Sarah Olivo, PhD - Dr. Sarah Olivo is Head of Lumate Academy, the training and public education arm of Lumate Health. She is also the co-host of the “College is Fine, Everything’s Fine” podcast, which highlights skills-based therapy strategies for college students to manage typical college pressures. Before joining Lumate, Sarah served on the faculty of NYU Child Study Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center. She eventually left academia and co-founded City and Country CBT, a boutique private practice in New York and Connecticut that provided CBT, DBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Sarah is a staunch believer in evidence-based psychology and believes everyone should have access to effective mental health care. Her mission at Lumate is to help spread CBT in innovative ways so that children, teens and young adults across all landscapes and backgrounds can benefit from skills-based therapy.

Cara Settipani, PhD - Dr. Cara Settipani is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Executive Clinical Director of Lumate Health’s Northeast practice, which specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents and young adults with anxiety and OCD. Dr. Settipani has over 15 years of experience working in a variety of healthcare settings, including academic medical centers, pediatric hospitals, and private practice. She was mentored by internationally recognized leaders in the field of youth anxiety, including Dr. Philip Kendall throughout her graduate training at Temple University and Dr. Anne Marie Albano during her postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Settipani has published over 20 research articles and book chapters on the assessment and treatment of youth anxiety and related disorders. In her current role, Dr. Settipani enjoys supervising clinicians in evidence-based practice and working directly with youth and their families.

Tina is dually licensed in California as Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor. She specializes in working with adolescents, adults, and families suffering from anxiety and trauma. She is trained in multiple evidence-based practices and has experience treating problematic behaviors, co-occurring disorders, substance abuse, trauma, and a variety of mental health disorders. 

Resources/References:

1. Ehrenreich, J. T., Mattis, S. G., & Pincus, D. (2008). Mastery of anxiety and panic for adolescents: Riding the wave: Therapist guide. Oxford University Press.
2. Boettcher, H., Brake, C. A., & Barlow, D. H. (2016). Origins and outlook of interoceptive exposure. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 53, 41-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.10.009.
3. Lee, K., Noda, Y., Nakano, Y., Ogawa, S., Kinoshita, Y., Funayama, T., & Furukawa, T. A. (2006). Interoceptive hypersensitivity and interoceptive exposure in patients with panic disorder: Specificity and effectiveness. BMC Psychiatry, 6(32). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-6-32
4. Craske, M.G., Rowe, M., Lewin, M. and Noriega-Dimitri, R. (1997). Interoceptive exposure versus breathing retraining within cognitive-behavioural therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia†.British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36, 85-99. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1997.tb01233.x
5. Neng J. M. B., Weck F. (2015). Attribution of somatic symptoms in hypochondriasis. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 22(2), 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1871
6. Hunter, P.V., & Antony, M.M. (2009). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of emetophobia: The role of interoceptive exposure. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 16(1), 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2008.08.002
7. Boettcher, H., & Barlow, D.H. (2019). The unique and conditional effects of interoceptive exposure in the treatment of anxiety: A functional analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 117, 65-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.12.002
8. Boswell, J.F., Farchione, T.J., Sauer-Zavala, S., Murray, H.W., Fortune, M.R., & Barlow, D.H. (2013). Anxiety sensitivity and interoceptive exposure: A transdiagnostic construct and change strategy, 44(3), 417-431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.03.006

Description:

Interoceptive exposure is an effective behavioral intervention that asks the therapist and patient to purposefully generate bodily sensations experienced during heightened distress, to decrease anxiety sensitivity. It is a known treatment component in evidence-based treatments for panic disorder, and recent research has shown promise for utilizing interoceptive exposure across a wider spectrum of diagnoses. 

In this course, participants will learn the biological and cognitive underpinnings of anxiety sensitivity, its links to the fight-or-flight system, and cognitive biases that lead to heightened fear of these sensations. They will have a solid script for describing the rationale for and the process of engaging in interoceptive exposure to meet their treatment goals. Participants will have access to sample exposure demonstrations for core exposure exercises (i.e., dizziness, hyperventilation, choking) that can be utilized transdiagnostically, with sample debriefing scripts post-exposures. Finally, the instructors will review common “troubleshooting” areas clinicians might encounter during interoceptive exposure.