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Evaluation ViewAttendees 10

Panel Discussions

Treatment - CBT

Panel Discussion 33 - Return of the First Wave: Behavioral Methods in Contemporary CBT with Adults

Sunday, November 23, 2025
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM CST
Location: Empire D, Level 2
Earn 1.5 Credit
Keywords: Change Process / Mechanisms, Case Conceptualization / Formulation, Treatment Development
Recommended Readings: Dimidjian, S., Barrera, Jr., M, Martell, C., Munoz, R. F. & Lewinsohn, P. M. (2011). The origins and current status of behavioral activation treatments for depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 7, 1 - 38.,   Foa, E, & McLean, C (2016). The efficacy of exposure therapy for anxiety-related disorders and its underlying mechanisms: The case of OCD and PTSD. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 1-28.,   Rizvi, S. L., & Sayrs, J. H. (2020). Assessment-driven case formulation and treatment planning in dialectical behavior therapy: Using principles to guide effective treatment. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 27(1), 4-17.,   ,  
Like any field, mental health research and practice are subject to trends. For example, many ABCT members are currently on a “long ride” on CBT’s “third wave”. The downside of trends is that they sometimes leave behind valuable research, concepts, and practices from previous periods, for example, CBT’s “first wave”, behavioral research and practice. We forget how many evidence-based practices depend on this early work, and a clear understanding of its conceptual foundations fades from our collective memory. Recent research reminds us of these foundations and the power of the practices that emerged from them. This panel will focus on work with adults. Among prominent evidence-based behavioral practices are contingency management for substance use disorders, behavioral activation, exposure therapy, and DBT chain analysis. Expert panelists will present evidence for each of these “first wave” practices, their conceptual basis, and their promise for adapting evidence-based practices to diverse adult clients. Specific topics will include data-driven design, misunderstandings of behavioral methods among contemporary researchers and clinicians, treatment development, evidence-base, recent developments and applications, and the pros and cons of adapting versus adopting foundational behavioral strategies.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. List 4 data-driven recommendations for protocol design in contingency management protocols.
  2. Describe the foundations of behavioral assessment in Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
  3. Articulate 2 traditional uses of behavioral activation and 2 ways it can now serve as a process-based strategy in CBT.
  4. List two common misunderstandings of behavioral methods among contemporary researchers and clinicians.
  5. Distinguish the positive and negative forms of both reinforcement and punishment.