Full workshop list coming soon! Please check back for additional offerings. 

2026 Annual Meeting Pre-Recorded CE Package: 

Ethics in Motion: Navigating Connection and Change in Global Psychological Practice (3 hours)

Presenters: Tomina J. Schwenke, PhD, ABPP, Emily Mouilso, PhD, and Amy Todey, PhD 

This engaging ethics workshop will use case studies on social media, global psychology, and interjurisdictional practice to examine emerging challenges in modern psychological work. Participants will review telepsychology and telemental health guidelines, ethical decision-making models, and frameworks for forensic work, mandated reporting, and social media practice. Diversity issues—including cultural contexts in high-conflict families, linguistic and disability concerns, and generational differences in technology use—will be integrated throughout. Using interactive methods such as open-ended questions, quizzes, and self-reflection, attendees will gain practical tools, decision trees, and greater capacity to ethically navigate evolving practice across state and international borders.

From Theory to Practice: Assessment and Treatment of Substance Use Disorder Using a Biopsychosocial Approach (3 hour)
Presenters: Kallio Hunnicutt-Ferguson, PhD, Samantha Patton, PhD, ABPP, and Martha Fiskeaux, PsyD

This introductory level workshop will explore the neurobiological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to substance use disorders (SUDs). We will discuss the ways in which stigma and bias affect individuals with SUDs, and how to approach assessment and treatment in a compassionate, nonjudgmental manner. We will review information on factors to assess when working with someone with an active SUD (e.g., even if not initially the focus of care). We will review the evidence base for treatments for SUDs as well as interventions for co-occurring disorders, and engage attendees in experiential practice of important assessment.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Better Body Image for All (3 hours)

Presenter: Sandra Wartski, PsyD

Negative body image is curiously complex, quite common and clinically challenging. Beliefs about one’s body, including culturally-influenced idealizations about shape and size, are developed in multifactorial ways, and the unlearning of these beliefs is similarly multifaceted. This presentation will focus on the truths about body image, accompanied by a variety of multi-theoretical interventions to consider incorporating into therapeutic strategies related to body image improvement. Because research shows that anyone’s mental health would be improved with improved body image, all therapists would benefit from additional clinical skills that can assist in effectively navigating clients toward a life without critical body relationships.

MDMA combined with massed exposure therapy for PTSD (2 hours)

Presenters: Dr. Barbara Rothbaum, PhD ABPP & Dr. Jessica Maples-Keller, PhD

The pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy literatures for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be succinctly reviewed and discussed, focusing on cognitive behavioral treatments (CBT), and the various CBT techniques will be briefly described, including virtual reality exposure therapy. Pharmacotherapy and combination pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatments for PTSD will be discussed. Innovations in the treatment of PTSD, including medium of delivery and novel combination treatment will be presented. An intensive outpatient treatment model and will be presented. In two phase 3 trials, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy, a non-directive therapeutic approach, resulted in significantly greater reductions in PTSD compared to placebo. The therapy model used in these trials has not previously been tested as a standalone therapy and is not an existing evidence based PTSD therapy. Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a gold standard PTSD intervention. Translational evidence indicates prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) could represent the optimal psychotherapy to be combined with MDMA for PTSD intervention.

We have developed The METEMP Protocol for Massed Exposure Therapy Enhanced with MDMA for PTSD. We are piloting the combination of a two-week intensive PE protocol for treatment of PTSD with the addition of a 100 mg MDMA dose on Day 2, in which two imaginal exposure sessions are conducted during the MDMA session. Primary outcome is PTSD symptom reduction as assessed by independent raters via the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5-Revised (CAPS-5-R) from pre-treatment compared to one month follow up. Currently 12 participants have been enrolled (N=12; 41.7% male; 41.7% civilian and 58.3% veteran). In preliminary analyses, CAPS-5-R decreased significantly from pre (M = 75.50, SD = 14.16) to 1 month (M = 16.48, SD = 20.89) (t = 12.33, df = 11, p < .001). MDMA enhanced massed exposure therapy for PTSD shows preliminary safety, feasibility, and efficacy, with a large decrease in CAPS-5 symptoms.

Using Stories to help Children Cope with Loss and Trauma (1 hour)

Presenters: Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP and Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP

Many children (an estimated 20-48% of all youth) are exposed to traumatic events and many experience mental health problems as a result. Traumas may include child maltreatment, domestic or community violence, natural disasters, and family disruption. Many traumatic events also involve temporary or permanent loss of contact with caregivers. Diverse therapy approaches are utilized to address children’s distress after experiences of loss or trauma and many include the use of first and/or third-person narratives.

 The presenters are a clinical psychologist and a couple and family psychologist, two of the co-authors of the Something Happened children’s books that encourage adaptive coping with specific family and community stressors. The presenters will focus on using stories to help child clients cope with loss and trauma. Two illustrative case studies will be presented. Something Happened to My Mom models adaptive coping with parental addiction, a complex family stressor that may also involve child maltreatment and parent-child separation. Something Happened to My Dad, a story about an undocumented father’s detention and potential deportation, models coping with parent-child separation. Both stories also address stigmatized situations which may be particularly challenging for families to discuss. The presenters will provide a resource list of additional sources of published stories addressing trauma and loss. They will discuss strategies for developing tailored therapeutic stories for particular clients in a clinical setting.

 A complicating factor is that many children who have experienced trauma and loss do not receive treatment from behavioral health providers. Also, many stressors (e.g., gun violence) impact large groups of children. Therefore, approaches involving community-based psychoeducation or advocacy appear warranted. The presenters will discuss utilizing stories in community settings to promote adaptive coping on a broader scale. They will encourage participants to reflect on diverse ways to expand their role and develop competencies as community advocates.

Institutional Betrayal and Racial Healing in Behavioral Health (1 hour) 

Presenters: Danielle Currin, PhD, D'Asha Barnes Daniels, MSW, Desiree Frain, PsyD, Erica Marshall-Lee, PhD  

Racial trauma, betrayal trauma, and institutional betrayal are baked into the history of the United States. This legacy of injustice encompasses direct experiences of racism and discrimination, as well as a broader sense of betrayal in which the very institutions tasked with helping people, such as the US healthcare system, let them down in egregious, painful, or even fatal ways. We describe the psychological impact of the mistreatment of Black Americans by the US healthcare system using theories of racial trauma, betrayal trauma, and institutional betrayal; and use a modified version of Bronfenbrenner’s socioecological framework to provide concrete examples and strategies to address racial healing and provide racial trauma-informed care to Black Americans.

Despite these advances, we continue to see fragmentation in the system as individuals transition from early intervention programs to long-term treatment. This includes disruptions in care, fewer treatment options and resources, and loss of valued team members and supports that negatively impact recovery gains. Families and caregivers also become overburdened along the way as they try to understand and support their loved one within a confusing system.

Organizations and professionals in Atlanta have responded to these problems by developing programs that provide access to gold-standard models of psychotherapy and psychosocial intervention, medication management, and other evidenced-based models of care. During this symposium we will share what has been accomplished and our goals for the future as Atlanta, and Georgia, is situated to grow into a regional center for treatment, research, training, and advocacy.
Attendees will learn about current efforts to expand and collaborate across academic institutions and health systems across the state, including growing pains and lessons learned. Attendees will also learn about local resources and models for collaboration.