Unified CBT for Health Anxiety

This course will review the phenomenology and DSM-5 diagnoses of Health Anxiety. The CBT approach and evidence will be discussed. Attendees will work with a step by step protocol with suitable modifications to address health conditions.

Health or illness anxiety is often a challenge for therapists and family physicians. They have a significant co-morbidity with mental health disorders and medical conditions. Not managing these conditions can lead to disability and increased cost of healthcare due to frequent presentations, investigations and treatments. Avoiding unwarranted treatments is crucial to improving the clients’ wellbeing.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a well-established treatment for health anxiety, but a generic CBT approach may not yield success. Treatment of these conditions requires knowledge of CBT specific to these disorders.

Dr. Sanjay Rao is an experienced teacher and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa; in 2018, he was awarded a Fellowship of the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioural therapy for his contribution to CBT in Canada. He has received an award from the Department of Health in the United Kingdom for CBT development. He is the Director of the Unified CBT Academy.

Dr. Rao has trained in CBT, DBT, Mindfulness-based therapies, and strength focussed coaching. He has expertise in both psychological and pharmacological treatment of mental health conditions. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrist (UK) and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Canada). He has delivered over 250 workshops in Cognitive behavioural therapies, presented in national, international conferences and published in several scientific journals.

Since 2011 he has helped the province of Nova Scotia develop Cognitive Behavioural Therapy implementation by training and supervising therapists across the province. He has also served as an executive member of the Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy along with various management position such as Co-Chair of Chiefs of Psychiatrists in Nova Scotia, Clinical Director of The Mood and Anxiety Program at the Royal Ottawa Hospital and Clinical Lead of Improving Access to Structured Psychotherapy in Ottawa.

Dr. Rao is involved in research concerning distance delivery of CBT through technology as well as workplace mental health using CBT and problem-solving approaches. He is an active clinician delivering CBT in collaborative care settings.

He trains and supervises multidisciplinary teams including physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists and counsellors.

Course attendees will receive a certificate of attendance from the Dept of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa.

Registrant Cancellation Refund Policy:

A full refund minus a 50$ administration fee will be issued for all cancellations requested at least 2 weeks prior to the course

A 50% refund will be issued for all cancellations that are within 2 weeks of the course

All tickets are transferable; to transfer your ticket to another person please contact us at: [email protected]

Unified CBT reserves the right to cancel this workshop at its discretion. In the unlikely event, a workshop must be cancelled or rescheduled, workshop fees will be refunded at 100%. Unified CBT including its coordinators, agents and/or trainers, hold no financial responsibility for any related additional costs including travel or accommodation costs incurred by the registrant. Thank you for your understanding.

Host or Publisher DR SANJAY RAO, CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST, UNIFIED CBT TRAINING