Are you a member yet? Membership is open to all and is the first step towards accreditation.
Wednesday 30 April: 1.30pm - 4.45pm
Introduced by: Daisy R Singla, University of Toronto,
Workshop Leaders: Crystal Schiller, UNC Chapel Hill, USA and Laura La Porte, Endeavor Health, USA
This workshop, introduced by Daisy Singla, provides an introduction to Behavioral Activation (BA) for the treatment of perinatal depression and anxiety. Behavioral Activation is a brief, evidence-based psychotherapy focused on increasing engagement in meaningful activities and reducing behaviors that maintain symptoms.
The session is designed for clinicians seeking to enhance their skills in delivering structured, time-limited interventions that align with the unique needs of pregnant and postpartum individuals. Attendees will receive practical, step-by-step guidance on key components of BA, including activity scheduling, values identification, and problem-solving.
Whether you are new to BA or looking to refine your practice, this workshop will leave you with actionable strategies to incorporate BA into your work with perinatal populations.
At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
The workshop will include the following interactive elements:
Case Studies: Participants will engage in small group discussions to apply BA techniques to realistic clinical scenarios.
Role-Playing: Attendees will practice key BA strategies such as values exploration and activity scheduling in pairs or small groups.
Skill-Building Exercises: Participants will work on creating individualized BA plans using provided templates and receive feedback.
Q&A and Group Discussion: Facilitated discussions will allow attendees to share insights, ask questions, and learn from faculty and peers' experiences.
Dr. Daisy Singla is a clinical psychologist by training, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Dr. Singla’s research focuses on increasing access to evidence-based psychological treatments targeting depression, anxiety and trauma worldwide. In 2018, she became the youngest recipient of a $13.1 (USD) Pragmatic Clinical Study Award which aims to scale up talk therapies for perinatal populations across North America (SUMMIT Trial). Dr. Singla aspires to increase access to evidence-based psychological treatments to enrich the lives of all women, their children and their families.
Dr Crystal Schiller is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UNC Chapel Hill. She is Director of the UNC School of Medicine Clinical Psychology Internship Program and Associate Director of the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders. Dr. Schiller’s research focuses on the neuroendocrinology of depression across the female reproductive lifespan and expanding access to high-quality, evidence-based psychotherapy. Dr. Schiller has won national awards for teaching and clinical services. She served as a clinical lead international clinicals trial examining the use non-specialist healthcare workers in delivering behavioral treatments for perinatal depression in North America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Laura La Porte, LCSW, PMH-C, is a clinical social worker and researcher specializing in perinatal mental health and behavioral interventions. She holds a Master’s in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and is Perinatal Mental Health-Certified through Postpartum Support International. She is the Clinical Research Manager at Endeavor Health, and her research focuses on novel treatment delivery to increase access to perinatal mental health. She served as a clinical lead on a large multi-site study deploying behavioral activation via telemedicine. She also leads efforts to integrate digital mental health tools into clinical practice and works to enhance provider training and referral pathways.