Putting the Cardi B in CBT: Using Stars, Sports, Star Wars, Superheroes and Pop Culture to Make Therapy Accessible & Fun for Anxious Youth

Cognitive behavioral treatment for youth anxiety is an effective intervention approach (Crowe & McKay, 2017). While manual-based approaches offer structure for the delivery of intervention strategies, there is ample room for flexibility to “breathe life” into the treatment (Kendall, Chu, & Gifford, 1998; Kendall, Gosch, Furr, & Sood, 2008). CBT components include, for example, psychoeducation, rapport-building, affective education, self-monitoring,  cognitive restructuring, problem solving, somatic management, role play, modeling, skills rehearsal, behavioral experiments, exposure, reinforcement and rewards that require an understanding and integration cognitive and behavioral principles with development, family, culture, and multiple other relevant variables. This is no easy task! As such, and in working with children and adolescents in particular, CBT therapists are teachers, storytellers, coaches, collaborative empiricists, and producers as well who must utilize creativity and fun. In this webinar, the presenter will demonstrate how to use singers, sports, superhero narratives, and pop culture references to supercharge how to teach children and families about feelings, coping, and problem solving, and engage in practice and exposures. Clinical materials will also be shared with participants.

Learning Objectives:

1)    Identify at least three strategies for incorporating sports and pop culture into teaching youth about the CBT model.
2)    Identify at least three strategies for incorporating sports and pop culture examples into multiple CBT components (e.g., modeling, cognitive restructuring, exposures). 
3)    Discuss how to introduce a superhero narrative in the application of CBT.