Applications of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for clients are based off behavioral data collected by staff. Typically, ABA is conducted in a home, clinic, or even school setting, where staff collect and record this data for analysis by a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). However, when an individual’s behavior becomes unmanageable in an outpatient setting, they may need inpatient treatment. This data collection can and should continue in the inpatient setting, but there are various challenges and obstacles that must be addressed in order to do so. This presentation will discuss some of those challenges and provide ways to overcome them.

Formulation is essential to every treatment. Without a formulation, we are unable to make a diagnosis, collaboratively create a treatment plan, or engage in treatment. Yet formulation is not always taught, and, when it is, this teaching is not always clear. In this talk, Deborah Cabaniss will discuss the work that she and colleagues in the Psychodynamic Formulation Collective have done to operationalize psychodynamic formulation and to place the effects of culture and society on par with other psychodynamic models of the mind. Clinically relevant to all patient settings, this talk will be of interest to trainees and seasoned clinicians alike.

All people experience needs to regulate their emotions throughout everyday life. Some of our strategies may be more useful than others, but sometimes lack of either awareness or practice of different emotion regulation strategies is a barrier to exploring more effective ways at regulating our emotions without ignoring them. This presentation will cover: the process model of emotion generation and emotion regulation; how to use the process model to identify various places to regulate emotions; past research on two emotion regulation strategies: suppression and rethinking; practice utilizing the rethinking strategy; create a “plan to practice” an active emotion regulation strategy; suggestions for using the model in practice and ways of helping patients practice and self-monitor their emotion regulation effectiveness. Teaching patients the process model of emotions and emotion regulation can provide an empowering framework for organizing and suggesting emotion regulation strategies. Attendees will also practice one emotion regulation strategy “rethinking” – and generate ways to aid their patients in practicing this strategy to add to a toolbelt.

At the turn of the 21st century, pain management became a major public health concern, recognized as the 5th vital sign in VA healthcare, while opioid prescribing for chronic pain surged, leading to a fivefold increase in morphine milligram equivalents by 2010. In 2013, the DSM-5 redefined Substance Use Disorder (SUD) criteria, excluding tolerance and withdrawal for medically prescribed opioids. As the opioid epidemic unfolded, the limitations of long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain became evident, prompting current guidelines to discourage opioid initiation in favor of non-opioid approaches. However, some patients remain on long-term opioid therapy, struggling to taper without functional improvement, raising questions about whether these cases fit under mild Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) or require a new diagnostic category. This talk will address this ambiguity, outlining a clinical decision-making framework, and exploring the need for new diagnostic approaches when opioid harms outweigh benefits.