Overcoming the Vicious Cycle of Anxiety and Avoidance
Live Event

Overcoming the Vicious Cycle of Anxiety and Avoidance

Thu, May 22nd, 2025
11:00am – 2:15pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

As helping professionals, we know all too well how debilitating anxiety can be on our clients’ ability to lead full and joyful lives. Often their own self-critical thinking, avoidance and reliance on safety behaviors only exacerbate their pain. We also know that COVID-19 has doubled the increase in for mental health problems for those who had the virus.

This highly interactive, experiential workshop teaches participants how to engage, even the most anxious client, with practical, “doable” skills that will increase our clients’ confidence and ability to overcome anxiety. This workshop will teach clinicians how to help clients identify, manage and combat symptoms, as well as insidious, unhelpful thought and behavior patterns. By enhancing clients’ problem-solving abilities and overcoming avoidance; clinicians will finally be able to help clients enhance their confidence and succeed in moving forward from the trap of anxiety.

There will be a brief focus on what the latest research reveals about we know of how COVID 19 has impacted how the human brain functions and the link to mental illness. In addition, a rare opportunity to discuss case examples of how we are seeing this manifest in our clients.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Ellen Blaufox

Ellen Blaufox

Ellen Blaufox, LCSW-R has been a professional speaker and trainer for mental health professionals for almost three decades. She has trained mental health professionals in a variety of social service agencies, higher education institutions (NYU, Adelphi, Stony Brook, Rutgers), and private organizations providing continuing education . As an Adjunct Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work on the Westchester Campus, Ellen taught Diversity, Racism, Oppression & Privilege for multiple semesters. She was also an Adjunct Professor at Iona College where she taught Trauma in Film. In her clinical and supervisory work, Ellen was fortunate to be part of the development and implementation of myriad evidence-based, trauma treatment models.Clinical Director of the largest psychiatric treatment facility for adolescents in New York State for almost ten years, her Senior Leadership role, lead to the creation of a specialized unit for adolescent survivors or human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Ellen's clinical and supervisory work has contributed to the research, and development of various, remarkable, innovative & helpful treatment models including Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT) for Residential Populations, LGBTQ + and survivors of Human Trafficking. In addition Additionally, Ellen was a Core Team member at the Jewish Board that worked with Dr. Sandra Bloom in the adaptation and implementation of the Sanctuary Model from adult (SELF) to adolescent (SAGE) populations. Ellen Blaufox, LCSW-R has been trained (and trains others in) such evidenced-based practices as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. Ellen believes that a therapeutic relationship that ensures safety, open communication and transparency, as well as hope and optimism are the proven key ingredients in patient satisfaction and successful prognosis.

Target Audience

This live interactive webinar is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFT's and Addiction Professionals.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Summarize the various causes of anxiety and what keeps clients in a perpetual, vicious cycles of avoidance and worry.
  2. 2 Provide strategies for clients to let go of ‘safety behaviors,” and have increased confidence in their abilities to master and manage their feelings.
  3. 3 Implement concrete treatment interventions that interrupt the vicious cycle of anxiety and avoidance behaviors.
  4. 4 Implement problem-solving skills to decrease avoidance and anxiety.
  5. 5 Apply controlled breathing visualization and progressive muscle relaxation techniques proven to be useful in treating anxiety.
  6. 6 Summarize methods to challenge cognitive distortions as they related to anxiety.
  7. 7 Summarize COVID 19’s link to increased mental illness.
  8. 8 Identify and re-direct client attention to understanding anxiety instead of “beating themselves up for" being anxious about their anxiety.

Bank, S., Campbell, B., Burgess, M., Summers, M., & McEvoy, P. (2020). Stepping Out of Social Anxiety - Module 5 - Safety Behaviours. Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI). https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/-/media/CCI/Consumer-Modules/Stepping-out-of-Social-Anxiety/Stepping-out-of-Social-Anxiety---Module-5---Safety-Behaviours.pdf

Hofmann, S. G., & Hay, A. C. (2018). Rethinking avoidance: Toward a balanced approach to avoidance in treating anxiety disorders. Journal of anxiety disorders, 55, 14-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.03.004

Kirk, A., Meyer, J. M., Whisman, M. A., Deacon, B. J., & Arch, J. J. (2019). Safety behaviors, experiential avoidance, and anxiety: A path analysis approach. Journal of anxiety disorders, 64, 9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.03.002

Schnipper, H. (2020). Is It a Panic Attack or COVID-19 Symptoms?. BIDMC of Boston. https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/blogs/living-with-cancer/2020/05/panic-attack-or-covid-19-symptoms

Sharpe, L., Todd, J., Scott, A., Gatzounis, R., Menzies, R. E., & Meulders, A. (2022). Safety behaviours or safety precautions? The role of subtle avoidance in anxiety disorders in the context of chronic physical illness. Clinical psychology review, 92, 102126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102126

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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New York Education Department Board of Marriage and Family Therapy

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Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 8:00am US Pacific Time.

11:00  – 11:10am: Introduction/Overview

11:10 – 12:00pm: COVID-19 Impact on Adolescent & Adult Mental Health


12:00 - 12:15pm: Break


12:15 – 1:15pm: How to Help Clients Empathize with Their Anxiety

1:15 – 2:15pm: Group Practice of CBT Skills

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