All Webinars

In this program, I will review the conceptualization of comorbidity, including its etiology. I will discuss why co morbidity occurs and how it impacts the course of treat ment. I will provide examples from the scientific literature on frequently comorbid conditions. I will then discuss the evaluation of patients with comorbid substance use disor ders and mental health disorders. This section will focus on considering a host of clinical data to inform treat ment planning for individuals with comorbid conditions. I will then spend time discussing the elements of success ful treatments for comorbid conditions. The premise of the session is that comorbid conditions should be treated concurrently for treatment to be successful. I will discuss examples of specific comorbidities (e.g., PTSD + substance use disorder) and review scientific developments to address these comorbid disorders. I will conduct this seminar by combining lecturing, question & answer periods, and polling tools to engage the audience.

At the heart of existential and person-centered therapy lies the profound quest for meaning and fulfillment. Addressing life’s existential questions, such as “What is the meaning of life?” or “How can we cultivate healthier, more meaningful relationships?”, these therapeutic approaches offer powerful frameworks for helping clients navigate both existential and neurotic anxieties. Rooted in philosophy, phenomenology, and the pioneering work of Carl Rogers, existential and person-centered therapies emphasize the importance of choice, authenticity, and personal agency in fostering psychological well-being.
 

This seminar will provide an in-depth exploration of humanistic theory, focusing on the existential foundations of meaning-making and the core principles of person-centered therapy. Through didactic presentation and experiential exercises, participants will learn how to integrate mindfulness, present-centered awareness, and body awareness into clinical practice. Attendees will gain valuable insights into how these therapeutic approaches can be effectively applied to address a variety of client concerns, including those related to social justice, ultimately enhancing therapeutic outcomes and client engagement.

At the heart of existential and person-centered therapy lies the profound quest for meaning and fulfillment. Addressing life’s existential questions, such as “What is the meaning of life?” or “How can we cultivate healthier, more meaningful relationships?”, these therapeutic approaches offer powerful frameworks for helping clients navigate both existential and neurotic anxieties. Rooted in philosophy, phenomenology, and the pioneering work of Carl Rogers, existential and person-centered therapies emphasize the importance of choice, authenticity, and personal agency in fostering psychological well-being.
 

This seminar will provide an in-depth exploration of humanistic theory, focusing on the existential foundations of meaning-making and the core principles of person-centered therapy. Through didactic presentation and experiential exercises, participants will learn how to integrate mindfulness, present-centered awareness, and body awareness into clinical practice. Attendees will gain valuable insights into how these therapeutic approaches can be effectively applied to address a variety of client concerns, including those related to social justice, ultimately enhancing therapeutic outcomes and client engagement.

For those who are grieving to loss of a loved one, the holidays can be an especially difficult and overwhelming time. Holidays are often associated with memories, traditions, and a sense of connection to others, all of which are impacted by the painful awareness that their loved one is absent. Surrounded by messages that we should give thanks, participate in joyful celebrations, spend time with others, and share memories, the bereaved are faced with painfully complicated, sometimes conflicting, emotions that have to be navigated during this time. During this presentation, we will explore how clients can manage the painful and mixed feelings that accompany grief, maintain physical health, and explore how new and old traditions and rituals can support clients during this tough time. Just as there is no right or wrong way to grieve, how one chooses to manage difficult emotions, social events, and relationships during the holiday season will be as unique as one’s own experience of loss. This presentations aims to help clients reduce their suffering, remember loved ones, and even reconnect with the real reason for the season.

Grief becomes disenfranchised when individuals are denied the opportunity to grieve openly, lack the social support necessary to process their loss, or do not receive the validation needed to heal. In these circumstances, the grieving person may withdraw from others, question whether their grief is legitimate, struggle to accept the loss and its consequences, or have difficulty adapting in healthy ways. When grief is pushed into silence, the emotional burden becomes more intense and isolating. This increases the risk of developing prolonged grief disorder, depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges.

Disenfranchised grief can arise from a variety of sources—cultural norms, societal expectations, the attitudes of others, and even from the griever’s own internal beliefs. At times, professionals in “expert” roles may also contribute to this sense of invalidation, often unintentionally.

Because all mental health professionals work with grieving individuals, it is critical to recognize the signs of disenfranchisement, understand its impact on the mourning process, and learn how to avoid reinforcing it. Clinicians must be equipped to offer validation, support, and effective interventions to help clients navigate the social dynamics that can complicate their grief—especially when those dynamics are shaped by misunderstanding or judgment.

This workshop will include both didactic instruction and case studies to give attendees practical tools for addressing disenfranchised grief in clinical practice.

There are several types of digital platforms and devices that can optimize treatment and are easily added to our clinical toolbox. Many of these devices can be used as clinician extenders by expanding therapeutic reach and augmenting treatment outside the office. While some of these technologies have been available for decades, they are now easier to use and are also cost effective. The trend in health care is increasingly digitally based and data driven, being fed by advances in digital platforms and innovative devices. Video technology and internet capacity have reached the point where they are reliable and advanced enough to make tele-mental health quite accessible to utilize. While there are still many people who have only tenuous links with the digital world, even those in rural and underserved populations may have access to care not previously available using new tools. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health clinicians by necessity have begun using telehealth platforms to continue to provide much needed services. The use of teletherapy affords clinicians opportunities to effectively broaden their scope of practice and deliver high quality treatment while doing so. The provision of telehealth has both pros and cons that need to be considered when using this technology. Smartphone applications (Apps) that can track mood, anxiety, and sleep (and provide feedback to clinicians) are rapidly developing and are widely available. Devices that can directly address brain and emotional states such as Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRV), Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), and Neurofeedback (NFB) can be incorporated into one’s practice at a reasonable cost. Many of these devices can be used by patients between sessions to retrain their “brain states” by monitoring physiological arousal and increasing vagal tone to maximize treatment effect. This seminar provides you with an overview and introduction to technology-based aids to mental health practice. 

Forensic Psychological Assessment: Diagnosis, Ethics, Measurement, and the Clinical Road Map is a comprehensive professional devel opment session designed for clinicians, forensic practitioners, and mental health professionals who operate at the intersection of psychology and the legal system. Led by Dr. Ronald J. Esteve, this presentation delivers a rigorous, evidence-based framework spanning nineteen critical modules—from the foundational role of the forensic practitioner and diagnostic decision-making using DSM-5 and ICD-10, to the psychometric pillars of validity, reliability, and standardized measurement. Attendees will explore the full clinical workflow, in cluding differential diagnosis, severity and remission tracking, symp tom analysis, and clinical formulation, while also navigating the com plex ethical terrain of confidentiality, mandatory reporting, digital record security, and the duty to protect.

With a growing awareness of trauma and trauma-informed care, there’s an increased focus on trauma-informed parenting. It’s im portant to consider trauma-informed care as parents may have unaddressed trauma and youth may have experienced trauma. Without a trauma-informed perspective, parents may lack empathy and support and may respond in more punitive manners. When parents un derstand trauma-informed care, they have opportunities to heal their unaddressed trau ma and are able to effectively support youth on their healing journey. In this training, we’ll discuss trauma-informed care principles and how we can apply them to parenting to improve the health and wellness of the fam ily.

Traumatic grief occurs when the pain of loss is compounded by the impact of trauma, often disrupting emotional processing as well as a person’s sense of meaning and identity. These losses—frequently sudden, violent, or distressing—can overwhelm the nervous system and shatter core as sumptions about safety, attachment, and coherence. Clients may present with intrusive imagery, avoidance, emotional numbing, and difficulty ac cessing memories of the person who died, leaving clinicians unsure how to effectively support both trauma and grief within treatment. While clini cians may often seek training in treating trauma, rarely is it coupled with understanding how grief and trauma intersect, leading clinicians to inadver tently miss half the picture. Trauma must be treated first to allow grief to emerge and healing to begin. 

This training offers a grounded, meaning reconstruction approach to work ing with traumatic grief, drawing from grief and trauma theory, trauma informed care, and meaning-oriented perspectives. Participants will explore how trauma responses can interfere with the natural processes of grieving, constrict access to the relationship with the deceased, and disrupt iden tity and meaning-making. Attention will be given to a range of loss expe riences, including sudden, violent, ambiguous, stigmatized, and disenfran chised grief, as well as common themes such as regret, guilt, and shame. Using an evolving case study woven throughout the training, participants will engage in applied clinical thinking while building skills in pacing, regula tion, and intervention. Practical strategies will include trauma-informed stabilization, narrative approaches, and meaning-oriented interventions that support integration without overwhelming the client.

The relationship between trauma and addiction is becoming increasingly well established in the literature. This is no surprise, as clinicians working “in the trenches” know all too well that people with unresolved trauma and emotional wounds often turn to substances as a way to “numb out,” forget, or otherwise self-medicate to regulate their emotions. Conversely, people with addictive behavior disorders may drive while impaired, gravitate towards toxic relationships, go to dangerous places to get their substance of choice, or engage in many other behaviours that increase their risk of being traumatized and their vulnerability factors for developing PTSD or other trauma and stress related disorders.  It is also known that when cooccurrence is involved, this presents clinicians with a more complicated course of treatment and less favorable treatment outcomes that when clients present with only one or the other.
 

The good news is, there is hope! While neuroscience has taught us much about this phenomenon in recent years, evidence-based Cognitively based treatments are still being shown to  be at least as effective as many “newer” approaches, and in some circles seem to have almost gotten lost in the shuffle. 

Recent protocols have attempted to incorporate PE (prolonged exposure) and other cognitive behavioral treatments with substance use disorder treatments. While further research is needed in this area, the mandate for integration of treatments when dealing with this population seems integral to obtain more favorable outcomes for individuals with these complex conceptualizations.
 

Leave this full-day online training let by international CBT expert Jeff Riggenbach, PhD, with an improved understanding of the neuroscience of trauma, a integrated approach to treating PTSD and addictions, and armed with a plethora of evidence-based, yet practical new tools to equip and empower this group to find levels of recovery that have previously been eluding them!