Access denied. You must login to view this page.

Expanding Exposure Therapy: Applying the Unified Protocal to Emotional Learning

October 16, 2026

Join us for an interactive workshop exploring how the Unified Protocol (UP) can broaden exposure-based treatment through a transdiagnostic lens. Clients rarely present with a single, neatly defined problem, and when OCD, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, PTSD, and other emotional disorders co-occur, determining what to target first can be challenging. Rather than treating each presentation separately, a transdiagnostic approach focuses on the shared maintaining mechanisms that cut across diagnoses, particularly patterns of emotional avoidance.

The Unified Protocol provides a framework for identifying and targeting these shared processes while expanding exposure beyond disorder-specific symptoms to the emotional experiences clients avoid. Participants will learn to recognize barriers to effective exposure and apply UP principles targeting motivation, mindful emotion awareness, cognitive flexibility, tolerance of physical sensations, and countering patterns of emotional avoidance and emotion-driven behaviors. Through practical strategies and an extended clinical case, participants will explore how UP principles can deepen emotional learning, reduce patterns of avoidance, and build more flexible ways of responding to emotions across complex and co-occurring presentations.

Target Audience

mental health professionals, therapists, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.

Learning Objectives

Identify shared patterns of emotional avoidance and maladaptive responses to emotional experiences that cut across OCD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and other emotional disorders.
Select and apply Unified Protocol strategies to address barriers to effective exposure, including difficulties with motivation, mindful emotion awareness, cognitive flexibility, emotional avoidance and emotion-driven behaviors, and tolerance of physical sensations.
Develop transdiagnostic exposure-based interventions that increase intentional approach toward emotional experiences, reduce patterns of avoidance, and build more flexible ways of responding to emotions across co-occurring emotional disorders.

Course summary

Available credit:

3.00 APA CE
Psychologists
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibly for the content of the programs.
3.00 ASWB continuing education credits
Social Workers
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. AKH Inc. Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 3.00 continuing education credits.
3.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ Non-MD
Non-Physicians Seeking AMA Credit
AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 0.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.

Course opens:

10/15/2026

Course expires:

12/15/2026

Event starts:

10/16/2026 - 12:00pm EDT

Event ends:

10/16/2026 - 3:00pm EDT

Cost:

$0.00

Add to calendar:

Rating:

10/16/2026

Vienna, VA

United States

All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.

It is the policy of AKH Inc. to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, scientific rigor, and integrity in all of its continuing education activities. The author must disclose to the participants any significant relationships with ineligible companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in the activity or with the commercial supporter of this continuing education activity. Identified conflicts of interest are mitigated by AKH prior to accreditation of the activity. AKH planners and reviewers have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use and Investigational Product
This educational activity may include discussion of uses of agents that are investigational and/or unapproved by the FDA. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer
This course is designed solely to provide the healthcare professional with information to assist in his/her practice and professional development and is not to be considered a diagnostic tool to replace professional advice or treatment. The course serves as a general guide to the healthcare professional, and therefore, cannot be considered as giving legal, nursing, medical, or other professional advice in specific cases. AKH Inc. specifically disclaim responsibility for any adverse consequences resulting directly or indirectly from information in the course, for undetected error, or through participants misunderstanding of the content. If you would like to opt out from future communications from AKH please send an email to [email protected] with your information with "Opt Out" in the subject line.

Author, Writer(s)