Behavioral Activation: Effective Strategies for Depression and Beyond

Overview

Behavioral Activation (BA) is a cognitive-behavioral, evidence-based treatment for depression that is customized to your client’s life by helping them decrease depression-maintaining behaviors such as withdrawal/isolation and increase activities that serve as natural positive reinforcers for them.  In this workshop, you will learn how to help your clients engage in pleasurable, achievement-oriented, and values-driven activities to reclaim their lives and improve their mood, one manageable step at a time. 

“According to BA, a meaningful life is a life filled with diverse and stable sources of positive reinforcement” (Kanter et al., 2009) 

Learning Objectives

• Understand the theoretical foundation of BA and how it differs from other evidence-based treatments for depression such as cognitive therapy and medication, as well as how to discuss and customize the treatment rationale to clients in a culturally humble manner 
• Describe research findings/empirical evidence in support of BA 
• Receive and understand all the tools you need to use BA immediately after the workshop, including assessment measures, client information handouts and worksheets, monitoring/tracking forms for behavior and mood, as well as how to develop a customized treatment plan, troubleshoot impasses in the treatment, address relapse prevention, etc.   
• Discover how to work with your clients in a flexible way to determine which activities to engage in and how to use stepwise, graded activities that break down overwhelming projects into smaller, manageable tasks 
• Learn how to decrease avoidance, withdrawal, inactivity, rumination, and/or routine disruptions, and help your client become aware of the relationship between activity and mood in their life  
• Apply specific strategies from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) such as values clarification and mindfulness in BA 
• Practice cultivating a flexible therapeutic approach of collaboration and experimentation with your clients when using BA 
• Discuss how to utilize the customized treatment within the context of culture and ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender and sexuality, as well as tailoring the treatment for children/adolescents, group formats, and higher levels of care 
• Apply your learning by practicing various treatment components using hands-on experiential exercises and trainer feedback 
• Discuss and evaluate the application of BA to treat other symptoms such as anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders, etc., and briefly review the research findings. 

Meet the Speaker

Dr. Tracey Lichner has over 20 years of experience specializing in treating individuals with depression, anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD.  After earning her Ph.D. at Catholic University in Washington, DC, she began her career conducting clinical assessments on an OCD genetics research project at Johns Hopkins University.  She then served as a clinician and the Director of Supervision and Dissemination for almost 10 years with Dr. Edna Foa, a pioneer in OCD and PTSD treatment and research, at the University of Pennsylvania.  While at Penn, she coauthored an OCD treatment manual and patient workbook as part of the Treatments that Work series.     

In Minnesota, as the founding clinical director of Rogers Behavioral Health in Eden Prairie, Dr. Lichner helped guide the development of several partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs, including adult and child/adolescent programs for Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, and Eating Disorders.  Because most individuals in higher levels of care have symptoms of depression, she supervised the use of Behavioral Activation for numerous patient cases.  Currently, Dr. Lichner works with adults in her private practice, and is the owner of CBT Solutions, LLC, a group practice.  Dr. Lichner has treated individual clients, mentored early-career therapists, and conducted international trainings and consultations for experienced therapists.   

Schedule

7:30-8:00 am – Registration 
8:00-9:45 am – Seminar 

9:45-10:00 am – Break 

10:00-11:30 am – Seminar 
11:30-12:30 pm – Lunch on your own

12:30-2:00 pm – Seminar 
2:00-2:15 pm – Break 
2:15-4:00 pm – Seminar  
 

Continuing Education Credits

6 .5 contact hours will be earned by the following licensing boards:

• MN Board of Behavioral Health - LPC/LPCC & LADC
• MN Board of Marriage and Family Therapy
• MN Board of Social Work
• MN Board Psychology

***If you are licensed in another state, please review your CEU requirements regarding apporval.

If you have any questions, please email them to Events@NystromCounseling.com