When anxiety mires clients in a downward spiral of panicked thoughts and heightened sensations, how do you help them regain equilibrium? In this video, Toronto-based CBT experts Drs. Mark Fefergrad and Peggy Richter demonstrate proven interventions from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the widely practiced, empirically supported model that targets anxiety’s most challenging cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Here, the two clinicians provide a didactic overview of CBT and, in a series of clinical vignettes, demonstrate how to support clients through reducing the intensity of their negative thoughts and practicing realistic exposures to feared situations.
Here, you’ll see Richter and Fefergrad work with Kathy, a 40-year-old woman whose severe panic attacks have led to her quitting her job and staying reclusive at home. Anticipating her niece’s wedding, Kathy recognizes her need for help but feels beholden to her anxious symptoms. The therapists’ annotated sessions with her illustrate the effective use of empathic reflection, the automatic thought record, the downward arrow technique, Socratic questioning, and cognitive restructuring. You’ll also learn how to collaboratively develop homework assignments, activity scheduling, and graded tasks to support treatment goals, and you’ll get a theoretical review of CBT’s cognitive model. In all, these two clinicians present theory, skills, and interventions that you can use with clients right away.
With its rich set of takeaways, this video offers practical tools to support your work with clients suffering from the panic, avoidance, and distress of anxiety. If you’re in search of solid resources on CBT or anxiety disorders, add this video to your collection today.
By watching this video, you will:
- Understand the theoretical foundations of CBT and its application to anxiety.
- Learn how to use CBT tools such as the automatic thought record and activity scheduling.
- Discover ways to apply CBT techniques such as the downward arrow, Socratic questioning, and cognitive restructuring.
Length of video: 1:02:48
English subtitles available
Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-514-4
Peggy Richter, MD, is the inaugural head of the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, focused on research and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related conditions. She is also Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, a scientist with the Brain Sciences Research Program at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and with the Neurogenetics Section, Neurosciences Department, at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Mark Fefergrad, MD, is Assistant Professor and the Director of Postgraduate Education in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is a leader in postgraduate CBT education and has practiced and taught CBT extensively.
CE credits: 1
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how the theoretical foundations of CBT apply to the treatment of anxiety
- Plan effective treatment using core CBT tools such as activity scheduling
- Critique CBT techniques related to anxiety treatment
Bibliography available upon request
This course is offered for ASWB ACE credit for social workers. See complete list of CE approvals here
© 2013
Course Reviewed January 2023