Building Self-Confidence: The Most Important Resource to Sustained Mental Health

Please note that all registrations have to be paid in full before the event takes place - otherwise you will miss out on receiving the Zoom link. This event will be recorded for all those who are registered on the day.

In many clinical trials, cognitive therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for almost every condition stipulated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. In each case, specific dysfunctional beliefs have been elucidated for each of these conditions, and a treatment plan has been formulated to target these dysfunctional beliefs. Case conceptualization driven CBT allows the clinician to formulate individually tailored strategies based on a cognitive conceptualization of clients and their problems taking into consideration cultural diversity. Situation specific thoughts, when identified, evaluated, and restructured into more accurate and helpful perspectives lead to symptom relief but identification, evaluation and modification of pervasive negative self-doubt beliefs leads to enduring mental health. This presentation will focus on identifying underlying pervasive self-doubt and identify tools to modify this self-doubt leading to more accurate and positive self-confidence as a path to sustained mental health. 

Objectives: 

1. Develop case conceptualization skills to aide in identifying individuals’ pervasive self-doubt beliefs.
2. Understand the role of personality in the development and identification of self-doubt beliefs.
3. Learn to identify historical factors contributing to the development of dysfunctional beliefs. 
4. Apply evidence-based CBT tools to modify pervasive self-doubt beliefs.
5. Gain skills to maintain self-confidence. 

Leslie Sokol, PhD, a licensed psychologist, is an internationally recognized leader in the field of cognitive behavioral therapy with almost 40 years of experience in practice, teaching, and research making her a luminary in the field. She was a past Director of Education and one of the principal instructors at the internationally acclaimed Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She is one of the leading CBT speakers in the world providing teaching and training to professional and paraprofessional groups, both nationally and internationally, on a multitude of CBT topics. 

Dr. Sokol has been the principal trainer for the largest CBT dissemination project in the United States, where almost 2000 LA county providers have achieved proficiency in delivering evidence-based treatment. Additionally, she has personally sphere headed training to certify multitudes of individuals as both providers and trainers of evidence-based treatment in Monterey and Ventura counties, as well as psychiatry, psychology, social work, and nursing programs in Hong Kong. Over the past ten years she has been disseminating CBT to all department of mental health providers in Oklahoma. To enhance these trainings, Dr. Sokol and Dr. Fox have written CBT training manuals to enhance dissemination and skill acquisition, The Ultimate CBT Workbook and The Comprehensive Clinician’s Guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Teaching and Supervising Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,

Dr. Sokol is a distinguished founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, past president, and currently Chairman of its Credentialing Committee. She is a fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and President Elect of the International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy (IACBT). Dr. Sokol served as Chairman of Behavioral Science for the Mercy Suburban Hospital Family Practice Training Program for over 20 years where she trained medical staff in evidence based work and psychosocial skills. In her role in the hospital, she also served as the staff psychologist in cardiac rehab, physical rehab, nursing homes, hospice, family practice centers, and hospital consultation. Grant funding allowed her to personally provide psychological services to all HIV positive patients in the hospital catchment area. Her early work on Panic Disorder included one of the landmark published trials showing the efficacy of CBT in the treatment of Panic. 

Dr. Sokol has co-authored numerous books and book chapters. Some of these include: Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens: A Cognitive Therapy Guide to Overcoming Self-Doubt and Creating Unshakable Self-Esteem, Think Confident, Be Confident: A Four-Step Program to Eliminate Doubt and Achieve Lifelong Self-Esteem, , and The Think Confident, Be Confident Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help you Create Unshakable Self-Confidence and Reach your Goals. She maintains a private practice in the Philadelphia suburbs.