Cultural Considerations in Providing Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Date:  Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Time:  1:00 — 4:00pm EST

Cost:  $250.00 USD per person

Location:  Zoom

Workshop Description: Neglecting to adapt Prolonged Exposure (PE) components to take cultural differences and discrimination-related traumas into account may decrease treatment success for clients belonging to marginalized groups. PE is a cognitive behavioral treatment for PTSD that has more empirical support and the most representative racial samples of any evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Yet, little attention has been paid to making culturally-informed adaptations of PE. In this workshop, Dr. Sandy Capaldi will review the basic components of PE and provide tips and insights on incorporating cultural considerations into every aspect of PE, from assessment through termination. 

CE Learning Objectives

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

  1. Outline the rationale for incorporating culture-related considerations into PE
  2. Discuss when and how to modify PE components in culturally sensitive ways 
  3. Detail specific strategies for culturally sensitive assessment of trauma and PTSD

About the Presenter

Sandy Capaldi, Psy.D. is Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Associate Director, Outpatient Clinic Director, & Director of Implementation at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA). Beginning her career as a counselor at a Philadelphia rape crisis center in 2001, Dr. Capaldi was initially trained as a study therapist to provide Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD (PE). For the last 14 years, Dr. Capaldi has worked clinically and in research with trauma, PTSD, and other anxiety and related disorders at the CTSA. Her work has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, among others. Dr. Capaldi also currently directs the PE Initiative, which is an implementation project in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), Community Behavioral Health (CBH), and the Evidence-Based Practice and Innovation Center (EPIC), whose goal is to support training, dissemination, and implementation of PE in Philadelphia’s community mental health centers. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who has a variety of clinical experiences with patient populations ranging from children to older adults and is certified by the CTSA as a PE Therapist, Consultant, and Trainer and as an Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD (Ex/RP) Therapist and Consultant. Dr. Capaldi also specializes in cognitive-behavioral treatment for trichotillomania, excoriation disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobias, generalized anxiety, and somatic symptom and related disorders.

Target Audience

This presentation is intended for mental health professionals, researchers, and graduate students. The instructional level of this presentation is intermediate and some familiarity with cognitive behavioral treatment principles for social anxiety disorder is helpful.

Continuing Education

THE PHILADELPHIA BEHAVIOR THERAPY ASSOCIATION (PBTA) IS APPROVED BY THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION TO SPONSOR CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS.  PBTA MAINTAINS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROGRAM AND ITS CONTENT.  THIS PRESENTATION PROVIDES THREE (3) HOURS OF CE CREDITS FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS.

PBTA IS ALSO AN AUTHORIZED PROVIDER FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS FOR PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS, AND CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS LICENSED IN THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA - THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES THREE (3) HOURS OF CE CREDITS. 

* PBTA does not currently offer CE to practitioners licensed in the state of New York.

In order to receive continuing education credits, participants must:

  • attend each hour of the workshop (no late arrivals or early departures)
  • complete a course evaluation

If both of these requirements are met, you will receive a continuing education certificate after the conclusion of the workshop.

Webinar workshop requirements:

  • You must have utilities, internet service, phone service, and an appropriately private location at your home or office in order to ensure HIPAA compliance.
    • The private location should be free of noise and distractions. (If you are the parent of young children, appropriate child care arrangements must be in place.)
  • You must agree to attend each hour of the video conference and agree to use video of yourself during the video conference in order to track attendance.
  • You must agree not to copy or distribute workshop materials provided to you in the course of the workshop.
  • Since authentic patient audio/video is utilized during the training, you must agree to abide by all applicable rules of confidentiality and HIPAA compliance, including but not limited to no audio or video-recording of the workshop in any form.

You will be asked to affirm the previous conditions and your agreement to them prior to the commencement of the workshop.

Instructions for Registration

Registrations are due one week in advance and must be completed in full. 

To register, complete the online registration.

If you need to withdraw your application for any reason, please email Dr. Sandy Capaldi. Note that workshop fees are non-refundable after the application due date (one week before the start of the workshop). 


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