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Evaluation ViewAttendees 7

Master Clinician Seminar - Ticketed

LGBTQ+

LGBTQ-Affirmative Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Essential Components for Addressing Minority Stress

Master Clinician Seminar 4 - LGBTQ-affirmative Cognitive-behavioral Therapy: Essential Components for Addressing Minority Stress

Saturday, November 22, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM CST
Location: Imperial 10, Level 4
Earn 2 Credit
Ticketed Session
Keywords: LGBTQ+, Transdiagnostic, Treatment
Level of Familiarity: Moderate
Recommended Readings: Pachankis, J. E., Harkness, A., Jackson, S., & Safren, S. A. (2022). Transdiagnostic LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy: Therapist guide. Oxford University Press.,   Pachankis, J. E., Soulliard, Z. A., Morris, F., & Seager van Dyk, I. (2023). A model for adapting evidence-based interventions to be LGBQ-affirmative: Putting minority stress principles and case conceptualization into clinical research and practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 30(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.11.005,   Pachankis, J. E. (2015). A transdiagnostic minority stress treatment approach for gay and bisexual men’s syndemic health conditions. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(7), 1843–1860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0480-x,   Burger, J., & Pachankis, J. E. (2024). State of the science: LGBTQ-affirmative psychotherapy. Behavior Therapy, 55(6), 1318–1334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.02.011,  
Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or any other minoritized sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQ) experience persistent mental health disparities and negative psychosocial outcomes relative to their heterosexual, cisgender counterparts. Such disparities are rooted in LGBTQ people’s disproportionate exposure to general life stressors (e.g., early childhood adversity) and identity-based stressors (e.g., exposure to discrimination). These stress exposures set off a cascade of internal stress reactions (e.g., internalized negative views of self, the burden of identity concealment, and hypervigilance to identity-based rejection), which in turn contribute to the development of negative psychosocial outcomes over the lifespan via their influence on general psychological processes (e.g., emotional reactivity, rumination, social support). Adapted from the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders, an evidence-based cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for the treatment of co-occurring emotional disorders, LGBTQ-affirmative CBT was specifically designed to address LGBTQ people’s general and identity-specific stress reactions (i.e., minority stress) underlying population-based mental health disparities. Through didactic presentations and experiential exercises, including live clinical demonstrations, this master clinician seminar will cover key principles and techniques for addressing the impact of minority stress in CBT with LGBTQ clients. All clinicians – regardless if whether they work in a setting that is LGBTQ focused or not – are likely to work with LGBTQ clients, as current data suggests that 9.3% of the US population identifies as LGBTQ. Thus, this master clinician seminar will be helpful to any clinician regardless of practice setting. Additionally, the seminar will cover the general principles of LGBTQ affirmative CBT, which can be used to facilitate LGBTQ-affirmative delivery of any evidence-based psychological treatment for clients. Clinicians who practice with another treatment approach (e.g., DBT, CPT, or other CBT-based interventions) can easily apply the content of this seminar to their practice approaches.

Long Term Goals
1. Apply the concept of minority stress in therapy practice settings
2. Implement LGBTQ-affirmative CBT with clients or with trainees via clinical supervision

Outline
• Review of efficacy data and principles of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT
• Overview of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT modules
• Clinical demonstration of how to apply principles of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT to common clinical presentations
• Role-play opportunity to practice implementation of key concepts in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify how minority stress is addressed in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT.
  2. Explain case conceptualization as it pertains to LGBTQ-affirmative CBT.
  3. Describe the principles of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT.