Process-Based Practice: Shaping Psychological Flexibility in Children, Adolescents, and Their Parents
Dates and Location of this IN-PERSON 2-Day Workshop:
IN-PERSON at the Sheraton, New Orleans
Tuesday, July 15, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
CE credits available: 13
Workshop Leaders: 
Lisa Coyne, Ph.D.
Sarah Cassidy, Ph.D.
Workshop Description:
Research estimates that the prevalence of clinically elevated child and adolescent anxiety are at a stark 20.5% of the global population (Racine, 2021). Further studies show that one in six American children have at least one treatable mental health condition (e.g., anxiety or depression) or a neurodivergence (e.g., ADHD or Autism) which often leads to higher rates of mental health distress (Devitt, 2019). One meta-analysis of 87 studies across 44 countries estimated the global current prevalence of anxiety disorders at 7.3% (4.8–10.9%, adjusted for methodological differences across studies; Baxter, Scott, Vos, & Whiteford, 2012). Moreover, the prevalence of avoidance-based disorders in young people has risen over the past decade,2 most dramatically after the global COVID-19 epidemic. Despite high prevalence rates and burden, few youngsters who need treatment receive it.
While exposure-based treatment for avoidance-based disorders in youth populations has robust empirical support, intent-to-treat analyses suggest that approximately 1 in 5 individuals drop out of exposure treatment (Hofmann and Smits, 2008; Ong et al. 2016), estimates suggest that 33% do not improve (Öst et al., 2015), and longitudinal data suggest that 48% relapse (eg Ginsburg et al., 2013; 2018). To complicate matters, simply adding ACT to exposure-based treatment does not lead to demonstrably improved outcomes (Twohig et al., 2018). Improving exposure outcomes will require a principles-based, patient-centered “microanalytic approach” (Twohig et al., 2018) for individual clients in their behavioral and contextual complexity.. As our understanding deepens about the contexts in which mental health issues arise in young people, including the experience of neurodivergence in a neurotypical world, the marginalization of minority groups, increasing rates of poverty, and disruptions caused by climate change, growing up has grown more challenging, with the future more uncertain. The facts that that our most rigorous treatments have substantial room for improvement, that so few young people who need help receive it, and that they are experiencing increasing contextual challenges pose a serious question for our field: how do we, as clinicians and behavior scientists, make treatment more sensitive, responsive, accessible, and effective?
This two-day workshop for clinicians with some experience with either Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), behavioral, or cognitive-behavioral treatments for anxiety will explore how to use the principles underlying ACT, RFT, and behavior analysis to enhance process-based treatment with children and adolescents through supporting curiosity, willingness, flexibility, and values-guided action. Specifically, the presenters will discuss how to assess skills or performance deficits in psychological flexibility, how to shape broad and effective behavioral repertoires, and coach parents to scaffold psychological flexibility. Specific attention will also be given to using these techniques across child development, supporting neurodivergent youth, and families raising them. Clinical examples and demonstrations will be used to illustrate therapeutic techniques, in addition to the workshop’s didactic content. Participants will have opportunities to observe and participate in role plays a nd experiential exercises, to explore creating their own “toolbox” of exercises to evoke and reinforce adaptive learning in context. Time permitting, participants will be invited to participate in case consultation with challenging or complex child cases.
About the Workshop Leaders:
- Lisa Coyne, Ph.D.
Dr. Coyne is the Founder and Senior Clinical Consultant of the McLean OCD Institute for Children and Adolescents at McLean Hospital and is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the New England Center for OCD and Anxiety (NECOA) and is Past President of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS). She is member of the Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board and is on the Faculty of the Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). She is also a licensed psychologist, a peer-reviewed ACT trainer, and author. She has authored multiple articles and chapters on ACT with children and adolescents and is a co-author of the books Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Clinician’s Guide for Supporting Parents (Elsevier), and The Joy of Parenting (New Harbinger). Her new books, Stuff That’s Loud: A Teen’s Guide to Unspiralling When O CD Gets Noisy (New Harbinger & Little Brown), Stop Avoiding Stuff: 25 Microskills to Face Your Fears and Do It Anyway, were published in 2020. With Sarah Cassidy, she has co-authored Tired of Anxiety: A Kid’s Guide to Befriending Scary Thoughts and Living Your Life Anyway (2022) and Tired of Teen Anxiety: A Young Person’s Guide to Discovering Your Best Life and Becoming Your Best Self (2024).
- Sarah Cassidy, Ph.D.
Dr. Sarah Cassidy is the President Elect of the Psychological Society of Ireland. She is a late diagnosed multiply neurodivergent Psychologist & Peer Reviewed ACT Trainer. She is Founder and Director of Smithsfield Clinic (Ireland), co-founder and co-director of New England Centre for OCD and Anxiety (Ireland branch), and co-founder of an RFT based cognitive skills training company, RaiseYourIQ.com. She is chartered with the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and an elected executive Council Member from 2023-2026. As Council Member, she is currently co-chairing a working group to set up the Professional Conduct Committee for psychologists in Ireland, has been co-author on a number of important Best practice documents in Ireland including the PSI’s Response to the Green Paper on Disability Rights, Professional Practice Guidelines for Assessment and Treatment of ADHD in children and adults, and Professional Practice Guidelines for Assessment of Autism in Adulthood. She is in the Division of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychologists with the American Psychological Association. She is on the ACBS Foundation Board, the Membership Committee, the ACBS Neurodiversity Affirming Research and Practice Steering SIG chairing the Community Education and Outreach pillar. She has been on the SCPA Panel for the Irish National Educational Psychological Services for more than 2 decades and conducts assessments for a wide range of educational, social emotional, mental health and neurodevelopmental differences. She lectures in Child, Educational and Counselling Psychology. Finally, Sarah has authored a wide array of scientific papers on RFT and ACT, and with Dr Lisa Coyne, has co-authored two best-selling ACT books on supporting anxious children and teens in the Tired of Anxiety series.
Following this workshop participants will be able to:
1. Describe a principles-based process to shaping psychological flexibility with exposure-based treatment
2. Engage young clients and their caregivers in effective rationales for exposure-based therapy, based on a psychological flexibility paradigm
3. Describe the DNA-V model and how to use it to shape flexible perspective-taking and behavioral variability in avoidance-based disorders
4. Develop a therapeutic relationship characterized by acceptance, values, compassion and commitment to support the client in engaging in exposure-based treatment
5. Describe psychological flexibility as a set of behavioral skills that can be shaped as a target of developmental contextual behavioral ACT intervention
6. Prepare and utilize the process of a functional behavioral assessment and case conceptualization to assess skills deficits and develop a collaborative treatment plan with clients
7. Engage clients using valuing as action and direction to “contextualize” exposure and place exposure-based tasks under appetitive control
8. Explain how to shape the processes involved in psychological flexibility, including valuing and perspective-taking, to engage clients in exposure-based treatment
9. Use clinical RFT methods to enhance tracking and contact with contingencies to usefully explore expectancy violation
10. Use clinical RFT methods to foster flexible perspective-taking to enhance engagement in exposure tasks and promote functional senses of self
11. Assess progress in treatment using within-task and across-session methods
12. Adapt treatment to support and empower neurodivergent youth
13. Partner with parents of anxious and neurodivergent youth to create optimal zones of development in families
14. Collaborate with teachers to create nurturing learning spaces and integrate psychological flexibility into daily classroom activities.
15. Use the Comfort vs Discovery Zone assessment tool to support exposure and response prevention practices
Target audience: Beginner, Intermediate, Clinical
Components: Conceptual analysis, Literature review, Experiential exercises, Didactic presentation_, Case presentation, Role play, Videos
Topic Areas: Clinical, Training
Package Includes: A general certificate of attendance
CEs Available (13 hours): CEs for Psychologists