Pre-Meeting Institute (PMI) EBP Workshops

2024 EBP Conference Banner

This year, we will be offering three PMIs at our EBP conference, please find descriptions for these PMIs below! Please note, all PMIs run concurrently on 7-8 May and participants can only attend one.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
This two-day intermediate workshop will help behavioral healthcare providers to assess and treat insomnia using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). We begin by discussing common problems military members have with sleep, as well as provide a foundation for understanding normal sleep (i.e., theories about why we sleep, how sleep is regulated, sleep architecture, and how sleep changes over the lifespan). The workshop utilizes this foundation of understanding normal sleep functioning to further clarify clinical problems patients experience, reviewing differential sleep diagnoses and available assessment tools.

Next, we review the etiology of insomnia along with going over each step of the CBTI protocol. We go over implementation strategies and different formats for CBT-I such as telehealth and group settings. During the workshop we will use experiential and interactive elements to develop practical skills for using assessment tools like a sleep diary, questions for a sleep specific interview, stimulus control, sleep restriction, and cognitive therapy.

This workshop focuses on clinical practice by application of assessment and intervention methods for both individuals and group members experiencing insomnia that have consistent and credible empirical support in the literature (i.e., Zhou et al., 2020; Department of Veteran Affairs & Department of Defense, 2019; Moore et al., 2021; Lui et al., 2020; Hertenstein et al., 2022).

Motivational Interviewing Skills 
This intensive two-day workshop provides skills training in Motivational Interviewing (MI), which is a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to change (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). The workshop will review the foundational constructs related to MI with an emphasis on the Spirit of MI. Participants will practice fundamental client centered counseling skills (OARS+I) across the four processes of an MI encounter (Engage, Focus, Evoke, Plan).

The workshop will articulate when it is appropriate to use MI skills in a clinical encounter with a focus on health behavioral changes. Videotaped examples of MI sessions will be used to demonstrate therapist skills. Participant participation in real-plays to demonstrate MI skills and attendance at both days of the workshop are required for training completion. Participants will leave the workshop with a personalized plan to continue MI skills practice and reflective feedback.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy
This intensive two-day module provides training in Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy, an evidence-based treatment for PTSD described in the manual, Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD – Therapist Guide, by Foa, et al., 2019. It covers the consistent and credible empirical and theoretical support for PE and reviews the main clinical techniques used in this structured protocol.

Step-by-step instructions for conducting PE therapy sessions, including in vivo and imaginal exposure, along with strategies for working with over- and under-engaged patients and other difficult cases are shared. Videotaped examples of PE cases are used to demonstrate therapist skills. Participants are expected to do role-plays in class to practice PE techniques, and they must attend both days (Acierno et al., 2017; Benuto et al., 2020; Foa et al., 2019; Kline et al., 2020; Schnurr et al., 2022).