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Clinical Round Tables

Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Reducing Stigma

Empowering Adults with Mental Health Disorders through Personalized Advances in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies

Clinical Round Table 14 - Empowering Adults with Mental Health Disorders Through Personalized Advances in Cognitive-behavioral Therapies

Saturday, June 27, 2026
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM PDT
Location: Golden Gate C2, B2 Level
Earn 1.5 Credit
Keywords: Aging, Anxiety, Sexual Functioning / Wellbeing
Level of Familiarity: Moderate
Recommended Readings: Beaudreau, S. A., Otero, M. C., Lutz, J. A., Gould, C. E., Cassidy Eagle, E., Suresh, M., ... & Mashal, N. M. (2025). Emotion-centered problem solving therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: A single-arm pilot study with middle-aged and older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 30, 65-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2542399,   Lutz, J., Van Orden, K. A., Bruce, M. L., Conwell, Y., & Members of the NIMH Workshop on Social Disconnection in Late Life Suicide (2021). Social disconnection in late life suicide: An NIMH workshop on state of the research in identifying mechanisms, treatment targets, and interventions. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(8), 731–744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2021.01.137,   Johnco, C. J., Dickson, S. J., & Seaton, A. (2025). A systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic remission, treatment response, attrition and relapse following cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), other psychological therapies and pharmacological treatments for anxiety disorders in older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, S1064-7481(25)00356-2. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2025.05.010,   ,  
The primary goal of this clinical roundtable is to discuss innovative approaches to personalizing and disseminating cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) for middle-aged and older adults who are military Veterans and non-Veteran adults vulnerable to serious mental health issues. Veterans are at greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and experiencing suicidality than the general population, and many Veterans live in rural areas that can limit access to in-person mental health care. Veterans also encompass a diverse population with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences that inform their individual pathways to recovery, necessitating tailored and innovative therapeutic approaches. Among community populations, older adults face challenges to accessing empirically supported treatments (EST) for mental health issues, such as anxiety, due to less research on ESTs in older populations. The panelists will discuss their approaches to improving access to CBTs by drawing on their experiences developing programs that increase access to evidence-based care. Panelists will detail how they designed or adapted CBTs for vulnerable subpopulations who may experience unique challenges to addressing their mental health symptoms, including Veterans, older adults, and people with PTSD. In addition to targeting diverse populations, panelists have created interventions that address a wide spectrum of clinical issues, including sexual health concerns, anxiety, and suicidality. The panel will integrate their experience developing interventions with the current research literature on personalizing care for underserved subpopulations, offering guidance for reaching specialized groups and considering future directions for creating individualized CBTs.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain how protocol-based interventions often fail to address psychosocial factors that increase vulnerability to mental health issues.
  • Describe six cognitive-behavioral interventions that address psychological issues faced by vulnerable subpopulations.
  • Summarize approaches to modifying cognitive-behavioral protocols to address needs of diverse populations, especially older adults & Veterans.
  • Improve therapists’ ability to identify barriers that limit the participation of underserved subpopulations in clinical treatment.
  • Increase knowledge about adapting evidence-based protocols to meet the specialized needs of diverse populations.