Skip to content
  • Home
  • All Events
  • Working Effectively with Personality Disorders: Advanced CBT Tools

Working Effectively with Personality Disorders: Advanced CBT Tools

Apr. 25, 2026

10:00 AM - 1:15 PM (EST)

Virtual Event
3 CE Credits
CBT is proven effective for depression and anxiety, but clients with personality disorders often present unique challenges. This dynamic workshop introduces a CBT model tailored for personality disorders, highlighting key adaptations, strategies, and solutions to common therapy impasses. Discover practical tools to address roadblocks and apply evidence-based techniques at cognitive, behavioral, and emotional levels.

CBT has been found to be a very effective treatment approach to depression and arrange of anxiety disorders. However, clients who are personality-disordered present several specific  challenges to the delivery of standard CBT. Subsequently some adaptations in the treatment approach are needed. This workshop will outline and describe a CBT model of personality disorder and detail CBT strategies for working with this population. Specific roadblocks to therapy will be identified and suggestions for dealing with these will be outlined.

Session Highlights
  • Conventional CBT may not be sufficient to treat clients with personality disorders for several reasons.
  • Impasses in therapy with these clients are common discover several specific actions that can be taken to offset these.
  • Adaptations to CBT for these clients are essential.
  • The CBT Model of personality disorder provides a useful road map for treatment.
  • CBT strategies following from the model will work at the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional levels and focus on both history and present problems.

This live interactive webinar is designed for behavioral health professionals, including:

  • Counselors
  • Social Workers
  • Psychotherapists
  • Marriage & Family Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Substance Use Disorders Counselors
  • Case Managers
  • Physicians

Other Mental Health Professionals

John Ludgate, PhDJohn Ludgate, PhD

John has worked as a psychotherapist for almost 30 years. He currently works at the CBT Center of Western North Carolina, located in Asheville, NC. He specializes in treating mood, anxiety, relationship, and psychosexual disorders. As well as having an active clinical practice, he is involved in training and supervision in CBT.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trinity College, Dublin; a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from University of Edinburgh in Scotland; and a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin. He trained at the Center for Cognitive Therapy under Dr. Aaron Beck, the founder of Cognitive Therapy, obtaining a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Cognitive Therapy from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. He subsequently became Assistant Director of Training at Dr. Beck’s Center. In the early 1990s, Dr. Ludgate was a Research Clinical Psychologist at the University of Oxford in England and served as a cognitive-behavioral therapist in several outcome studies of panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, and hypochondriasis. He subsequently worked as a clinical psychologist in state agencies and private practice.

In 1988, he published the book Maximizing Psychotherapeutic Gains and Preventing Relapse in Emotionally Distressed Clients and was co-editor with Beck and others of Cognitive Therapy with Inpatients: Developing a Cognitive Milieu, published in 1990. He published Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Relapse Prevention for Depression and Anxiety in 2009 and Heal Yourself: A CBT Approach to Reducing Therapist Distress and Increasing Therapeutic Effectiveness in 2012. In 2014, he co-authored the book Overcoming Compassion Fatigue: A Practical Resilience Workbook with Martha Teater. In 2016, he co-edited the book Teaching and Supervising Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, published by Wiley. With Teresa Grubr, he published the CBT Couples Toolbox in 2018. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters in the field of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for anxiety and depression. He has presented many seminars and workshops on cognitive behavioral approaches, both nationally and internationally. He is a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and serves on the Credentialing Committee of the Academy.

After this training, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the challenges that personality-disordered clients may present to standard CBT approaches.

  • Explain adaptations to CBT practice that enhance effectiveness when working with personality-disordered clients.

  • Demonstrate skills in conceptualizing cases and applying interventions tailored to personality-disordered clients.

10:00 -10:05 am – Introduction

10:05-10:30 am – Challenging cases and their characteristics that make CBT more difficult

Key Components of Personality Disorder

10:30-11:00 am –  Conceptualizing personality disorders using a CBT model

Schema Therapy: Key principles

11:00-11:30 am –  Outline of CBT treatment for Personality Disorder

11:30-11:45 am – Break

11:45-12:15 pm – Specific CBT treatment interventions

12:15-12:45 pm – Interventions drawn from related therapeutic approaches  (DBT, ACT, Mindfulness)

12:45-1:05 pm –common therapy impasses with these clients and ways to resolve them

1:05-1:15 pm – Q&A

Intermediate to advanced.

Registration Cost

Registration $67 | Apr. 25 | Virtual Event | 3 CE Credits | 10:00 am – 1:15 pm ET

Registration Deadline:  Apr. 25, 2026

Cancellation Policy

All registrations are non-refundable. However, you may request a full credit toward a future training if:

  • You notify us at least 72 hours before the event start time.
  • Credit is valid for up to 6 months from the original event date.
  • No credit will be issued for no-shows or cancellations made on the same day.
  • When you register for an event, you agree to these terms

Please email info@clinicalevents.org to request a credit or reschedule.

A total of 3 CE credits are available.

Additional Approvals Pending.


ASWB ACE

Clinical Events, LLC, (provider # 2201) is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 11/01/2025 – 11/01/2028.

NBCC

Clinical Events, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved   Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7643 Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Clinical Events, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

NAADAC

This course has been approved by Clinical Events, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #320899, Clinical Events is responsible for all aspects of the programming.

NY State Board of Psychologists

Clinical Events, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department\\\’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0292.

NY State Board of Social Workers

Clinical Events, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department\\\’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0828.

NY State Board of Mental Health Counselors

Clinical Events, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department\\\’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0329.

NY State Board of Marriage & Family Therapists

Clinical Events, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department\\\’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0140.

NJ State Board of Social Workers & Professional Counselors

The New Jersey Social Work Examiners Board accepts ASWB ACE Provider credits. The New Jersey Professional Counselors Board accepts NBCC-approved CE provider credits.

All Other States Social Workers & Professional Counselors

All other states accept ASWB ACE Provider credits and NBCC-approved CE provider credits. Licensees are responsible for determining whether courses meet the CE requirements in their jurisdictions. States and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for credit.

Florida Certification Board

Clinical Events is approved by the Florida Certification Board (FCB) to offer continuing education programs (Provider # 5527-A).

Canada Social Workers

BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, and QC accept ASWB ACE-approved provider programs to meet licensure renewal requirements.  Licensees are responsible for determining whether courses meet the CE requirements in their province. Provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for credit.

Canada Counsellors

Clinical Events is an NBCC-approved provider.  Licensees are responsible for determining whether courses meet the CE requirements in their province. Provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for credit.

Please contact us if you would like to inquire about applicable approvals for your continuing education (CE) needs.

Each professional is responsible for understanding and meeting the specific CE requirements set by their individual licensing board or regulatory agency. We encourage you to reach out to your licensing body directly to confirm how our programs apply toward your licensure renewal.

Questions:  info@clinicalevents.org

In accordance with continuing education standards and requirements, the presenter discloses that they have no relevant financial relationships, affiliations, or conflicts of interest to report.

0