Workshops for Health Professionals

Essentials of CBT - Level I: Learning CBT

This workshop is focused on teaching the essentials of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) through a series of weekly experiential training sessions. Participants will learn to use the CBT model to conceptualize client problems, individualize and develop collaborative treatment plans, and to use cognitive reappraisal, behavioural experiments and exposure-based treatment. This workshop is offered as a series of six weekly sessions and includes experientially-based exercises aimed at reinforcing and practicing core therapy
skills. Each session lasts 3 hours.

Topics covered include:

• Overview of the Main Structure and Components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Introduction to the CBT Model
• Behavioural Activation
• Cognitive Restructuring
• Behavioural Experiments
• Introduction to Exposure-Based Treatment

This workshop is for all mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, family physicians, social workers, occupational therapists, psychotherapists, nurses, etc.) and graduate students who are seeking practical, proven methods to enhance their therapeutic skills.

Essentials of CBT – Level II: Implementing CBT

This experiential-based workshop takes topics covered in our Level I CBT workshop and pushes the learning deeper by focusing on practicing the use of core CBT skills.  It includes facilitator demonstration, role-playing and homework-based assignments to consolidate learning of core CBT skills.  A session is also dedicated to the use of imagery in CBT.  Participants will be asked to use the CBT skills reviewed during the Level I workshop to work on their own individual goals and to apply these skills in their work with their clients.  Sessions last 3 hours.

Topics covered include:

• CBT Model
• Behavioural Activation
• Cognitive Evaluation
• Behavioural Experiments
• Exposure-Based Treatment
• Imagery in CBT Treatment

This workshop is for all mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, family physicians, social workers, occupational therapists, psychotherapists, nurses, etc.) and graduate students who are seeking practical, proven methods to enhance their therapeutic skills.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for the Treatment of OCD

This workshop for mental health professionals and graduate students will introduce the essentials of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  Participants will learn how to conceptualize and understand the mechanisms that maintain OCD and practice developing individualized treatment plans. Time will be spent reviewing the principles of exposure with response prevention (ERP), the development of exposure hierarchies for OCD, guidelines for response prevention, the creation of coping scripts for exposure and the role of treatment-interfering behaviours in OCD.  Experientially-based exercises will be used to reinforce and practice the core therapy skills introduced in each session.  Sessions last 3 hours.

Topics covered include:

• Prevalence, Epidemiology and Definition of OCD in DSM-5
• Introduction to the CBT Model for OCD
• Practice with Conceptualizing OCD using the CBT Model
• Development of Exposure-Hierarchies
• Preparing the Patient for Treatment
• Practice with Exposure

This workshop is for all mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, family physicians, social workers, occupational therapists, psychotherapists, nurses, etc.) and graduate students who are seeking practical, proven methods to enhance their therapeutic skills