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When the Body Becomes the Obsession: Understanding and Treating Body-Based Obsessions with Evidence-Based Interventions
This presentation was last reviewed on February 18, 2026, and live streamed online on February 20, 2026, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET.
The views and opinions expressed by this presenter in this lecture are their own, and do not represent the views of Sheppard Pratt.
Clinicians working with individuals who experience anxiety about their bodies often face unique challenges in treatment. These challenges arise not only from the physical nature of the client’s experience but also from internalized faulty beliefs about the body and mind, shaped by sociocultural factors and distorted thinking patterns. Without addressing these underlying influences, treatment can be ineffective or even counterproductive. In this presentation, clinicians will learn to identify, conceptualize, and treat body-based obsessions using a transdiagnostic approach. Attendees will gain practical, evidence-based strategies to uncover feared consequences, challenge maladaptive beliefs, and improve treatment outcomes for clients struggling with body-focused anxiety
Target Audience
This activity is intended for physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and other mental health professionals.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, attendees will be able to:
- Identify common forms of body-based obsessions.
- Describe socio-cultural factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of body-based obsessions.
- Summarize key treatment strategies for treating body-based obsessions.
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This is a recorded asynchronous distance learning format course where you will download the handout, watch a video recording, and complete the required pretest, posttest, evaluation, and attestation for credit. Once you have completed all the components of the Course Progress bar, the certificate will be immediately downloadable. The certificate will also be saved in your account transcript.
Outline of Activity:
Introduction- 5 minutes
Presentation- 45 minutes
Q&A- 10 minutes
Price: Free. All courses offered through Sheppard Pratt are free of charge. There is no need to cancel if you cannot attend or complete a course, as no refund is necessary. Not completing an activity acts as a cancellation.
There is no registration required for this course. The course expires and cannot be completed after March 16, 2028.
To request accessibility accommodations, please contact [email protected].
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Originally reviewed on February 18, 2026.
Originally broadcast live February 20, 2026, from 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET.
Enduring Activity Credit Expiration Date: March 28, 2028.
Activity Time: One hour recorded webinar lecture with a 15-minute evaluation process. Total Time: 1:15.
TO EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE
On the OVERVIEW or REGISTER/TAKE COURSE tab, select the GREEN RECTANGLE, TAKE COURSE to begin.
Complete the Pretest and select NEXT in the bottom right corner of the screen. Use the NEXT button for best results.
The PowerPoint handout will be available for download.
After downloading the handout, select NEXT to begin and watch the video.
You may need to select play for the video to begin.
After the video follow the prompts to complete the posttest, evaluation, and attestation of credit.
Once you have completed all the components of the Course Progress bar, the certificate will be immediately downloadable.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
There is no commercial support for this activity.
Questions? Look at our FAQ’s at https://cme.sheppardpratt.org/content/faq or Email [email protected]
There is no commercial support for this activity.
About the speaker
Molly Schiffer, LCPC, is the associate director of The Center for OCD and Anxiety at Sheppard Pratt in Towson, MD. She specializes in mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral treatment for OCD and related disorders, and in treating PTSD with cognitive processing therapy in both residential and outpatient settings. Schiffer is the author of The Body-Based Obsessions Workbook and a frequent presenter at the annual conferences of the International OCD Foundation and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Disclosure Statements
Sheppard Pratt holds the standard that its continuing medical education programs should be free of commercial bias and conflict of interest. In accord with Sheppard Pratt's Disclosure Policy, as well as standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Medical Association (AMA), all planners, reviewers, speakers and persons in control of content have been asked to disclose any relationship he /she has with any entity producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients, during the past 24 months. All planners, reviewers and speakers have also been asked to disclose any payments accepted for this lecture from any entity besides Sheppard Pratt, and if there will be discussion of any products, services, or off-label uses of product(s) during this presentation.
Molly Schiffer, LCPC, reports receiving royalties from New Harbinger within the past 24 months. She will not discuss any products, services, or off-label uses in this presentation. All relationships have been mitigated through review.
Event Planners/Reviewers Disclosures: The following event planners and/or reviewers are reported as having no financial interest, arrangement or affiliation with any entity producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients, during the past 24 months: Jon Hershfield, LCMFT, Todd Peters, MD, Michael C. Hann, MD, MBA, Ronald Means, MD, Rajeev Krishna, MD, PhD, MBA, Louis Marino, MD, Devi Bhuyan, PsyD, Manan Shah, MD, Vittoria DeLucia, MD, Chad J. Lennon, MD, Faith Dickerson, PhD, MPH, Carrie Etheridge, LCSW-C, Tom Flis, MS, BCBA, LBA, LCPC, Paula Bostwick, MSN, RN, CENP, Alfredo Sagisi, DNP, MS, RN, FACHE, Maggie O'Neill MSN, RN, PMH-BC, Lisa Illum, MLIS, MEd, and Jennifer Tornabene.
Physician Statement: Sheppard Pratt is accredited by The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity. Sheppard Pratt designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurse Statement: Sheppard Pratt is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Maryland Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity. This activity provides 1.0 contact hour for nurses.
Psychologist Statement: Sheppard Pratt is authorized by the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists as a sponsor of continuing education. Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CE activity. Sheppard Pratt designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 contact hour for Psychologists.
Social Worker Statement: Sheppard Pratt is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners of Maryland to offer continuing education for Social Workers. Sheppard Pratt takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CE activity. This activity is approved for 1.0 contact hour in Category II credits for Social Workers.
Counselor Statement: Sheppard Pratt has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5098. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Sheppard Pratt is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. This activity is available for 1.0 NBCC clock hours.
Available Credit
- 1.00 ACEP NBCC clock hours
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
- 1.00 Category II credits for Social Workers
- 1.00 Psychologists
- 1.00 MNA Contact Hours for Nurses
- 1.00 Participation
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Click the Take Course button to proceed into the course to complete the requirements for credit.
Required Hardware/software
Optimal System Configuration
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Minimum Requirements
Windows PC: 500-MHz Pentium II; Windows XP or higher; 128 MB RAM; Video Card at least 64MB of video memory; Sound Card at least 16-bit; Macromedia Flash Player 10 or higher, audio playback with speakers for programs with video content; Firefox 1.1+, Internet Explorer 7.0+, Safari 1.0+, Google Chrome, or Opera
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Hardware/Software Specifications
This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using Internet Explorer 8+, Mozilla Firefox 3+, Safari 4+. This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Flash, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.