Upcoming Courses
3rd Annual Virtual Conference: Advances in Mindfulness and Acceptance Based Clinical Tools for Treating Adolescents and Young Adults
This one-day virtual symposium brings together experts to provide state of the art updates on evidence-based mindfulness and acceptance approaches to improving lives of adolescents and young adults struggling with a broad array of obstacles to living a rich, full and meaningful life. The symposium is appropriate for mental health professionals and students who are new to ACT and mindfulness as well as those who are well versed in practicing these approaches in their clinical work. Participants will learn from case examples, experiential exercises, and group discussions, and will have opportunities to network with professionals with shared interests in treating adolescents and young adults. A “data-blitz” in the afternoon will provide opportunities to learn a snapshot of some of the latest clinical research in this area.
Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
- Discuss unique aspects and challenges of providing culturally informed mindfulness- and acceptance-based treatments for adolescents and young adults.
- Identify acceptance and mindfulness tools as they are applied to working with adolescents and young adults dealing with a variety of stressors including anxiety, perfectionism, autism spectrum and substance use.
- Apply ACT for adolescent substance treatment and integrate ACT with motivational interviewing and contingency management strategies.
- Identify strategies that parents can use to help teens learn to manage anxiety and reduce the impact of anxiety on daily life.
- Discuss neurodiversity and applications of ACT and mindfulness-based approaches to treating adolescents on the autism spectrum.
- Identify current limitations and future directions for enhancing practice of acceptance and mindfulness tools for treating youth and young adults.
Download Conference Full Details
Meet our conference presenters here
Share your work at our virtual poster session and data blitz! Click here for details.
Conference Program (EST Time Zone):
| 9:40-9:45 | Log in – check out our virtual poster session! |
| 9:45-10:00 | Welcome/Introduction Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian/ Matcheri Keshavan |
| 10:00-10:50 | SPACE: A parent-based treatment program for youth with anxiety, OCD, and related problems Yaara Shimshoni
Slides – SPACE: Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions |
| 11:00-11:50 | Positive psychology intervention for suicidal youth Shirley Yen |
| 12:00-12:50 | Teaching teens to harness the power of perfectionism without losing themselves Patricia Zurita Ona |
| 12:50-1:45 | Lunch Break |
| 1:45-2:35 | ImpACT: An adolescent substance treatment model Christian Thurstone |
| 2:45-3:35 | Supporting neurodiverse and autistic community youth to ACT mindfully Evelyn Gould |
| 3:45-4:15 | Discussion/ audience questions with Drs. Shimshoni, Yen, Zurita Ona, Thurstone, Gould, Keshavan and Friedman-Yakoobian |
| 4:15-4:45 | Data Blitz: Series of 5-minute talks covering a bite-sized bit of the latest research in acceptance/mindfulness treatments for youth. |
| 4:45-5:00 | Wrap up/closing remarks Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian |
| * There will be a 5 minute “zoom break” between each presentation throughout the day.* | |
Faculty:
| Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian, PhD | Assistant Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts Mental Health Center |
| Evelyn Gould, PhD | Clinical Behavior Analyst and Licensed Psychologist at New England Center for OCD and Anxiety (NECOA). They are also a Clinical Associate at McLean Hospital and Research Associate in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. |
| Matcheri Keshavan, MD | Stanley Cobb Professor and Academic Head of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School |
| Yaara Shimshoni, PhD | Community faculty at the Program for Anxiety Disorders at the Yale Child Study Center |
| Christian Thurstone, MD | Medical director of STEP and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver Board certified in general, child and adolescent and addictions psychiatry. |
| Shirley Yen, PhD | Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Director of Psychology Training, Massachusetts Mental Health Center. |
| Patricia Zurita Ona, PsyD | Founder of the East Bay Behavior Therapy Center, author of The ACT Workbook for Teens with OCD: Unhook Yourself and Live Life to the Full, in addition to Living beyond OCD: a workbook for adults. |
Accreditation:
Physicians: There are no Category I credits available to Physicians for this conference. This conference qualifies for Category II credits.
Psychologists: The Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical School, a major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists and maintains responsibility for this program. This Symposium offers 5.5 CE credits.
Counselors: The Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5689. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. This seminar meets the criteria for 5.5 clock hours
Nurses: This symposium meets the specifications of the Board of Registration in Nursing in Massachusetts (244 CMR). This Symposium offers 5.5 CE credits.
Social Workers: This program is eligible for 5.5 credit hours and has been approved by the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
Registration:
Fee includes CEU’s and two months access to conference recording):
| Registration before 3/7/22 | $110 |
| Student registration before 3/7/22 | $50 |
| Registration 3/8/22-4/28/22 | $135 |
| Student registration 3/8/22-4/28/22 | $75 |
Share your work at our virtual poster session and data blitz! Click here for details.