Description

Approximately 20 percent of school-aged children are referred for psychological or neuropsychological evaluations.  The vast majority of these children meet criteria for learning disabilities or disruptive behavior disorders - and many of these children will meet criteria for more than one disorder at any given time.  Child and adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists and other treating professionals are increasingly called upon to make decisions whether to refer their patients for assessment, to understand the results of neuropsychological consultation, to converse with special education personnel about the services their patients are receiving, and to implement treatment approaches within the classroom.  This program is designed to give child and adolescent clinicians a better knowledge base with which to address these issues. 

Children and adolescents with behavioral challenges, meanwhile, account for the vast majority of clinical referrals.  Such youth may exhibit intense temper outbursts, oppositionality, and verbal and physical aggression, behaviors that have extremely adverse effects on family life and school functioning. These children may carry diagnoses such as ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, Tourette's disorder, nonverbal learning disability, or Asperger's disorder, among others. For many, conventional behavior management approaches are unfortunately ineffective. This aspect of the program will offer an alternative conceptualization of the difficulties of these youth; namely, that their difficulties are a byproduct of a delay in the development of crucial cognitive skills in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving.  It will also provide an overview of an innovative, evidenced base treatment model that helps adults teach children the cognitive skills they lack while reducing the frequency and intensity of explosive/noncompliant episodes. The model is described in the acclaimed book, "Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this educational activity, participants should be able to: 

• Discuss how lagging cognitive skills contribute to challenging behavior and how to use a collaborative problem solving process to reduce such behavior.
• Explain how neuropsychological measures are used in the diagnostic process and their particular usefulness in diagnosing and treating disruptive behavior disorders.
• Discuss the research evidence for neuropsychological functioning in behaviorally challenging children, including neurobiological and cognitive influences.
• Discuss the importance of assessing family functioning in the context of neuropsychological evaluations.
• Identify the family factors that protect against and exacerbate childhood psychological problems
• Explain how to structure the initial sessions of treatment when implementing a collaborative problem solving approach in therapy with challenging kids.
• Compare and contrast the challenges of successfully implementing a manualized treatment approach to the flexibility needed given differing patient needs, preferences, and initial presentations.

Agenda

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Faculty

J. Stuart Ablon, PhD
Director, Think:Kids
Director, Psychotherapy Research Program
Department of Psychiatry
Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Clinical Professor
Harvard Medical School

Ellen Braaten, PhD
Director, Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP)
Department of Psychiatry
Massachusetts General Hospital
Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School

Beth Edelstein, OT/L
Director, Outreach and Support, Think:Kids
Department of Psychiatry
Massachusetts General Hospital

David A. Whelan, PsyD
Director, Outpatient Clinical Services, Think:Kids
Department of Psychiatry
Massachusetts General Hospital
Clinical Instructor
Harvard Medical School

Brian L.B. Willoughby, PhD
Staff Psychologist, Learning and Emotional
Assessment Program (LEAP)
Department of Psychiatry
Massachusetts General Hospital
Instructor
Harvard Medical School

General Information

SPECIAL NEEDS: The MGH Psychiatry Department is in full compliance with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and is accessible for individuals with special needs. If you would like to attend this conference and require any special accommodations, please contact Rose Deschenes at 617-726-2992.

Facility Information

By Automobile

From the West

• Via the Massachusetts Turnpike (Rte. 90) take Exit 18 (Cambridge-Allston). This is a left exit.
• Bear right after the toll booth.
• Turn right at first set of lights onto Storrow Drive (Downtown Boston-Storrow Drive).
• After approximately 5 miles, take the Government Center-Downtown exit.
• Follow signs to Downtown and Government Center (Cambridge Street).
• Proceed along Cambridge Street for 2 sets of lights. Just past the Holiday Inn, you will see Charles River Plaza. Staniford Street is just beyond Charles River Plaza on the left.
• We cannot validate parking in the lots at 185 Cambridge St. To park in the MGH lots, turn left on North Grove St. before you reach the Starr Center.
• The Starr Center is located at the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

• Take Memorial Drive East to the Downtown/Government Center exit. This will be a left exit.
• Cross the Longfellow Bridge, go through the light onto Cambridge Street.
• Proceed along Cambridge Street for 2 sets of lights. Just past the Holiday Inn, you will see Charles River Plaza on the left. Staniford Street is just beyond Charles River Plaza on the left.
• We cannot validate parking in the lots at 185 Cambridge St. To park in the MGH lots, turn left on North Grove St. before you reach the Starr Center.
• The Starr Center is located at the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

From the North

• Follow I-93 South to exit 26A (Leverett Circle / Storrow Drive); proceed to the left lane and follow Storrow Drive.
• Take the Government Center/Kendall Square exit.
• Go through the first light under the "T" (subway) station.
• Proceed along Cambridge Street for 2 sets of lights. Just past the Holiday Inn, you will see Charles River Plaza. Staniford Street is just beyond Charles River Plaza on the left.
• We cannot validate parking in the lots at 185 Cambridge St. To park in the MGH lots, turn left on North Grove St. before you reach the Starr Center.
• The Starr Center is located at the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

From the South

• Take the Government Center exit. At the exit take the left lane and follow Government Center signs.
• Go straight until you get to a "T" intersection. At that intersection make a right turn onto Congress Street. You will drive under a parking structure. At the traffic light at the end of that structure, make a left turn onto New Chardon Street.
• Then make the first right turn onto Cambridge Street. The next street on your right is Staniford. Before you get to the following street and just after you pass the church and library is Charles River Plaza.
• We cannot validate parking in the parking lots directly in front of the Starr Center.  To park in the MGH lots, continue on to N. Grove St., which will be on the right.
• The Starr Center is located at the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

• Follow Route 1 South over the Tobin Bridge ($2 toll for cars).
• Take the Storrow Drive exit and proceed to the left lane.
• Take the Government Center/Kendall Square exit.
• Go through the first light under the "T" (subway) station.
• Proceed along Cambridge Street for 2 sets of lights. Just past the Holiday Inn, you will see Charles River Plaza. Staniford Street is just beyond Charles River Plaza on the left.
• We cannot validate parking in the lots at 185 Cambridge St. To park in the MGH lots, turn left on North Grove St. before you reach the Starr Center.
• The Starr Center is located at the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

By Public Transportation

The Starr Center is centrally located between stops on the Red Line, Green Line, and Blue Line on the MBTA.

The closest Red Line station is Charles Street. When you descend from Charles Station, walk up Cambridge Street for several blocks toward the Holiday Inn. You will see Charles River Plaza on your left. The Starr Center is located in the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

The closest Green Line station is Park Street. (You may change to the Red Line at Park Street and continue along to Charles Street station, which is just slightly closer than Park Street, and follow the directions above.) Walk up Park Street toward the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Street, turn left on Bowdoin Street and walk down the hill to Cambridge Street, then take a left towards the Holiday Inn. Charles River Plaza is on your right. The Starr Center is located in the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

The closest Blue Line station is Bowdoin. When you ascend Bowdoin station, walk down Cambridge Street towards the Holiday Inn. Staniford Street is on the right, and just beyond is Charles River Plaza, also on your right. The Starr Center is located in the Charles River Plaza in the Simches Research Building- 2nd Floor.

Accreditation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of McLean Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital.  McLean Hospital is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education (CME) for physicians.

Credit Designation Statement:

McLean Hospital designates this continuing medical education activity for a maximum of 5.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM.  Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

Psychologists:

The Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists and maintains responsibility for this program. This offering meets the criteria 5.00 Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists.

Social Workers:

This program has been approved for 5.00 Approved Entity Continuing Education hours for relicensure, in accordance with 258 CMR. Collaborative of NASW and the Boston College and Simmons Schools of Social Work Authorization number D50007.

Nurses:

This program meets the requirements of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (244 CMR 5.00) for 5.00 contact hours of nursing continuing education credit. Advance practice nurses, please note: Educational activities which meet the requirements of the ACCME (such as this activity) count towards 50% of the nursing requirement for ANCC accreditation

FACULTY DISCLOSURE
As a sponsor accredited by the ACCME, it is the policy of the McLean Hospital to require the disclosure of anyone who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity. All relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests and/or manufacturers must be disclosed to participants at the beginning of each activity. Faculty disclosures for each presenter will be listed with their biographical information.

RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST (COI)
McLean Hospital has implemented a process to resolve COI for each CME activity. In order to help ensure content objectivity, independence, fair balance and ensure that the content is aligned with the interest of the public, the McLean Hospital has resolved the conflict by External Content Review