Bouncing Back from Job Loss and/or Insecurity: Overcoming Anxiety and Rebuilding Your Future

Arash Javanbakht, MD, is the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University. Dr Javanbakht and his work have been featured on the National Geographic, The Atlantic, CNN, Aljazeera, NPR, Washington Post, Smithsonian, PBS, American Psychiatric Association, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and tens of other media. His clinical and research work is mainly focused on anxiety trauma related disorders. In his clinic, he helps civilians and first responders with PTSD, utilizing pharmacotherapy (medication), psychotherapy, exercise, and lifestyle modification. Several research studies at the STARC examine the impact of exposure to war trauma in refugees, biological and psychological factors of risk and resilience, and art, dance and movement therapies. STARC is also birthplace to cutting edge augmented reality and telemedicine technologies for treatment for anxiety disorders and PTSD. Dr Javanbakht is the author of the book “AFRAID: Understanding the Purpose of Fear, and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety” that covers many aspects of fear and anxiety, including evolution, brain and body, why we love to be scared, how to unlearn fear, fear and bravery, meaning, creativity, diseases of fear and trauma and their cutting-edge treatments, and politics of fear and media.

Karen Cassiday, PhD, ACT, ADAA Past President's areas of interest are anxiety disorders in children and teens, social anxiety disorder, treatment-refractory OCD, and working with children and teens who suffer from both developmental concerns and anxiety disorders. Her research has focused on information processing in posttraumatic stress disorder and cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders in children, teens, and adults.

Dr. Karen Cassiday is a lively, sought-after speaker and commentator on national media such as Nightline, The Today Show, Animal Planet, The Joy Behar Show, Huffington Post, public radio and many more. She is a TEDx speaker who shared her personal experience as a mother overcoming her own anxious perfectionism in the middle of Walt Disney World! She is the host of the Moms Without Worry radio show. She served as the President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and is the founder of the Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago, the longest-running clinic to first use modern exposure-based treatment for anxiety disorders in the Chicago region. She won the Anxiety and Depression Association of America’s prestigious Clinician of Distinction Award and is a Clinical Fellow. She is also a Diplomate and Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, served as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Chicago OCD Foundation/Beyond OCD, and has been listed on numerous Who’s Who lists.  She has published numerous scientific articles and articles on parenting and managing anxiety. Dr. Cassiday is dedicated to helping mothers overcome the cultural pressure to be perfect and to raise perfect kids. She enjoys using her expertise from over thirty years in the field to help families overcome the dilemmas of parenting in a high-stress digital world. Her goal is to help all mothers embrace the messy hilarity of parenting with unshakable self-confidence so they can raise kids who thrive!