Irritability and anger are commonplace human experiences that range from typical and desirable to impairing and destructive. Influenced by these emotions, people do things they regret and create difficulties for themselves in many interpersonal domains. Irritability and anger are associated with a variety of disorders, confer risk for numerous negative psychosocial outcomes and co-occurring conditions, and are often difficult to treat. How should they be seen as a focus for assessment and intervention? Given how these emotions are woven into a person’s life, personality, and social context, determining where and how to intervene is a challenge for clinicians in all professions.

This interactive workshop will provide an overview of the nature of irritability and anger across disorders and developmental periods. We will consider the roles that these transdiagnostic symptoms play among a variety of conditions and how contextual factors can exacerbate, maintain, or mitigate irritability and anger. Effective, pragmatic, and developmentally appropriate assessment strategies, and interventions that can incorporate assessment results across settings, will be described.

*Pre-approved CEUs will be available from the Minnesota Boards of Marriage and Family Therapy, Behavioral Health and Therapy, Social Work, and Psychology.*

Featured Speaker

Deborah A. G. Drabick, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology at Temple University. Dr. Drabick’s expertise is broadly in developmental psychopathology, and more specifically in youth externalizing problems. Her work includes such areas as risk and resilience, co-occurring psychological conditions, contextual influences, and intervention. She has published articles related to most childhood conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder (including anger/irritability and behavioral symptoms), conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety,
and depression.

Dr. Drabick is particularly interested in assessment of neurodevelopmental processes that may predict treatment outcomes and using advanced statistical techniques to understand the development of co-occurring psychological conditions. Her work has been funded by NIMH, American Psychological Foundation, and PA Department of Health. She has received numerous awards for teaching and has served as a reviewer for DSM-5 Work groups, NIH grant review panels, numerous journals, and conferences. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dr. Drabick is active in APA Division 12, serving as the Secretary of the Society, and in initiatives aimed at bridging science and practice in clinical psychology training.

Agenda

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast

8:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Developmental considerations, risk factors, and diagnoses

10:30 - 10:45 a.m.

Break

10:45 - 11:30 a.m.

Contexual processes, maintaining factors, and course

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Catered lunch and networking

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Assessment approaches

2:00 - 2:15 p.m.

Break

2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Intervention strategies and ongoing assessments

Learning Outcomes

Participants will learn to:

1. Describe symptoms and contextual risk factors associated with irritability across disorders and developmental periods.
2. Acquire skills for assessing anger and irritability.
3. Apply assessment findings to develop different explanations for irritable behavior.
4. Select appropriate intervention strategies based on assessment results.

FAQs

What is the refund policy?

If you find you cannot attend, we encourage you to send a substitute. We accept early cancellations before November 20, 2017. Cancellations made after November 20th will not be refunded.

Is my registration/ticket transferrable?

You may transfer your registration to another person. Please contact Canvas Health at the link below or mallyn-schwerin@canvashealth.org to update your attendee information.

The name on the registration/ticket doesn't match the attendee. Is that okay?

If you are transferring your registration to another person, please contact Canvas Health at mallyn-schwerin@canvashealth.org so we may update the registration list. In the event the ticket is lost, we can only honor the names we have on the registration list.

Are CEUs available for this conference?

Pre-approved CEUs will be available from the Minnesota Boards of Marriage and Family Therapy, Behavioral Health and Therapy, Social Work, and Psychology.

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?

For general questions regarding conference or to register by phone, please call (651) 251-5059. To update or change your registration, please contact Melonie at mallyn-schwerin@canvashealth.org.