Advanced CBT: Overcoming Resistance and Treating Complex Cases

Description

This course is a live, interactive webinar held on July 24, 2026, from 11am-5pm Eastern Daylight Time.

This reduced price webinar does not offer CE Credits. The same live event is available for purchase and offers 5 CE hours for behavioral health clinicians.  See "related products" below.

Registration closes at midnight (EDT) the day before the event

Most clinicians are familiar with standard CBT. But many practitioners in the trenches get “stuck" when dealing with clients with complex presentations, “challenging” symptom sets, longstanding problems, and more difficult to treat diagnosis.

Despite the myth that CBT only treats more surface-level problems, the reality is that cognitive-based approaches are amongst the most effective and oftentimes even frontline recommendations for treating what have been considered some of the most difficult to treat conditions, including BPD, Narcissistic and other Personality Disorders, and even paranoia, non-suicidal self-injury, and other cross-cutting symptoms.

Jeff Riggenbach, PhD, trained at The Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia, specifically to collaborate with the purpose of developing a personality disorder treatment program that has now treated over 500 patients with BPD and many individuals with other personality disorders at two facilities over a 15-year period. He has developed a reputation of being an international expert in “difficult to treat” patients and has trained clinicians in all 50 United States and 9 countries around the world on the topic.

Through didactic teaching, case studies, and humor - and drawing from the latest literature, Jeff will walk you through an integrated DBT/CBT/Schema-informed approach to helping you overcome the obstacles you face when treating clients with more difficult to treat conditions.

This course will describe common characteristics that can make a case “complex”, clarify 5 principles vital to have a grasp on when working with clients with longstanding and recurring problems, and present an integrated approach for treating this difficult-to-treat population. You will first learn the 18 maladaptive schemas underlying all deep-seated emotional problems. This will inform later topics, including differentiating a “bipolar “mood swing” from a “borderline mood swing,” discerning motivations for self-harm for appropriate intervention, having “the talk” (explaining the BPD Diagnosis to clients or family members) in a way that reduces defensiveness, and treating personality disorders in way that clients not only get better in short term, but stay well in the long term. The course concludes with a session on CBT for psychosis.

Key Takeaways:

• Advanced Clinical Insights: Get to the “root” of client problems and learn what graduate school didn’t teach you about treating difficult cases.
• Compassionate Psychoeducation: Explain the BPD criteria to clients (and family members) in a way that reduces defensiveness.
• Comprehensive Recovery Strategies: Integrate “top down” with “bottom up” strategies to promote long-term recovery.

Why This Course?

• Enhanced Diagnostic Proficiency: Learn to provide a diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
• Evidence-Based PTSD Care: Debunk myths about exposure-based treatments for PTSD and offer clients first-line treatment recommendations.
• World-Class Instruction: Learn from a trainer who has written a best-selling book on the topic, trained clinicians worldwide, and has 20 years of CBT-based leadership and practice.

Learning Objectives

• Describe 5 characteristics of a “Complex Case”.
• Analyze 3 types of resistance and utilize appropriate interventions for each.
• Discuss the 5 principles vital for treating clients with challenging conditions.
• Demonstrate 4 module skills training for personality-disordered individuals.
• Utilize a case study to assess the integrated treatment of one client with BPD.
• Compare “befriending” with cognitive-based interventions for individuals with psychosis and explain the indications for the usage of each.

Enroll today, and you will leave this training with a schema-informed understanding of how to assess, conceptualize, and treat even your most challenging cases in a way that will help clients with long-standing problems have an improved possibility of not only getting well in the short-term, but staying well in the long-term.

Format and Access

This course is a live, interactive webinar.

Course Details

Schedule: (listed in Eastern Daylight Time)

• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Lecture
• 12:00 pm - 12:05 pm Q&A
• 12:05 pm - 12:15 pm Break
• 12:15 pm - 1:05 pm Lecture
• 1:05 pm - 1:10 pm Q&A
• 1:10 pm - 1:40 pm Lunch
• 1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lecture
• 2:30 pm - 2:40 pm Q&A
• 2:40 pm - 2:50 pm Break
• 2:50 pm - 3:40 pm Lecture
• 3:40 pm - 3:50 pm Q&A
• 3:50 pm - 4:00 pm Break
• 4:00 pm - 4:50 pm Lecture
• 4:50 pm - 5:00 pm Q&A

How to Attend: 

Course access and completion instructions.

Who Should Attend: 

This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.

Teaching Methods: 

This is a live, interactive webinar.

Instructors and Disclosures

Instructor

About Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.

Jeff Riggenbach, PhD, is a best-selling and award-winning author/speaker/clinician who has trained audiences in all 50 United States, Canada, Mexico, The UK, Ireland, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. He has devoted the past 25 years to developing advanced expertise in cognition and personality. He personally trained at The Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy and Research to develop his hospital's Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment Program, which has not treated over 500 patients with BPD across multiple levels of care. He has since developed and directed cognitive-behavioral based programs for Depression, Anxiety Disorders, and Addictive Behavior Disorders. Jeff's approach of taking evidence-based treatments and presenting them in ways that can be used by everyday clinicians "in the trenches" has earned him the nickname "The Practical Toolbox Guy," and his trainings often receive the highest marks from conference participants.

Disclosure Statement: 

The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.

CE Hours

This reduced price webinar does not offer CE credits, just great content.

The same live event is available for purchase and offers 5 CE hours for behavioral health clinicians.  See "related products" below.

Participants may request a printed version of their certificate of attendance to be delivered by mail. A shipping/handling fee of $6.95 will be charged per request. Shipping internationally may require an additional charge.

Agreement

By registering for this event you are agreeing to the following:

• 24 hour notice is required if you are not able to make it to a live event. Recordings are not provided to webinar registrants.
• To update and test using Zoom.us/test before the event to ensure you are ready for the event.
• Since this is a live interactive event it means that your interaction during the event is expected.  Your name and image will be visible to other participants during the live event. You will NOT be included in any recording made.
• An evaluation must be completed within one week of the event. Continuing Education credit(s) cannot be issued unless you attend the event and the evaluation is submitted.  (Evaluation is not mandatory for APA hours)
• Partial CE credits are not possible; therefore you are required to be present throughout the event in order to receive CE credits.
• Respect all other participants during the event as though you would if you were sitting with the other attendees at a conference table:
  • Dress appropriately
  • Be in a private location void of distractions
  • Do not multitask
  • Do not drive during an event
  • Remain on mute unless you are sharing with the group

Accommodations and Policies

Close Captioning is available for live webinars and recorded video presentations.

You can click on the following links to view our policies:

• Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities.
• Cancellation Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Support Options
• Disclosure Statement