Abstract

Patients with inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) face unique psychological challenges, including trauma responses, health anxiety, identity disruption, and family-based guilt. These difficulties often arise in the context of life-altering diagnoses, unpredictable risk, and the intergenerational nature of inherited disease. Despite their prevalence, psychological concerns are frequently under-addressed in cardiogenetic care. This clinical practice paper presents a model for integrating cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into routine care within a multidisciplinary cardiology clinic. Drawing on a clinical vignette and practice-based experience, we describe key psychological themes and outline CBT and ACT interventions that address panic, avoidance, trauma, and values-based functioning. In alignment with the 2025 ESC Clinical Consensus Statement on Mental Health and Cardiovascular Disease, we argue that embedding mental health professionals into cardiac care can enhance patient outcomes and promote a whole-person, resilience-based approach to managing inherited cardiac risk.

Continuing Education Information

1 CE Credit, Instructional Level: Intermediate

1 Contact Hour (New York Board of Psychology)

Disclosures: Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Generative AI was not used for the development or content.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe psychological distress symptoms in inherited cardiac condition (ICC) populations.
2. Identify core components of psychological care in cardiology.
3. Discuss the difference between acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

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CE Disclaimers

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Register maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0010

You have not yet registered for this course. Register today and access this course any time under "My Courses/Registrations"

Abstract

As public interest in psychedelics rises, psychologists will increasingly encounter clients who are considering or engaging in psychedelic use. This article provides an overview of key background contexts, the current landscape of psychedelic research, and the emerging clinical model of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT). The author highlights key clinical and ethical challenges psychologists face: honoring client autonomy, providing harm reduction and accurate education, navigating legal constraints, and addressing systemic inequities. Evidence-based practice considerations are discussed for all psychologists, regardless of their training in psychedelic-assisted therapy. The article concludes with a call to action for culturally humble, ethically grounded, and socially just approaches to psychedelics within contemporary psychology.

Continuing Education Information

1 CE Credit, Instructional Level: Intermediate

1 Contact Hour (New York Board of Psychology)

Disclosures: Author has no conflicts of interest to disclose. Generative AI was not used for the development or content.

Learning Objectives:

1. List the stages of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
2. Describe ethical considerations involved with PAT.
3. Discuss components of effective psychedelic related care.

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CE Disclaimers

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Register maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0010

You have not yet registered for this course. Register today and access this course any time under "My Courses/Registrations"

Abstract

LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults face disproportionate mental health risks due to stigma, discrimination, and minority stress, yet many clinicians receive limited training in affirming approaches to care. This paper provides an accessible overview of key concepts and clinical strategies for psychologists who may not specialize in LGBTQ+ populations. Drawing on two illustrative vignettes, we highlight how identity development, family dynamics, sociopolitical stressors, and intersectional experiences shape clinical presentation. We outline evidence-based assessment strategies, approaches for addressing microaggressions, and the integration of cultural humility and trauma-informed care. Through these recommendations, our goal is to equip clinicians with practical tools to provide validating, developmentally attuned care that promotes resilience and well-being among LGBTQ+ clients.

Continuing Education Information

1 CE Credit, Instructional Level: Intermediate

1 Contact Hour (New York Board of Psychology)

Disclosures: Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Generative AI was not used for the development or content.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe  health disparities among LGBTQ+ populations 
2. Identify how context and intersectional experience shape clinical presentation among LGBTQ+ clients
3. Use affirming therapeutic strategies with LGBTQ+ clients 

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CE Disclaimers

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Register maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0010

You have not yet registered for this course. Register today and access this course any time under "My Courses/Registrations"

Abstract

The use of virtual reality methods in the treatment of social anxiety is becoming increasingly prevalent over time due to advancements in technology and availability. Typically, this involves presenting clients with simulated social scenarios as part of exposure therapy. To aid practitioners interested in applying virtual reality treatment, this article highlights the relevant ethical, demographic, practice, and design considerations through a case example. Key elements include protecting client privacy, ensuring the tool is customizable to the physical and psychological needs of the client, and deciding on the type of tool to implement. These include sandbox (flexible co-creation), premade (wide application), or specialized (created specifically for your practice/client). Examples of implementing each type into the course of treatment for an individual with social anxiety are provided.

Continuing Education Information

1 CE Credit, Instructional Level: Intermediate

1 Contact Hour (New York Board of Psychology)

Disclosures: Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Generative AI was not used for the development or content.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify ethical, demographic, practice, and design considerations when using virtual reality for social anxiety treatment
2. Discuss key elements involved in patient comfort with virtual reality treatment
3. Use examples from case studies to aid in implementing virtual reality for exposure therapy in your practice 

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CE Disclaimers

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Register maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0010

You have not yet registered for this course. Register today and access this course any time under "My Courses/Registrations"

Abstract

Individuals with chronic pain have higher rates of sexual dysfunction than individuals without chronic pain. Sexual health problems among individuals with chronic pain can be due to a number of biopsychosocial factors, including the actual affected body part(s), medication side effects, emotional distress, fatigue, social role change, and relationship dynamics. For many individuals, sexual health is an important part of quality of life. Sexual health can be a neglected aspect of interdisciplinary chronic pain management. This may be due to embarrassment on the part of the patient and/or provider to broach the topic, providers seeing sexual health as outside of the scope of pain management, limited provider knowledge of the topic and/or potential referral resources, and appointment time constraints. This article provides a fictional case vignette to illustrate the intersection of sexual health and chronic pain, reviews relevant literature, and provides evidence-based guidelines for improving psychologists’ ability to not only assess sexual health concerns in chronic pain settings but address them and communicate with interdisciplinary providers about the topic.

Continuing Education Information

1 CE Credit, Instructional Level: Intermediate

1 Contact Hour (New York Board of Psychology)

Disclosures: Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Generative AI was not used for the development or content.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe components of culturally responsive care.
2. List the stages of the PLISSIT model.
3. Explain the role of health service psychologists treat patients with chronic pain

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CE Disclaimers

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Register maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0010

You have not yet registered for this course. Register today and access this course any time under "My Courses/Registrations"

Abstract

Paradoxical intention (PI) is a psychotherapeutic technique that is intended to help clients become more flexible, or at least more open to thinking about their problems, such as anxiety, from a new perspective. In line with this I have developed an approach that involves a “Panic Attack Time Line” (PATL). This PATL (a) helps the client visualize and understand what is happening during the panic attack, and (b) encourages them to understand why, when they start to have panicky feelings in their body, it will be paradoxically helpful to make these feelings worse, for example, if the attack makes their heart beat faster, they might be instructed to do jumping jacks. One of the important advantages of this PATL approach is that it can typically shorten therapy for treating anxiety disorders to just three sessions in comparison with traditional CBT protocols that typically require 6–20 sessions for achieving clinically meaningful change. Two, 3-session adult individual cases, “Fran” and “Emily,” are presented to illustrate the different ways that the PATL-grounded, PI approach can be combined with hypnosis to produce successful therapeutic outcomes. In Fran’s case, the PATL was used explicitly by itself with her and was sufficient to address her agoraphobia/panic disorder. Hypnosis was then used to extend the gains produced by PI. In the case of Emily's aviophobia, the PATL was not used explicitly with her. Rather, the paradoxical logic it embodies was used to create a paradoxical directive that was conveyed via hypnotic suggestion. Keywords: paradoxical intention; hypnosis; hypnotherapy; panic disorder; agoraphobia; aviophobia; cognitive behavior therapy (CBT); case study; clinical case study

Continuing Education Information

2 CE Credits, Instructional Level: Intermediate

2 Contact Hours (New York Board of Psychology)

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify key maintaining factors of anxiety demonstrated in the cases of Fran and Emily.
2. Describe the rationale for combining paradoxical intention with hypnosis in anxiety treatment.
3. Identify the core clinical steps used in paradoxical intention with hypnosis.
4. Summarize treatment outcomes observed in the two cases.
5. Recognize limitations and clinical considerations of using case-based evidence for anxiety treatment.

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CE Disclaimers

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Register maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0010