Clients are already using AI for emotional support, as a sounding board between sessions, sometimes as a stand-in for therapy itself. Most clinicians have no framework for asking about it, let alone assessing whether it's helping or hindering their practice. This session moves the conversation from whether clients are using AI to how, and what that means for clinical practice. Dr. Charmain Jackman will cover current research on client use of generative AI for mental health support, how to build AI use into intake and assessment, and how to distinguish normative use from use that warrants clinical attention, using a harm-reduction lens rather than an abstinence one. We will explore AI tools that offer creative ways of integrating AI in your sessions with clients. Clinicians will leave with concrete intake questions, a working framework for evaluating client AI use, and language for raising the topic in session.

As psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) expands into palliative and hospice settings, it reliably produces experiences that patients describe as spiritually or existentially significant—yet few PAT protocols explicitly address these needs. This webinar introduces Meaning and Purpose Therapy Modified for Psilocybin (P-MaP), a brief, manualized psychosocial support model adapted for a multisite psilocybin trial for demoralized adults with advanced illness. Using a composite clinical vignette, we will walk through P-MaP's structure across preparation, medication, and integration sessions, illustrating how facilitators help patients work with meaning, connection, and coping as they face serious illness. We will also examine how principles from professional spiritual care and chaplaincy can be integrated into psychotherapeutic PAT models to more fully address spiritual, existential, religious, and theological (SERT) concerns. The session closes with practical considerations for interdisciplinary PAT teams, including provider competencies, clinical and ethical challenges, and equity in access to this emerging therapy.

Dr. Sarah Feldstein Ewing will provide an overview of her body of work relating to adolescent addiction, neuroimaging, and the development of novel interventions and tools for the identification and treatment of adolescent addiction. Drawing on her federally-funded translational research program — which integrates neuroimaging, machine learning, and randomized clinical trials across more than 1,400 youth, Dr. Feldstein Ewing will introduce a novel neurodevelopmental model of adolescent substance use (The Substance use Neuroplasticity And Peer; SNAP Model) and related clinical definition of Adolescent Substance-related Interference and Problems (A-SIP). In addition, Dr. Feldstein Ewing will present the accompanying measurement tool (SIP-IT) and novel substance use treatment grounded in developmental translational (integrated human brain and behavioral) empirical research (Adolescent Developmentally-Appropriate health Promotion Therapy (ADAPT). She will walk attendees through the neurodevelopmental rationale for this shift, how it changes clinical decision-making with teens and families, and how it has been applied and tested internationally, specifically in large-scale randomized controlled trials in Denmark.

In this 3-hr webinar, Dr. David Jobes will highlight key evidence-based approached for effective assessment, management, and treatment of suicidal risk with an appreciation of ethical issues and risk management. The presentation will explore some of the relevant history that shapes contemporary clinical suicidology as well as key models that shape our understanding of suicidality. The primary focus will be on clinical approaches to screening and assessment, interventions for acute stabilization, and treatments of what makes a patient suicidal based on randomized controlled trials. Finally, various ethical considerations and how to decrease exposure to malpractice liability will be discussed.

Psychologists often encounter clients from varied language and cultural backgrounds, which can pose challenges to the process of helping. The case of "Mary," an unmarried, 24-year-old Chinese international student in the U.S., embodies these dynamics and offers insights into how culture and language shape, and are shaped by, the therapy alliance, process, and outcome in bilingual therapy. Mary was seen in individual therapy that combined a multicultural, relational psychodynamic, humanistic, client-centered, and solution-focused approach by one of the authors (Y.X.) for 10 sessions (over a 14-week period, with four cancellations); and the therapy was supervised by the other author (J.N.F.). Mary’s presenting problems included challenges in adjusting to her new environment, including a decline in self-confidence and difficulties in her social life, which led to significant anxiety in her daily life. To enhance understanding of the course of therapy, we employed an adapted version of the Critical Incidents Technique (CIT) to analyze significant moments in Mary’s 10 sessions. We focus on the role of language use in bilingual therapy, exploring its functionality as both (a) a buffer against the intense impact of emotional and traumatic experiences, and (b) as a bridge that can foster deeper psychological engagement. We highlight the mechanisms by which the therapist, with supervision, attempted to provide Mary with a meaningful and helpful psychotherapeutic experience. The core theme in our analysis of the case includes the ways that Mary uses her primary (Mandarin) and secondary (English) languages to avoid, and then access, hurtful and traumatic experiences.

Clients rarely present to psychotherapy saying, “I think I have a traumatic brain injury.” More often, they describe brain fog, slowed thinking, poor concentration, emotional reactivity, fatigue, sleep disruption, anxiety, depression, or difficulty functioning at work, school, or home. Dr. Rebecca Steele will help psychologists recognize when these common mental health complaints may warrant closer attention to concussion or TBI history, especially when symptoms persist, fluctuate, or do not fully respond to standard psychological intervention. Attendees will review post-concussion symptom patterns, key history questions, differential considerations, and practical indicators for referral, assessment, psychoeducation, and interdisciplinary care. Emphasis will be placed on helping psychologists reduce misattribution, identify clinically relevant brain injury factors, and develop more accurate formulations for clients presenting with cognitive and emotional concerns.

Outcomes following spine surgery vary widely, and a substantial proportion of patients continue to experience persistent postoperative pain, functional limitations, and reduced quality of life following surgical intervention. Psychological factors—including depression, pain catastrophizing, and baseline disability—are among the most consistent predictors of poorer postoperative outcomes and persistent spinal pain syndrome following surgery. Despite growing evidence supporting psychosocial risk assessment, systematic psychological screening remains inconsistently implemented across many spine programs. This article presents a practical psychological risk stratification framework integrating three brief and widely validated instruments: the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Together, these measures assess cognitive, emotional, and functional domains associated with surgical outcomes. The article reviews current evidence regarding psychosocial predictors of postoperative outcomes, outlines clinically informed risk thresholds, and describes behavioral health intervention pathways for low-, moderate-, and high-risk patients. Multidisciplinary implementation strategies, psychological treatment approaches, and mental health equity considerations relevant to integrated spine care are also discussed. Integrating psychosocial screening into multidisciplinary spine surgery pathways may improve patient preparation, guide behavioral health referrals, enhance postoperative rehabilitation engagement, and support more individualized perioperative care.

Chronic pain is highly prevalent among older adults and contributes to disability, psychological distress, social isolation, and increased healthcare utilization. Older adults remain vulnerable to underassessment and undertreatment due to diagnostic complexity, comorbidity burden, polypharmacy, and limited access to behavioral health services. This article provides an applied overview of evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies for chronic pain among older adults within health service psychology settings. Using a clinical vignette to frame common presentation patterns, key diagnostic considerations and best practices in biopsychosocial pain assessment are reviewed, alongside integrated behavioral interventions such as CBT for chronic pain, ACT, mindfulness-based approaches, behavioral activation, and graded activity pacing. Clinical and ethical challenges—including autonomy/beneficence balance, opioid-related risk, and access inequities—are discussed. Practical recommendations for interdisciplinary collaboration and outcome monitoring are offered to support functional restoration and quality of life in later adulthood.

Adolescents experiencing mental health concerns often encounter barriers to engagement and access, including language differences, stigma, and system fragmentation. This article presents a clinical model for addressing these challenges through a multilevel ecological approach that integrates assessment, relational engagement, family involvement, and system coordination. A clinical vignette illustrates how developmentally responsive strategies, including the structured inclusion of supervised non-clinical providers, can enhance engagement and extend service capacity. Emphasis is placed on culturally and linguistically appropriate care, particularly for families navigating barriers to access. Practice considerations highlight the importance of integrating clinical services with workforce and community-based supports to improve continuity of care and reduce disparities in youth mental health outcomes.

Neuropsychological assessment plays a critical role in contemporary healthcare by integrating objective test performance, psychiatric factors, and functional outcomes into a unified clinical formulation. This function is especially vital in rural settings, where limited specialty access, fragmented referral pathways, and diagnostic delays are common. Using a clinical vignette of a 67-year-old rural patient with suspected neurodegenerative decline, this paper highlights complexities such as mixed medical and psychiatric contributors, performance validity concerns, caregiver burden, and restricted follow-up care. We outline how structured case formulation, diathesis–stress conceptualization, culturally responsive communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration can reduce diagnostic ambiguity while avoiding premature etiological conclusions. Emphasis is placed on assessment as an intervention in resource-limited systems, where neuropsychological evaluation can serve as a central organizing point, translating complex clinical data into actionable recommendations for patients, families, and providers.