Luc LaFreniere Recorded Webinar - Clinical Savoring Practices for Increasing Positive Emotion and Reducing Psychopathology (December 1, 2023)

Original Airdate: Friday, December 1, 2023

11:00 AM- 12:30 PM Eastern/ 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Central/ 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Mountain/ 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Pacific

1.5 CE Credits Awarded

$15 Student ABCT Members / $25 ABCT Members / $35 Non-Members

All prices listed in US currency

Abstract:

Savoring is the purposeful enjoyment of positive emotion. It involves generating, amplifying, and sustaining pleasant emotions from enjoyable experiences. Those with anxiety disorders and depression not only have deficits in positive emotion and reward response (e.g., LaFreniere & Newman, 2019), but also tend to dampen pre-existing positive emotions (e.g., Eisner et al., 2009). Intentional engagement with positive emotions may counter core symptoms and maintenance factors of psychopathology. Recently, savoring practices have shown significant clinical benefits when compared to active treatment controls in both randomized controlled trials (RCTs; e.g., Craske et al., 2019; LaFreniere & Newman, 2023a) and single-session experiments (e.g., Rosen & LaFreniere, 2023). Savoring practices have significantly reduced pre-existing worry, anxiety, depression symptoms, and “kill-joy thinking” in clinical samples. They have also increased positive emotion, prioritization of positive activities, and optimism (LaFreniere, & Newman, 2023a; 2023b; 2023c), which have a host of benefits across life (Fredrickson, 2013). Savoring practices can feasibly complement existing behavioral techniques, weakening symptoms while strengthening joy.

In this virtual clinical training workshop, attendees will develop skills for the clinical use of intentional engagement with positive emotions. They will first learn about the theoretical foundations, mechanisms, and empirical support of savoring. Clinical outcomes of savoring practices for anxiety and mood disorders in scientific research will be emphasized. The majority of the workshop will then focus on active training in a variety of savoring practices, tools, and tips. Attendees will also participate in savoring exercises themselves. 

Presenter Biography:

Dr. LaFreniere is lead investigator of the Technological Research on Enjoyment and Anxiety Treatment (TREAT) laboratory and an assistant professor at Skidmore College. He specializes in developing and researching efficient interventions for worry, anxiety, and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders with smartphone technologies. His research aims to design treatments targeting understudied processes of psychopathology, test their efficacy, and examine their mechanisms. Along with winning the sole Distinguished Dissertation in Clinical Psychology Award (APA Division 12) in 2019, he has published in outlets such as Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and Depression and Anxiety. His basic research has revealed Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) deficits in learning the probabilities of future outcomes, reinforcement response under uncertainty, and extended engagement with positive emotions. In his applied research, he has developed and tested efficient interventions for correcting these problems via smartphone with worry tracking and savoring. His Worry Outcome Journal (WOJ) intervention employed an enhanced form of worry outcome monitoring. The efficacious WOJ guided users with GAD to see the high costs, low benefits, and inaccuracies of their worries in daily life via smartphone. His recent SkillJoy intervention led clients to learn and practice extended enjoyment of positive experiences, mindful appreciation of good aspects of the present moment, and exposure to being “off guard." He continues to study the application of savoring practices as a transdiagnostic intervention for comorbid GAD and depression. www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-lafreniere-722aa778

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, the learner will be able to:

1. Describe the definition and theorized mechanisms of savoring in the treatment of anxiety and depression symptoms

2. Provide at least 3 findings on the clinical effects of savoring interventions from experimental research

3. Teach the basic principles and procedures of savoring to clients (provide psychoeducation)

4. Lead clients in the practice of at least 3 separate savoring techniques/exercises

Recommended Readings:

1. Craske, M. G., Meuret, A. E., Ritz, T., Treanor, M., Dour, H., & Rosenfield, D. (2019). Positive affect treatment for depression and anxiety: A randomized clinical trial for a core feature of anhedonia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(5), 457–471. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000396

2. LaFreniere, L. S. & Newman, M. G. (2023a). Upregulating positive emotion in generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial of the SkillJoy ecological momentary intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000794.

3. LaFreniere, L. S. & Newman, M. G. (2023b). Reducing contrast avoidance in GAD by savoring positive emotions: Outcome and mediation in a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 93, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2022.102659

4. LaFreniere, L. S. (2023c). A primer for training savoring skills in psychotherapy (part 1 and part 2): Foundational concepts; Core procedures and exercises. The Evidence-Based Practitioner. https://philabta.org/EBP/13245504

5. Smith, J. L., & Bryant, F. B. (2017). Savoring and well-being: Mapping the cognitive-emotional terrain of the happy mind. In M. D. Robinson & M. Eid (Eds.), The happy mind: Cognitive contributions to well-being (pp. 139-156). Springer.

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

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For more information, contact:

Rachel Lamb, ABCT Membership and Marketing Manager
212-647-1890 ext. 209
rlamb@abct.org

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