Teens and Screens: Cognitive Behavioral Interventions that Promote Digital and Mental Wellbeing

A decade of research has established relationships between social media use and mental health in adolescents; however evidence-based interventions for navigating this relationship are lacking. Existing interventions rely on abstinence-based models which tend to ostracize teens, neglect benefits of social media use, and fail to provide long-term skill acquisition. Research shows that harm reduction and strengths-based treatments are often more effective. This talk will overview a CBT-based intervention to provide psychoeducation and skills training to teens to minimize risks and maximize benefits in social media use and mental health. We will teach and demonstrate the core components of the intervention and their application for social media use, including assessment tools, psychoeducation, self-monitoring, mindfulness, values clarification, cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, mental health misinformation, and unrealistic body image standards. 1 CE credit available to WCM Department of Psychiatry full time and voluntary faculty Psychologists, Social Workers and LMHCs, who sign in with their full name, attend the entire lecture and complete a survey which will be emailed following the completion of the lecture.