This presentation was originally reviewed on November 7, 2024, and in person and live streamed online on November 8, 2024, from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm ET.

Cognitive behavioral therapy was first applied to psychotic disorders by Aaron Beck in 1952, however the first clinical trial of cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBT-P) was not completed until 1992. CBT-P has been shown to reduce distress related to psychotic symptoms by up to 40% and improve overall functioning. The evidence supporting its use is so robust that it is recommended in the American Psychiatric Association (APA) guidelines as well as the National Institutes of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for treatment of schizophrenia. However, this treatment remains underutilized and often unavailable for people in the United States experiencing psychosis due to lack of experienced practitioners and lack of understanding regarding the benefit of CBT-P in the treatment of psychotic disorders. This presentation aims to improve understanding of the evidence base surrounding CBT-P in the treatment of people experiencing psychosis and to describe the process of CBT-P.

There is excellent emerging data on the contribution of ultra-processed foods to mental health outcomes (and other medical conditions). Ultra-processed food tends to contain a high number of food additives. One class of food additives in particular, flavor enhancing food additives, tend to create an unnatural attraction to these processed foods, while also having the ability to affect nervous system functioning in certain individuals. The main component of these additives is glutamate, an amino acid which has the ability to stimulate neurons in the tongue (making food taste better) while also having the ability to affect nervous system function elsewhere. This presentation will teach clinicians about this dietary exposure and how it has been tied to mental health disorders. Currently, clinicians do not receive training in nutrition, and thus, are unable to offer advice in this area. This talk will educate attendees about the role of glutamatergic neurotransmission in mental health and will also provide easy-to-use tools for helping people change their eating behaviors.

This lecture is for mental health providers who want to develop a better understanding about how military culture can impact patients’ experience of their symptoms and of mental health treatment. It provides an overview of military culture and cultural competence, with a focus on the short comings of a sociologic approach to cultural competence. The benefits of a patient centered approach utilizing the cultural formation interview (CFI) from the DSM-5-TR is then introduced, along with an overview of efforts to develop a military version of the CFI, to include it’s recent inclusion in the DSM-5-TR. Participants are then challenged with clinical cases involving military patients that benefit from utilization of the military version of the CFI.