Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy:
Clinical State of the Art

Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian, PhD, Robert M. Goisman, MD, and Matcheri S. Keshavan, MD

July 26 – 30, 2021 • Monday – Friday
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CBT is now indicated as primary or adjunctive treatment for a wide range of mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. Simultaneously, cognitive impairments are increasingly being viewed as core disturbances in several neuropsychiatric disorders and are benefited by a cognitive approach such as cognitive remediation.

Topics in this course will include: a brief review of the development of behavioral and cognitive treatments as well as an overview of newer, third-wave CBT treatments such as mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT); practical applications of CBT and related treatments for anxiety disorders including panic, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder; mood disorders; principles underlying the development of cognitive remediation for schizophrenia, mood disorders, ADHD, mild cognitive impairments, and autism; social skills training and cognitive restructuring for psychotic disorders; and the relationship of CBT to psychodynamic psychotherapy. We will also review efficacy data and therapeutic mechanisms for cognitive remediation approaches and discuss cognitive therapy approaches for bipolar disorder and for the treatment of delusions, hallucinations, and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. We will in part utilize a case presentation format, in which a case illustrating the subject matter of that morning will be presented and then discussed using the principles just developed. Live roleplaying exercises will also be used to illustrate the application of skills. Participants will be invited to present their own cases for consultation.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Use specific techniques for improving functioning and reducing impact of anxiety in patients with anxiety disorders;
• Evaluate specific CBT and acceptance/ mindfulness based interventions used in panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, and PTSD; 
• Apply cognitive and behavioral therapy methods and acceptance and commitment therapy in the treatment of patients with unipolar depression and with bipolar disorder;
• Review principles and approaches to cognitive behavior therapy for psychotic disorders;
• Determine areas of convergence as well as divergence in the relationship between CBT, acceptance and commitment therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy;
• Recognize cognitive deficits and impaired neuroplasticity in schizophrenia;
• Apply approaches to cognitive remediation in schizophrenia;
• Describe the Cognitive Triad of depression and its relationship to treatment;
• Explain similarities and differences in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of unipolar depression and bipolar disorder;
• Define mindfulness and its use in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

FACULTY

Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian, PhD is Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is the Clinical Director of the Center for Early Detection, Assessment and Response to Risk. Dr. Yakoobian has trained scores of graduate students, psychiatry residents, and mental health professionals in CBT. She speaks regionally, nationally, and internationally on CBT, Acceptance, and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and cognitive remediation. She is co-author of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Guide for Case Managers.

Robert M. Goisman, MD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the former Director of Medical Student Education at Massachusetts Mental Health Center. His research interests have included behavioral therapy, anxiety disorders, and psychosocial rehabilitation in chronic mental illness. Dr. Goisman is a past recipient of the Elvin V. Semrad Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center. He is a past recipient of the “Outstanding Psychiatrist Award” from the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society for Public Sector Service. He is a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. In 2011 he received the Special Faculty Prize for Sustained Excellence in Teaching from Harvard Medical School.

Matcheri S. Keshavan, MD is Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and Chairman of Psychiatry at the Beth Israel Deacon Medical Center. Dr. Keshavan is a world class teacher and researcher in schizophrenia. He has authored over 650 peer-reviewed publications as well as having authored four books and 100 reviews/book chapters. He is editor of Schizophrenia Research and serves on the editorial board of many respected journals.