adaptations have been shown to not only reduce relapse, 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 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-practitioner. The participant-practitioner model of competence development supports professionals in implementing MBCT with the population they already have expertise serving. It also offers the opportunity to observe an experienced professional 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 peers 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 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 read, and observe implementation of the MBCT treatment protocol with non-professionals with anxiety & related conditions. Professionals who are willing can also practice guiding short MBCT practices & receiving feedback from professional peers in the hour following the 2-hour MBCT sessions in which they observed an experienced teacher implementing the MBCT protocol. 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; body scan; mindfulness of sounds and thoughts; two ways of knowing; and sitting & movement formal practices. Professional participants can also opt to implement the relational mindfulness practice of Mindful Case Consultation (MCC), with a focus on implementing MBCT with challenging cases while maintaining self-care. Both the MCC & the teaching feedback occur during the hour with professionals only and after the 2-hr MBCT session.
This virtual and live workshop is open to mental-health professionals who agree to a.) attend and participate in the foundational orientation and 8 MBCT sessions that are also attended by non-professional participants; b.) complete all required readings listed below; and c.) attend post-session processing with professional peers from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET. The MBI-TAC is implemented in dialogue with fellow professionals (or advanced graduate trainees) in the context of relational mindfulness practice.
All MBCT meetings occur from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. ET & are followed (for participant-practitioners seeking CE) by practice guiding and receiving feedback from other licensed professionals while implementing relational mindfulness guidelines with both MCC & the MBI-TAC Guiding Practice Domain from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. ET. Video display is required by all participants.
MBCT Sessions 1 to 8 start with required foundational orientation on 1/06/24. Program continues weekly on Saturday mornings until 3/16/24 with no meeting on 3/9/24 . Partial CE cannot be awarded, however there will be 4 opportunities to make up missed meetings on 3/16/24 & 3/30/24 & through participation in other scheduled events intended to support practitioner's in developing as teachers of MBCT both individually and in groups. Registrants who will miss more than 3 meetings are encouraged to wait to register for a future season to enroll in the training.
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.
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.
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.
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 Presenter
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.
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.
Overview of psychotherapy with family caregivers, with a focus on dysfunctional thoughts
When older adults need care, family members typically become the primary caregivers. Caring for an older family member is, however, immensely demanding, and family caregivers often experience high levels of distress. As the number of older people in need of care - including those with dementia - increases, bolstering family caregivers’ resilience has become an important issue in health care and psychotherapy.
This training provides an evidence-based overview of psychotherapy with family caregivers. Participants will become acquainted with the challenges confronting family caregivers, as well as the psychotherapeutic strategies that can help family caregivers maintain and improve their well-being. Participants will be introduced to an intervention concept based on cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and client-centered psychotherapy designed specifically for family caregivers of people with dementia (Wilz, 2023).
The workshop focuses also on identifying and modifying family caregivers’ dysfunctional thoughts (DTs). Participants will learn about the DTs common among family caregivers, and techniques for helping family caregivers develop more adaptive ways of thinking."
Wilz, G. (2023). Psychotherapeutic support for family caregivers of people with dementia. Hogrefe Publishing.
Wilz, G., Reder, M., Meichsner, F., & Soellner, R. (2018). The Tele.TAnDem Intervention: Telephone-based CBT for family caregivers of people with dementia. The Gerontologist, 58(2), e118-e129. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnx183
Wilz, G., Weise, L., Reiter, C., Reder, M., Machmer, A., & Soellner, R. (2018). Intervention helps family caregivers of people with dementia attain own therapy goals. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias, 33(5), 301 – 308. https://doi.org/10.1177/1533317518769475
Töpfer, N. F., Sittler, M. C., Lechner-Meichsner, F., Theurer, C., & Wilz, G. (2021). Long-term effects of telephone-based cognitive-behavioral intervention for family caregivers ofpeople with dementia: Findings at 3-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 89(4), 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000640
· Describe at least 2 specific challenges faced by family caregivers
· Outline 3 essential elements of psychotherapy with family caregivers
· Name at least 3 dysfunctional thoughts common among family caregivers
· Describe 1 therapeutic strategy for collaborative identification of caregivers’ dysfunctional thoughts
· Describe 1 action psychotherapists can take to support caregivers develop more adaptive ways of thinking
ZOOM LINK SENT 48-Hours before & morning of the event to all without balance due.
Gabriele Wilz, PhD, is Professor and Head of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Intervention as well as Director of the Psychotherapeutic Outpatient Clinic and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Qualification at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and clinical supervisor with licensure in cognitive behavioral therapy. Her research and clinical work focus on supporting family caregivers of people with dementia and older people in need of care. Her intervention concept for family caregivers incorporates elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and client-centered psychotherapy. The intervention can be delivered to groups or individuals; face-to-face, via telephone, or online. Six randomized controlled trials have confirmed the effectiveness and feasibility of the intervention. For a full biography, please visit https://www.klinisch-psychologische-intervention.uni-jena.de/
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure and with some clinical experience. The instructional level of this presentation is intermediate.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent and debilitating disorder. Although effective treatments for PTSD have been identified, there are barriers to both delivering and receiving these treatments. From the patient perspective, the treatments are time consuming (e.g., number of sessions and between session assignments), which leads to nearly one third of patients dropping out of treatment prematurely. Written Exposure Therapy (WET; Sloan & Marx, 2019) represents an alternative, evidence-based PTSD treatment approach that is efficient, effective, associated with low treatment dropout rates (e.g., less than 10%), and works for a variety of individuals with PTSD.
This workshop is part of PBTA's implementation series and serves as a second follow-up to the original offering on 2/2/22. Intention is to support implementation of WET. Attendees who missed the initial training are invited contingent upon reading the manual or having completed a basic level of training in WET elsewhere. Part III is an intermediate level follow-up CE event to the initial training. Dr. Sloan will respond to questions regarding implementation of WET with specific cases. Strategies for conceptualizing and dealing with psychiatric co-morbidity, managing avoidance, and keeping patients optimally engaged will be provided.
If you did not yet read Dr. Sloan's EBP article it can be accessed HERE or by pasting https://philabta.org/EBP/12902286 into browser. Registrants will also receive resources for implementation that those who completed Part I of this training have already received. BE sure to read required reading below - it can be accessed by clicking on link.
1. Using specific case examples, describe how to address challenges implementing WET.
Denise M. Sloan, Ph.D. obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology from Case Western Reserve University in 1998. She currently serves as the Associate Director, Behavioral Science Division, National Center for PTSD and a Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine. She is an expert on psychosocial interventions for traumatic stress disorders and has a specific interest in efficient treatment approaches for PTSD. Dr. Sloan conducted a series of studies that lead to the development of Written Exposure Therapy and has conducted multiple large-scale treatment studies examining the effectiveness of this treatment. She has published over 100 scientific articles and has received funding for her work from several organizations, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institute for Mental Health, Department of Defense. Dr. Sloan is past Editor of Behavior Therapy and current Editor of Journal of Traumatic Stress and a consulting editor for six scientific journals. Dr. Sloan has over 25 years of experience treating individuals with PTSD, and she has extensive experience training mental health providers in the delivery of trauma-focused treatments.
Sloan, D. M., Marx, B. P., Acierno, R., Messina, M., Muzzy, W., Gallagher, M. W., ... & Sloan, C. (2023). Written exposure therapy vs prolonged exposure therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 80(11), 1093-1100.
Sloan, D. M., & Marx, B. P. (2019). Written exposure therapy for PTSD: A brief treatment approach for mental health professionals. American Psychological Association.
This presentation is intended for licensed mental health professionals and advanced graduate student trainees seeking licensure and with some clinical experience. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE.
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