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Symposium

Basic processes and experimental psychopathology
Symposium

Symposium 31 - Leveraging Insights from Cognitive Psychology to Inform CBT Interventions

Friday, June 26, 2026
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM PDT
Location: Yerba Buena Salon 6, B3 Level
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Cognitive Processes , ,
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Harvey, A. G., Lee, J., Williams, J., Hollon, S. D., Walker, M. P., Thompson, M. A., & Smith, R. (2014). Improving outcome of psychosocial treatments by enhancing memory and learning. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(2), 161-179.,   Hirsch, C. R., Meeten, F., Krahé, C., & Reeder, C. (2016). Resolving ambiguity in emotional disorders: The nature and role of interpretation biases. Annual review of clinical psychology, 12(1), 281-305.,   Holmes, E. A., & Mathews, A. (2010). Mental imagery in emotion and emotional disorders. Clinical psychology review, 30(3), 349-362.,   ,  

This symposium examines how leveraging cognitive psychology, particularly basic cognitive processes such as memory, attention, emotion, and mental imagery, influences how patients engage with treatment and how these processes can be incorporated into the development of psychological therapies to subsequently improve patient outcomes. One important factor in treatment outcome is patients’ memory for treatment, which is often poor (Chambers, 1991; Lee & Harvey, 2015) and is associated with reduced adherence to treatment and poorer treatment outcomes (Lee & Harvey, 2015; Simpson et al., 2011). The information that patients remember between treatment sessions may also be critical for treatment progression during these intervals.

Another cognitive process, emotion, is also thought to play a central role in the maintenance of mental illness. For example, many mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, are linked to emotional dysregulation, as well as attention, memory, and interpretation biases (e.g., Bradley et al., 2011; Dalgleish & Watts, 1990). Modifying and/or disrupting these negative biases has been shown to result in symptom improvement (Hirsch et al., 2020; Lang et al., 2012). However, the critical role of emotional memory as the root of mental disorders has recently been challenged, and investigating whether treatment response is achieved by altering the underlying mechanism of emotional memories is an important consideration for the field.

First, Dr. Anne Milner will present experimental findings on the impact of memory strategies affect recall of treatment content in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Second, Dr. Graham Thew will present a framework for considering the between-session interval during CBT, highlighting how cognitive processes such as memory and attention during this interval are important for treatment progression. Third, Dr. Collette Hirsch will discuss a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of adding twelve sessions of Cognitive Bias Modification of interpretations (CBM-I) to usual maternity care, which was developed to promote a positive interpretation bias to reduce anxiety, depression, and repetitive negative thinking. Fourth, Dr. Merel Kindt will present work that challenges the assumption that emotional memory lies at the root of mental disorders and will explore the gap between this theoretical rationale and the limited empirical evidence for its role in symptom reduction. Fifth, Dr. Emily Holmes will present on the Imagery-Competing Task Intervention (ICTI) that aims to prevent the build-up of unwanted intrusive memories after a traumatic event and reduce the recurrence of these memories, demonstrating how visuospatial tasks following recall can disrupt intrusive mental images. Presenters bring expertise from a wide range of backgrounds, which highlights the many applications of cognitive processes in developing cognitive and behavioral therapies. The discussant, Dr. Allison Harvey, will synthesize these findings, drawing on her experience in leveraging cognitive literature to innovate treatment development with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

  • Examine the role of cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and emotion across a range of mental illnesses.
  • Describe the clinical impact of poor memory for treatment and explore how memory strategies can be implemented into treatment to improve outcomes.
  • Describe the importance of the between-session interval and identify cognitive processes during this period that affect treatment progression.
  • Explain the role of emotional memories in the maintenance of mental illness and challenge pre-existing assumptions in this domain.
  • Discuss approaches for leveraging basic cognitive science findings to develop and adapt evidence-based treatments.

Presentations:

  • 4:05 PM - 4:22 PM PDT
    (SYM 31) Enhancing Recall of Treatment Contents: Impact of Memory Support Strategies Among Individuals with and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

    Speaker: Anne E. Milner, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of California, Berkeley

    Co-Author: Crystal Woo, B.S. (she/her/hers) – University of Washington

    Co-Author: Sophia M. Oliver, B.A. – University of California, Berkeley

    Co-Author: Allison G. Harvey, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of California, Berkeley

  • 4:22 PM - 4:39 PM PDT
    (SYM 31) Looking on the Bright Side: A Key Role for Interpretations in the Maintenance and Treatment of Emotional Problems

    Speaker: Colette R. Hirsch, B.S., Ph.D., Psy.D. (she/her/hers) – King's College London

  • 5:13 PM - 5:30 PM PDT
    (SYM 31) What Happens in Between CBT Sessions? Examining Between-session Cognitive Processes and Their Links to Clinical Outcomes

    Speaker: Graham R. Thew, D. Phil. (he/him/his) – University of Oxford, UK