The way people think and perceive the world is at the heart of the human experience. Psychological problems often include cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, and cognitive fusion. Cognitive interventions have gained robust research support and should be included in the toolbox of any mental health professional. When we help our clients embrace more functional ways of thinking, this is also likely to impact emotions, behavior, and other dimensions of adaptive functioning.
This seminar will teach both cognitive conceptualization and intervention methods. Distinct methods of cognitive formulation will be introduced that allow us to understand different parts of the cognitive experience. Dysfunctional self-talk will be highlighted as the most accessible way to approach cognitive conceptualization. Diversity is addressed in this webinar by describing the way cultural contexts shape clients’ cognitions.
Video demonstrations of foundational cognitive skills drawn from Beck’s Cognitive Therapy will be used to help participants prepare for practice. These skills will address three general processes: (1) Exploration and functional analysis of current patterns, (2) Guided discovery to uncover more adaptive functioning, and (3) Enacting adaptation outside of psychotherapy. More advanced cognitive interventions will be previewed as possibilities for future professional development.
Although cognitive change is often an essential part of treatment, there are times when thoughts and beliefs cannot be easily modified. In this case, more recently-developed strategies related to mindfulness and acceptance may be more helpful. This seminar will prepare psychotherapists to discuss with clients when to emphasize acceptance and when to promote change.
This seminar is part of Level One of Training in Unified Psychotherapy (TUP), focusing on working interactively with cognition, emotion, and behavior. Instead of exclusively focusing on cognition as a point of clinical leverage, TUP encourages psychotherapists to develop a wide repertoire of skills that can be adapted to the individual needs of each client.
While you can certainly take this seminar alone, this webinar is part of a six series on Unified Psychotherapy. Strategic Psychotherapeutics is offering a certificate in Unified Psychotherapy for those that attend each of the six webinars. Optional discussion groups are offered after each webinar to encourage application. Go to the Strategic Psychotherapeutics website to see the schedule for the discussion groups and more details about how to earn your certificate in Unified Psychotherapy.
This webinar is conducted by Jeff Harris, Ph.D. and Amy Dreier, Ph.D.
