JCCAP FDF/2021

Addresses

Future Directions Address 1: Future Directions in Treatment for Anxiety

Presented by Dr. Wendy K. Silverman, Ph.D.

Description

Dr. Wendy Silverman begins by explaining the history surrounding the diagnosis of anxiety disorder including prevalence. She then describes the types of targets treatment for anxiety has such as behavioral targets and biological/neural. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has long been one of the most common treatments for anxiety disorders; however, CBT does not work for everyone. Predictors of poor outcome with CBT from trials include severe anxiety especially social anxiety disorder, low SES, and OCD. One CBT based therapy for anxiety, Mind My Mind (MMM) has undergone trails to see its effectiveness in treating anxiety. These trails showed good results with children reporting decreased anxiety and total difficulties and teachers reporting positive effects. Research has shown that parents are often detrimental to treatment when their children have anxiety because the parents often behave in ways that maintain the child's anxiety. While we know this, few studies assess parent involvement in treatment of youth anxiety. Dr. Silverman and colleagues conducted several trials looking at parent involvement in CBT used to treat anxiety in youth. They found that reducing parent psychological control and adding the use of negative reinforcement improved CBT outcomes. Dr. Silverman and colleagues also studied a version of CBT augmented with attention retraining in children who are resistant to CBT alone and found mean anxiety scores to be significantly lower at post than pre with medium to large effect sizes. This research shows that attention retraining is a cost effective add viable augmentation to CBT for those who are resistant to CBT alone. While this research is promising, there are many avenues that need to be explored with these treatments including moderators and rates of change.

Watch the YouTube video recording of the address here.

Future Directions Address 2: Future Directions in Brief Interventions for Specific Phobia

Presented by Dr. Thomas Ollendick, Ph.D.

Description

Dr. Thomas Ollendick discusses the Future Directions in brief interventions for specific phobia.

Future Directions Address 3: Future Directions in Peer Relations

Presented by Dr. Mitch J. Prinstein, Ph.D.

Description

Dr. Prinstein begins his address by outlining the history of peer relations and the background of the links between peer relations and psychopathology. He then describes how positive peer relations may have protective factors for health including reduced inflammation problems, decreased hypertension, and decreased obesity. Research has found that negative or problematic peer relations can lead to health risk behaviors such as substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors. Peer problems and deviant peer group affiliation as well as peers who engage in similar behaviors lead to health risk behaviors. A meta-analysis found that peers influence susceptibility when it comes to how adolescents behave. Peer influence susceptibility can be measured by both self report indices and performance-based measurement (observing simulated chat room and other tasks designed to measure peer relations). There are also physiological measures of peer relations such as looking at fMRIs and cortisol levels. These studies have found that peer relations change our body's stress reactivity response and our body's regulation following stress. There are also neural signals for social exclusion in the form of pain signals. Social exclusion signals the most powerful signal to change behavior in adolescents. Interpersonal stress is also seen as a predictor of depression in youth. Dr. Prinstein concludes his talk by describing the work still remaining to do in this area such as examining the role of peers on physical health, potential mechanisms, and how knowing more about peer relations can help improve adolescent development. ^[1]

Watch the YouTube video recording of the address here.

Workshops

The Revise and Resubmit Process when Publishing in Peer-Reviewed Journals

Presented by Andres De Los Reyes, Ph.D.

Description

Think about some of the greatest, most thought-provoking journal articles you ever read. Chances are that each of them went through extensive revisions not only during the drafting process, but also throughout the review process, on the path to the journal editor eventually accepting it for publication. You probably know that successful researchers have to accept, cope with, and overcome rejection on the path to publishing their work. The same can be said for those perennial circumstances, when editors and/or peer reviewers tell an author, “I think you are on the right track, but your paper still needs some work.” That’s the revise and resubmit process in a nutshell, and this workshop focuses on delivering concrete strategies for navigating this process.

Seeking Out Career Paths in Philanthropy and Consulting

Presented by Saajan Bhakta, Ph.D. and Amelia Aldao, Ph.D.

Description

Many of us are curious about whether career path options exist other than the usual paths discussed within our own programs (e.g., policy, practice, research, teaching), and how viable pursuing these paths might be. Wouldn’t it be great if you had access to a workshop with strategies on how to “break into” areas of work that involve intersecting with philanthropic organizations and consulting firms? For those of you who answered “yes” to this question, we have a workshop for that at Forum 2021, led by two experts in the philanthropic and consultation spaces! Following the workshop, we will have options for small-group consultations with workshop leaders so that you have opportunities to get answers to questions that are specific to your goals, interests, and needs.

Addressing Pipeline Issues in the Mental Health Workforce

Presented by Riana Anderson, Ph.D. and Melanie Wilcox, Ph.D.

Description

One of the most intransigent issues facing work in mental health involves key barriers to building a research, policy, and practice workforce that is as diverse as the population surrounding that workforce. These barriers often take the form of “leaks” in the pipeline from formative training stages (e.g., high school, undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral training) all the way to later professional career stages (e.g., post-doctoral, early- and mid-career positions). What strategies are available to address these “pipeline leaks,” and how can we get involved in this important work? This workshop will address your burning questions regarding how you can get involved in addressing pipeline leaks in the mental health workforce.

Networking in the Context of Social Distancing

Presented by Lucina Uddin, Ph.D. and Jessica Schleider, Ph.D.

Description

Are you tired of zoom? Don’t you wish you had a chance to connect with people again, maybe even in tightly packed, intimate quarters like―gasp!―social hours at conferences? Well, we may still have to wait a while for that, but your career pursuits probably can’t wait for that in-person networking engine to rev up again. We heard the voices of our Forum 2020 attendees, and they were clamoring for advice on how to network when it’s just you and your mobile devices. A couple of social media superstars in mental health and neuroscience research are here to help with strategies on how to network when social distancing is the norm.

Fusing Writing Mechanics and Storytelling Principles in Academic Writing[edit | edit source]

Presented by Andres De Los Reyes, Ph.D.

Description

In a Forum 2019 workshop, we discussed several “active ingredients” of writing: core features of narrative structure that help us produce clear, concise academic papers. These ingredients factor prominently in each of our “recipes,” the papers we write. That said, we also know that all recipes include both active ingredients and “other” ingredients that are nonetheless crucial in preparation of the final product. In academic writing, these take the form of writing mechanics like use of transitions, understanding sentence structure, and making decisions surrounding whether to use technical versus non-technical language to make important points. During this workshop, we will immerse ourselves in these mechanics, supported by examples of their use in academic work.

Racism is the Default

Presented by Eleanor K. Seaton, Ph.D.

Description

Racism is multidimensional with individual and institutional levels. Despite the ubiquity of the term, there is no single solution that will combat and eliminate racism from our society. However, “un-doing” racism and becoming antiracist starts with unpacking and understanding the essence of racism, who is racist, how racism impacts the broader society historically and currently, and what it means to be antiracist. Dr. Eleanor Seaton will facilitate this workshop on understanding the elemental aspects of racism and antiracism, with suggestions for how to get involved with the movement to end racism and become antiracist.

Previously Rejected Manuscripts for Publication

Presented by Andres De Los Reyes, Ph.D.

Description

The acclaimed boxing trainer Whitey Bimstein famously said, “Show me an undefeated fighter and I’ll show [you] a guy who’s never fought anybody.” If you were to ask a room of 100 successful researchers if they regularly get their manuscripts rejected, and 95 researchers raised their hands, know that the other 5 lied to you. Rejection happens to everyone and it happens throughout one’s career. The experience is also normatively disorienting. When you get a manuscript rejected for publication, doesn’t it feel like you fell down unexpectedly, and you don’t quite know how to get back up? If you’re new to publishing and you regularly find yourself on the ground, you’re probably doing it right, but you could also use some advice on what to do next. This workshop will cover strategies for learning from rejection, revising your manuscript, and carving a new path toward publication.

Navigating Problematic Mentoring Relationships

Description

As a trainee, working with a mentor is like learning from a “research caregiver.” Unlike the caregiving environments you were used to before your research training, you actually get to choose the caregiver(s) who raise you! Here’s the thing though: Mentors and trainees create “family environments” like any other family unit. That is, they can create environments that range from supportive and nurturing, to the opposite of those two things! Are you running into “family issues” surrounding work with one or more of your mentors? We assembled a team of experienced colleagues who can help you with strategies for navigating these very kinds of relationships.

Ceremony for the Future Directions Launch Award

Joseph DeLuca, Ph.D.

Received Ph.D. from the City University of New York

About the award recipient

Joe is a recipient of the 2021 Future Directions Launch Award. Joe is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, specializing in serious mental illness research and clinical work, particularly the early stages of psychosis. Joe received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center (via John Jay College) in 2020 and completed his clinical psychology internship at the VA Maryland Health Care System/University of Maryland School of Medicine Psychology Internship Consortium. Joe will be starting his new position as an assistant professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut.