Intensive Workshop in Exposure & Response Prevention (Ex/RP) for OCD

January 27-30, 2025

Co-sponsored by:  Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association

Who may attend:  Licensed mental health professionals or those working under a licensed mental health professional. Because of the advanced nature of this workshop and the limited enrollment, participants should have prior experience with cognitive-behavioral therapy and treating patients with anxiety.

Dates:       Monday, January 27, 2025 – Thursday, January 30, 2025

Times:       9:00am to 5:00pm EST Monday through Wednesday, 9:00am to 4:00pm EST Thursday

Cost:          $1500.00 per person. This fee covers the cost of workshop and supporting materials, which will include all slide handouts and assessment materials to be emailed to you prior to the workshop

Workshop Location: Zoom (you will be sent an invitation with instructions prior to the workshop)

Workshop description: The Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania will offer an intensive 4-day training workshop in the use of Exposure and Response Prevention (EX\RP) Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This workshop will prepare participants to implement EX/RP upon completion. It is open to licensed mental health professionals and those working under a license. Due to the advanced nature of this workshop, we prefer participants who have prior experience with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Enrollment is limited.

Following this workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Describe the diagnosis and psychopathology of OCD 
• Discuss empirically supported, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic treatments for OCD and compare the efficacy of these treatment approaches 
• Discuss the theory underlying and the empirical support for EX/RP 
• Implement psychoeducational treatment components of EX/RP for OCD 
• Construct an in-vivo exposure hierarchy that includes a range of situations that effectively promote learning 
• Implement in-vivo exposure 
• Conduct imaginal exposure to feared consequences 
• Discuss how and when to modify EX/RP techniques to tailor the therapy to the individual (e.g., developmental issues, co-morbid conditions) 
• Discuss the basic techniques of EX/RP for treatment of adults 
• Implement imaginal role-plays in a mock treatment session 
• Assess OCD symptoms and design an appropriate treatment plan

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 purchase the paperback version of the EX/RP Therapist Guide and Patient Workbook (available in many places but here are links to purchase on Amazon):
  • Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Therapist Guide (Treatments That Work) 2nd Edition
  • Treating Your OCD with Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention Therapy: Workbook (Treatments That Work) 2nd Edition
• You must agree not to copy or distribute workshop materials provided to you in the course of the workshop.
• Since authentic patient videos are 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.

If you are interested in and eligible for Continuing Education credits, read below:

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 TWENTY-FOUR (24) 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 TWENTY-FOUR (24) HOURS OF CE CREDITS. 

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.

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). 

About the Presenters

(please note that not all presenters may teach in each workshop)

Jessica Bodie, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and Director of Child Services at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Bodie received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Biology from the University of Denver and her Master's and Doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Temple University. Dr. Bodie completed her clinical internship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Bodie specializes in the treatment of OCD, PTSD, social anxiety, panic disorder, specific phobias, and generalized anxiety. She is a certified clinician, consultant, and supervisor in Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD and Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention (EX/RP) for OCD. Additionally, Dr. Bodie has conducted research on and clinically treats extremely picky eating (also called Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, ARFID), emetophobia (vomit phobia), and choking phobia. Dr. Bodie is active in the field and participates in teaching, writing, supervision, and consultation activities to disseminate evidence-based treatments for anxiety and related disorders. 

Nora Brier, Psy.D. is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Brier received her M.S. and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2020 after completing her clinical internship at the VA in Hudson Valley, NY. Dr. Brier’s predoctoral clinical rotations included the PTSD/trauma and PTSD/DBT unit, as well as an outpatient anxiety rotation treating OCD, specific phobias, and social anxiety disorders. Clinically, Dr. Brier is certified in Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD and Exposure and Response (Ritual) Prevention (EX/RP) for OCD and has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults with OCD, PTSD, and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders. Additionally, Dr. Brier has worked extensively with tic disorders, excoriation (skin picking), trichotillomania, and body dysmorphic disorders, and has extensive experience working with adolescents and adults with comorbid emotion regulation difficulties. Dr. Brier’s research interests include the intersection of PTSD and OCD in women, as well as the dissemination of evidence-based exposure therapy in the community. At the CTSA, Dr. Brier specializes in the treatment of PTSD, OCD, social anxiety, panic disorder, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, excoriation disorder, and trichotillomania.  Dr. Brier has a deep interest in community-based dissemination of evidenced-based treatments for anxiety, specifically for diverse populations.

Lily Brown, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry and Director at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.  Dr. Brown received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Psychology at Drexel University and her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and Learning and Behavior Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  In graduate school, Dr. Brown researched mechanisms of change in fear conditioning and extinction, with a particular focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in the Anxiety and Depression Research Center.  She completed her predoctoral internship at Brown University in the Psychosocial Research Department where she completed research on the rate of suicidal behaviors in patients with PTSD.   Dr. Brown’s current research focuses on treatment development and implementation to mitigate suicide risk in patients with anxiety disorders and PTSD.  She specializes in cognitive-behavior therapy for anxiety disorders, including Exposure and Response prevention (EX/RP) for obsessive compulsive disorder, and has been trained in the treatment of borderline personality disorder. 

Sophie Buinewicz, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Buinewicz received her B.A. from Dartmouth College with a major in Psychology and a minor in Mathematics.  She then worked as a post baccalaureate clinical research coordinator at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital on large-scale studies exploring the causes of and treatments for anxiety disorders in adults.  Dr. Buinewicz obtained her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University in 2021, which included completing her predoctoral internship at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  For the duration of her doctoral training, she was a member of Dr. Philip Kendall's Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders clinic, a psychotherapy and anxiety research lab and clinic.  She has experience implementing evidence-based practices with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in a range of environments, including outpatient, hospital-based and primary care settings.  Dr. Buinewicz has a strong clinical and research background in anxiety disorders and exposure-based therapies.  Her research focuses on mechanisms of change in cognitive behavioral therapy, particularly in the exposure component of the therapy, and optimizing treatment for youth with anxiety disorders.  At the CTSA, Dr. Buinewicz specializes in the treatment of OCD, PTSD, anxiety disorders and OC-spectrum disorders.

Sandy Capaldi, Psy.D. is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Associate Director, Clinical Director, & Director of Implementation at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA). Dr. Capaldi completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Temple University and received a master of arts degree in clinical psychology at MCP Hahnemann University. She went on to receive a master of science degree and to complete her doctoral studies in clinical psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. 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.

Diane Dallal, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Dallal received her B.A. in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she later worked as a post-baccalaureate research coordinator at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Drexel University, which included completing her predoctoral internship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. In graduate school, Dr. Dallal researched mechanisms of change in cognitive behavioral and acceptance-based therapies for individuals with eating pathology and obesity. She has experience implementing evidence-based treatments with adults, adolescents, and couples in outpatient and intensive outpatient settings. At the CTSA, Dr. Dallal specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders and eating pathology, including Exposure and Response Prevention (EX/RP) for OCD, Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD, and cognitive behavioral treatments for social anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety, specific phobias, and eating disorders.

Andrew G. Guzick, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Guzick completed his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Vassar College and his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida. He went on to complete his doctoral internship at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)/Texas Children’s Hospital and his postdoctoral fellowship at BCM, where he was also on the faculty for two years. Dr. Guzick’s clinical specialization is in cognitive behavioral therapy for youth and adults with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, including exposure and response prevention (EX/RP) for OCD. He also has specialized training in parent-focused and family-based therapies for youth more broadly. His research has focused on understanding and optimizing exposure therapy for children and adults with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, low-cost and innovative methods to increase access to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), adaptations to CBT for anxiety among autistic youth, and patient-focused research for youth with misophonia and other problems related to sensory overresponsivity.

Elizabeth Turk-Karan, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and the Director of Practicum and Internship Training at the CTSA. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1993. After several years in private practice, she returned to the CTSA in order to be more involved in disseminating empirically-supported anxiety treatments. Dr. Turk-Karan has worked as an assessor and therapist on research studies of Panic Disorder, Social Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at the University of Pennsylvania, the Medical College of Pennsylvania/EPPI, and the University of Pittsburgh. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who has a variety of clinical experiences with patient populations ranging from children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Turk-Karan specializes in Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) for PTSD, Exposure and Response Prevention (EX/RP) for OCD, and cognitive-behavioral treatment for social anxiety, panic disorder, specific phobias, and generalized anxiety.

Erica Weitz, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Tufts University majoring in developmental psychology. Dr. Weitz received her PhD in clinical psychology from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  Upon returning to the US, Dr. Weitz completed clinical respecialization through the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychology and completed an APA-certified clinical internship at Christiana Care Hospital in Newark, Delaware.  Dr. Weitz’s research has focused on improving treatment personalization by leveraging individual patient characteristics to increase efficacy of evidence-based treatments for mood and anxiety disorders as well as meta-analytic research examining overall quality and efficacy of treatments for depression and anxiety. Her clinical training has spanned settings and methodologies with a large focus on implementing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies (CBTs) to treat mood, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders in outpatient mental health, community behavioral health, and hospital-based settings as a health psychologist on multi-disciplinary teams.  Dr. Weitz has developed specific expertise in treating issues related to women’s health and the perinatal period including, but not limited to, treating perinatal OCD, birth-related PTSD, and anxiety and mood disorders. At the CTSA, Dr. Weitz specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy with a focus in exposure-based methods for the treatment of OCD, PTSD, and anxiety-related disorders. 

Click here for more information about EX/RP Group Consultations via Zoom

Additional Resources

Find more information on Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (Ex/RP) for OCD.