Cognitive Therapy Techniques for Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder
3.0 CREDIT HOURS
 
Course Overview: 
Amongst anxiety-related disorders, many clinicians find generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) to be particularly difficult to treat effectively, perhaps due to the pervasive avoidant coping tendencies of these clients and the varying focus of their worries.  Importantly, worry can be conceptualized as a cognitive form of avoidance, and this formulation has important clinical implications.  Several cognitive therapy techniques have strong empirical support (as components of CBT for GAD protocols, or standalone interventions) – these techniques involve engaging in reflective processing and/or behavioral experimentation on the content of worries (e.g., the likelihood that specific feared outcomes will occur) or aspects of meta-cognition (i.e., “thinking about thinking”; e.g., views about the utility of worrying).  This workshop will focus on prominent evidence-based cognitive interventions for GAD – in particular, attendees will learn and practice implementing traditional cognitive therapy techniques, tailored cognitive therapy techniques targeting worry thoughts, strategies for evaluating beliefs about worry, and strategies for evaluating personal performance standards.
 
Presenter:
Dr. Keith Bredemeier, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Director of the Institute for Community Mental Health Clinic at the University of Delaware.  He received his Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology at the University of Delaware and his Doctoral degree in Clinical/Community Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He completed his predoctoral internship at Brown University, followed by postdoctoral fellowships focused on suicide risk and prevention in the Department of Psychosocial Research at Brown and the Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Bredemeier’s research focuses on cognitive traits and difficulties involved in the etiology and treatment of transdiagnostic dimensions of anxiety (e.g., excessive worrying), repetitive negative thinking (e.g., rumination), and related problems (e.g., depression, suicidal behavior).  He previously worked and received training at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, where is remains an adjunct faculty member to support ongoing collaborations.  Dr. Bredemeier specializes in diagnostic assessment and cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma and stress-related disorders.  He also has expertise in suicide risk assessment and prevention, as well as cognitive assessment.