Debra Hope Recorded Webinar: Best Practices for CBT with LGBTQA+ Adults

Original Air Date: February 18, 2022

Abstract:

Clients who identify as sexual and gender minorities seek therapy for many of the same reasons as heterosexual and/or cisgender clients including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and relationship problems.  Typical evidence-based interventions are likely to be effective, but best practice demands clinicians consider the cultural context when implementing a treatment plan.  Despite progress in recent years, sexual and gender minorities continue to face structural inequities and marginalization in their daily lives that are exacerbated if they also hold other minoritized identities.  Even with the best intentions, bias can intrude into the therapy room. This clinically-focused webinar will emphasize incorporating sexual and gender identities into the case conceptualization and adapting common CBT interventions such as cognitive restructuring, exposure, and behavioral activation to meet the needs of clients.  Considerations for practice such as creating an affirming environment and engagement with LGBTQA+ communities will also be discussed.  

About the Presenter:

Debra A. Hope received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from University at Albany-State University of New York in 1990 and joined the Department of Psychology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the same year.  At present, she is Aaron Douglas Professor, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Education. Her current research interests focus on two primary areas: (a) mental health impacts of stigma and discrimination, particularly for gender and sexual minorities, and (b) anxiety disorders with a focus on social anxiety disorder. Dr. Hope has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and books, including Managing Social Anxiety: A Cognitive Behavioral Approach therapist guide and client workbook with Richard Heimberg and Cynthia Turk in the Oxford University Press Treatments That Work series.  She is co-founder of Trans Collaborations (go.unl.edu/transcollaborations), a community-based research partnership to address health disparities for transgender and gender diverse adults in underserved areas. Dr. Hope is the director of the Rainbow Clinic, one of the specialty services within the UNL Psychological Consultation Center.  She has over three decades of experience in clinical training and her own clinical practice. Dr. Hope is a Fellow and past president of ABCT.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants will:

    a.  understand how contemporary cultural context impacts the health and well-being of sexual and gender minorities.     b.  be able to incorporate sexual and gender minority identities into CBT case conceptualization.     c.  know how to adapt common CBT interventions to be sensitive to the cultural context of their LBGTQA+ clients.     d.  understand how to incorporate clients’ strengths and challenges in the context of all of their intersecting identities.

Recommended Readings

Hope, D.A., Holt, N. R., Woodruff, N., Mocarski, R., Meyer, H. Puckett, J. A., Eyer, J., Craig, S., Feldman, J., Irwin, J., Pachankis, J., Rawson, K.J., Sevelius, J., Butler, S. (in press). Bridging the gap between practice guidelines and the therapy room: Community-derived adaptations for psychological services with transgender and gender diverse adults in the Central United States.  Professional Psychology: Science and Practice. 

Pachankis, J.E., & Safren, S. A. (2019).  Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Sexual and Gender Minorities.  Oxford University Press.

Puckett, J. A., Barr, S. M., Wadsworth, L. P., Thai, J. (2018). Considerations for clinical work and research with transgender and gender diverse individuals. the Behavior Therapist, 41, 253-262.

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About the Moderator: Lily Brown, PhD, is Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research and clinical work focuses on the intersection of anxiety and suicide risk.

All attendees will receive a certificate of completion when the course requirements are satisfied. Certificates of completion is included in the cost of the webinar

ABCT is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. ABCT maintains responsibility for this program and its content

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5797. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies is recognized by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences for Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) to offer continuing education as Provider #4600

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0124

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0657.