ABCT CLINICAL PRACTICE SERIES – serie

The Latinx population has experienced fast growth and is highly diverse, for example, in terms of immigration status, being born in the United States or other countries of origin, cultural variation, skin color, and language preference. Access to linguistically and culturally relevant services is crucial yet extremely limited. Assessment is an essential aspect of ethical mental health practice and has significant implications at the time it is conducted as well as in the future.Cultural Competency in Psychological Assessment: Working Effectively with Latinx Populations focuses on the practical application of culturally informed assessment approaches with Latinx persons in mental health settings. Drs. Mercado and Venta discuss the mental health needs of the Latinx population and provide guidance on the best practices to use when working with this cultural group, such as incorporating cultural humility and cultural awareness in psychological assessments and using cultural clinical interview techniques. Latinx cultural values, cultural conceptualization, and clinical implications for working with Latinx patients are discussed at length.Cultural Competency in Psychological Assessment also covers topics such as linguistic considerations, working with interpreters, dealing with prejudice and microaggressions, working with undocumented and immigrant clients including children, and recommendations for future research. This book is a resource of clinical utility for psychologists and other mental health practitioners working with the Latinx community as well as for graduate students in psychology and psychiatry residents.

Exposure Therapy for Eating Disorders is designed to augment existing eating disorder treatment manuals by providing clinicians with practical advice for maximizing the effectiveness of exposure, regardless of clinical background or evidence-based treatment used. Suitable for use with a range of diagnoses, this easy-to-use guide describes the most up to date empirical research on exposure for eating disorders, extrapolating clinical advice from the anxiety disorders literature in order to help busy clinicians become more effective in treating these challenging illnesses. Readers will gain solid understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of exposure therapy, as well as how to utilize this information to explain the rationale for exposure to patients. Specific types of eating disorder exposure are covered in detail, including exposure to food and eating, cue exposure for binge eating, weighing and weight exposure, novel forms of exposure for eating disorders, and more. The book also provides strategies for overcoming obstacles, including institutional resistance to implementation of exposure therapy.

Recent conceptualization of anxiety, depressive, and related "emotional" disorders emphasize their similarities rather than their differences. In response, there has been a movement in recent years away from traditional disorder-specific manuals for the treatment of these disorders and toward treatment approaches that focus on addressing psychological processes that appear to cut across disorders. These "transdiagnostic" evidence-based treatments may prove to be more cost efficient and have the potential to increase availability of evidence-based treatments to meet a significant public health need. Among clinicians, the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP), developed by Dr. David Barlow and colleagues, is the most recognizable and widely used transdiagnostic treatment protocol with empirical support for its use. Applications of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders provides clinicians with a "how to" guide for using the UP to treat a broad range of commonly encountered psychological disorders in adults. Each chapter covers a specific anxiety, depressive, or related "emotional" disorder, and important transdiagnostic processes are highlighted and discussed in relation to treatment. Case studies are employed throughout to illustrate the real-world application of this unique cognitive behavioral protocol and to instruct clinicians in the nuts and bolts of assessment, case formulation, and treatment in accordance with a transdiagnostic perspective.

Exposure is the most important component of therapy for anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents. Unfortunately, few clinicians offer this treatment, making it very difficult for youth and their families to seek effective care. Exposure Therapy for Child and Adolescent Anxiety and OCD delivers a succinct yet comprehensive guide to the use of exposure therapy with youth suffering from anxiety and OCD. Within the heart of this book, clinicians will discover a clear, step-by-step model, illustrated with sample dialogue, for engaging their young patients in this most effective treatment. Detailed case examples bring to life the application of all forms of exposure (in vivo, imaginal, and interoceptive) to a wide range of anxiety and OCD presentations. Beyond teaching the mechanics for implementing exposure, the authors present a clinical model for understanding how exposure works, synthesizing the key issues from current competing theories. This model can enhance the ability of clinicians to apply exposure to new and more challenging presentations. The authors review common challenges to implementing exposure in real-world settings and assist clinicians in overcoming frequently encountered barriers. Within this compact book, clinicians will find a comprehensive guide to build their expertise in the delivery of exposure therapy for children and adolescents suffering from anxiety disorders or OCD.

Changes that parents and other family members make to their own behaviors to help a child avoid or alleviate anxiety are known as accommodations. Parental accommodation is a key aspect of child anxiety, and has a major impact on course, severity of symptoms and impairment, family distress, and treatment outcomes. As such the careful, gradual removal of accommodation by parents and loved ones is an important target of anxiety treatment for children.Addressing Parental Accommodation When Treating Anxiety in Children provides invaluable guidance to clinicians who wish to address accommodation within the context of a broader treatment strategy for anxious children, or as a stand-alone treatment. Clinicians will learn from this concise and easily accessible primer how to help parents identify and monitor accommodation, how to create treatment plans for reducing accommodation, and how to help parents communicate these plans to their children and implement them effectively. They will also learn how to help families cope with disruptive child responses to reduced accommodation, how to work with parents who struggle to cooperate, and what to do about a child's threats of self-harm. The book includes transcripts and rich clinical illustrations, as well as guidance on how to discuss accommodation with both parents and children-including a wealth of easily understood metaphors to aid in approaching the topic with empathy and without judgment. Addressing Parental Accommodation When Treating Anxiety in Children is an essential resource that will be of use to psychologists, counsellors, and clinical social workers who treat anxious children.

Microaggressions have been identified as a common and troubling cause of low retention and poor psychotherapy outcomes for people of color. All therapists want and intend to be helpful to their clients, but many unknowingly committing microaggressions due to unconscious biases and misconceptions about people from ethnic and racial minority groups.Managing Microaggressions is intended for mental health clinicians who want to be more effective in their use of evidence-based practices with people of color. Many well-intentioned clinicians lack the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively engage those who are ethnoracially different. This book discusses the theoretical basis of the problem (microaggressions), the cognitive-behavioral mechanisms by which the problem is maintained, and how to remedy the problem using CBT principles, with a focus on the role of the therapist. Not only will readers learn how to avoid offending or harming their clients, they will also be better equipped to help clients navigate microaggressions they encounter in their daily lives. Managing Microaggressions will endow clinicians with a clear understanding of these behaviors and the errors that underpin them, leading to more successful therapy.

School attendance problems, even in mild forms, are a significant risk factor for social, behavioral, and academic problems in childhood and adolescence. These cases tend to be urgent and complex in nature, with problems that manifest both at home and at school. As such, mental health and school-based professionals need practical and efficient strategies to resolve school attendance problems.Helping Families of Youth with School Attendance Problems is a real-world guide to addressing school attendance problems at different levels of severity and complexity. The book offers specific procedures for many types of cases to address these problems in a relatively short period of time, and within the constraints of most private practice and school settings. The text also considers developmental level, with distinct coverage of elementary school children as well as adolescents in middle school and in high school. The book consists of seven empirically-supported chapters that guide readers through assessment, consultation, and intervention processes. Given the limited timeframe frequently faced by mental health and school-based professionals, these processes are often blended. Beginning with an overview of school attendance problems, the heart of the book offers core intervention components as well as other procedures to enhance the effectiveness of these components. These components cover key aspects of anxiety and contingency management, school reintegration, and school engagement as well as suggestions for many specific scenarios. The final chapter focuses on chronic and severe school attendance problems and other highly challenging scenarios common to these young people. Helping Families of Youth with School Attendance Problems is a must-have resource for mental health and school-based professionals alike, as well as for others who regularly engage with this population.

Sexual assault is a worldwide public health concern, as it occurs to people of all genders at alarming rates and results in serious impacts to physical and mental health. Furthermore, the reactions that survivors receive from formal and informal supports can significantly influence survivors' recovery. Given the prevalence of sexual assault, practitioners need to be prepared to handle disclosures of sexual assault from clients. A Clinician's Guide to Disclosures of Sexual Assault provides guidance for service providers on how to interact with survivors of sexual assault, defined here as sexual contact or penetration without the explicit consent of the victim. The book highlights that there are specific populations (e.g., sexual minorities, men) and settings (e.g., military, higher education) that require unique considerations when discussing sexual violence. Beginning with a foundation of literature focused on sexual assault and survivor disclosure, chapters build upon current theory and offer recommendations for conducting effective assessments and psychotherapy with survivors. Finally, case examples are presented to illustrate how these approaches can be used in practice. Professionals across disciplines, such as medical or educational settings, law enforcement, and victim services, have an instrumental role in facilitating survivor recovery, and this book offers best practices for delivering services in an affirming manner.

The Unified Protocols for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children (UP-C) and Adolescents (UP-A) are evidence-based interventions originally designed to target core dysfunctions underlying emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depressive disorders, in children and adolescents. However, the UP-C and UP-A re increasingly being used to address other diagnostic clusters and problem areas that share these same core dysfunctions in a diverse range of delivery settings and cultural contexts. Applications of the Unified Protocols for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents is a practical guide for clinicians and researchers on applying the core principles of the UP-C and UP-A to treat children and adolescents with a broad range of emotion disturbance across settings in which youth typically receive care, including community mental health settings, pediatric primary care, and telehealth. In addition to providing an overview of the rationale for using UP-C and/or UP-A with each presenting problem or within each delivery setting, chapters provide detailed, step-by-step guidance on adapting and applying the UP-C and UP-A for their particular problem area, delivery setting, or cultural context. Chapters include case examples, suggestions for overcoming potential barriers in clinical delivery, and practical "tip sheets" for clinicians. When used in conjunction with the UP-C and UP-A Therapist Guide and Workbooks, this volume is an essential resource for clinicians using transdiagnostic interventions to treat diverse, complex, and comorbid clients in real-world therapy settings.

Black youth face unique challenges at the intersection of interpersonal harm and systemic racial oppression. Yet, widely used evidence-based treatments like Trauma Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment (TF-CBT) often overlook race-related stress in their assessments, case conceptualizations, and interventions.Considering Racial Trauma and Racial Socialization in TF-CBT for Black Youth fills this gap by equipping clinicians with culturally responsive tools and strategies tailored to the needs of Black clients. Written by licensed clinical psychologist and trauma expert Dr. Isha Metzger, it is an essential guide for mental health professionals working with Black children, teens, and families impacted by interpersonal and racial trauma. Grounded in decades of research, clinical practice, and community engagement, Dr. Metzger presents a practical, powerful framework for integrating racial socialization into every phase of TF-CBT. The book offers case examples, sample scripts, clinical rationales, supervision prompts, and practical activities aligned with each component of TF-CBT, from psychoeducation and relaxation to trauma narrative and safety planning. The book also includes assessment tools, discussion guides, handouts, and quizzes to support learning and implementation.Accessible, engaging, and deeply informed by both science and lived experience, this book is an easy-to-use, practical resource for mental health clinicians, community practitioners, and trainees in psychology, social work, and other mental health fields working to deliver culturally affirming, trauma-informed care to Black youth and their families.