Events

Contemporary cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs), such as Barlow’s Unified Protocol as well as third-wave therapies such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) have converged on the avoidance of emotion as a central source of pathological symptoms that maintains suffering across a variety of diagnoses. Exposure to and acceptance of emotional experience has therefore become central to these therapies. Likewise, psychodynamic theory has long held that warded off affects maintain unconscious conflicts that lead to symptoms and suffering. Psychodynamic therapy has been conceived of as a type of exposure therapy for such affects but has not always demonstrated a systematic approach to fostering such exposures. Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) is an evidence-based experiential dynamic therapy that offers a systematic approach to fostering exposures to avoided emotions including in patients with chronic and refractory psychopathology, who tend to be especially avoidant of their emotional experience. In this presentation, the theory and evidence for ISTDP will be reviewed. The techniques of ISTDP will be demonstrated through use of video from a recorded treatment of a real patient. The intensive techniques of ISTDP can add to the arsenal of exposure-based approaches and may be especially valuable with complex and chronic patients who are highly emotionally avoidant.

Lecture Title: "The body as seen, the body as felt: Attachment and body representations" Miriam Steele, PhD Alfred J. and Monette C. Marrow Professor in Psychology The New School for Social Research

Low treatment engagement is one of the most common obstacles that clinicians encounter. However, addressing engagement challenges is complex for two reasons: (1) engagement concerns are quite varied and might go undetected by clinicians in part due to the lack of ways to measure engagement and the reluctance of youth and families to spontaneously report concerns and (2) although there is a growing evidence base of engagement interventions, it is not well-organized or widely disseminated. This presentation will provide an overview of treatment engagement in youth mental health services, present a multidimensional approach for thinking about engagement, share a free survey that measures youth and caregiver engagement in services, explain how assessment informs strategies for addressing engagement challenges, and describe research findings from the Reaching Families multisite trial. 1 CE credit hour is available free of charge to Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Psychiatry, full time and voluntary psychology, social work and LMHC faculty

Julie Stone Peters, Ph.D. Columbia University

Lecture Title: "Clinical Strategies for Behavioral Emergencies: The BERT Model" Lisa Sombrotto, MD Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Weill Cornell Medicine / NewYork -Presbyterian Hospital

Lecture Title: "AI for Precision Psychiatry: Hype, Hope, and Heterogeneity" Logan Grosenick, PhD Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Brain & Mind Research Institute, and Tri-Institutional MD-PhD and Computational Biology Programs, Weill Cornell Medicine

Lecture Title: "Leading the Way in SUD Treatment: A Social Work Month Celebration of Navigating Challenges and Clinical Innovation" Jennifer G. Blewett, DSW, LICSW, DCSW, CGP Clinical Social Worker, Director for Community Outreach and Engagement Addiction Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Jed Perl New York Review of Books

Lecture Title: "AI and Mental Health: Beyond Evil Robots" Roy Perlis, M.D., M.Sc. Ronald I. Dozoretz, MD Endowed Chair and Vice Chair for Research Department of Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

2026 Clinician Education Series hosted by The Center for Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Co-sponsored by the Weill Cornell Medicine Academy for Behavioral Health and Continuing Education Free Zoom registration: https://nyph.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nlqxhHq6Ry-Q_D5iRo4_HQ#/registr... 1 CE Credit Hour Available FREE for Psychologists (NY & APA-accepted), Social Workers (NY) and Mental Health Counselors (NY) Learn more CE information: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:236cee6f-4672-4282-be4a-d5b1... Event Abstract: School avoidance, defined as missing school due to anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, is increasingly prevalent among youth. When left untreated, school avoidance may contribute to worsened mental health, family conflict and stress, poor academic functioning, social struggles, and delayed independence. Treatment for school avoidance is comprehensive and is based on a functional assessment of school-related anxiety and avoidance. Based on this assessment, interventions typically incorporate cognitive-behavioral strategies for mental health symptoms, caregiver support, and collaboration with a youth’s school. This webinar will review the key components of evidence-based assessment and treatment for school avoidance, special considerations for working with this population, and strategies to address treatment barriers. Learning Objectives: 1. Identify the four primary functions of school avoidance behavior in youth. 2. Describe one child-focused and one caregiver-focused intervention to address school avoidance behavior. 3. List one school-based support to improve school attendance for school avoidance youth. Featured Presenters: Stephanie Rohrig, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry, Weill Cornell MedicineAnthony Puliafico, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University Irving Medical Center