Events & Webinars

This workshop is intended to provide useful information regarding the special education system to non-school based clinicians in order to help them understand how best to meet the needs of their school-aged clients. The workshop will include a brief history of special education in the United States, and will then focus on critical terminology and concepts endemic to special education but which may not be familiar to clinicians in more traditional mental health settings. Lastly, the workshop will include overviews of how to understand relevant clinical information presented in educational language in special education documents, such as school-based evaluations and individual education plans. The overarching goal of the workshop will be to provide clinicians with a functional and conceptual understanding of special education interventions that may be implemented for their school-age clients, and a workable means to effectively contribute relevant clinical insights into the special education needs of said clients.

Though Tourette’s is commonly thought of for its tics, there are many other co-occurring challenges owing to its unique neurology (Cravedi et al, 2017). The current webinar will instruct clinicians in identification and assessment of common co-occurring challenges and application of this knowledge to the treatment of patients with Tourette’s. Particular focus will be given to the phenomenon of intense emotionality in individuals with Tourette’s (Sukhodolsky et al., 2003; Sukhodolsky et al.,, 2009; Leclerc et al., 2011; Conte et al.,, 2020). Techniques discussed will involve integration of competing response training with acceptance-oriented techniques to improve the ability of patients to adhere to and complete treatment protocols (Lavoie, Leclerc, & O’Connor, 2013; Franklin et al., 2011; Peterson et al., 2016).

The preoccupation with one’s physical/mental health is more commonly labeled health anxiety. Health anxiety, which affects 4-10% of the population, is typically treated with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which is recognized as the leading intervention in this psychiatric condition. Consultation with medical providers, attention to cultural considerations that impact health disparities, and recognizing differences between psychological, physical, and genuine medical symptoms is critical for success treatment planning. This presentation will review differential diagnostic considerations, developing a case formulation, and learning about leading evidenced-based interventions that can be used to help manage and treat health anxiety presentations.