- Examine the empirical evidence supporting the use of Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and related conditions.
- Employ the 12-session CPT treatment protocol in its entirety, including assessments, handouts, scripts, and homework assignments.
- Utilize clinical strategies and evidence-based assessments to identify traumatic events and potential co-morbid conditions.
- Utilize psychoeducation to help clients understand the impact of trauma, normalize their experience, and identify areas where they are “stuck”.
- Assess for and challenge the client’s assimilated beliefs related to the traumatic event.
- Differentiate between the client’s thoughts and feelings versus facts regarding the traumatic event.
- Distinguish among the 5 themes of trauma; determine which are most prevalent for the client.
- Evaluate the client’s progress at the mid-point of CPT treatment using evidence-based assessments.
- Implement clinical strategies to help the client identify maladaptive coping skills.
- Construct a comprehensive CPT aftercare plan for the client to follow once treatment has ended.
- Integrate specific therapeutic strategies to address client resistance, non-adherence, or lack of progress in CPT treatment.
- Develop CPT skills to apply to special client populations including sexual abuse survivors and those with brain injuries, low intelligence, and/or dementia.
This is your opportunity to get trained in what is widely considered to be one of the best practices for the treatment of PTSD, directly by one of it’s developers… absolutely FREE!
Endorsed by the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, and the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based approach to treating trauma that helps clients:
- Understand why recovery from traumatic events is difficult and how symptoms affect daily life
- Reduce distress related to memories of the trauma
- Decrease emotional numbing and avoidance of trauma reminders
- Improve day-to-day living by decreasing depression, anxiety, guilt or shame
This FREE 2-day intensive training taught by CPT co-developer Dr. Kathleen Chard will encompass every step of the highly structured, 12-session cognitive treatment approach from start to finish - complete with opportunities to practice, ask questions, and receive constructive feedback from both your peers and Dr. Chard herself!
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*CE credit is available for an additional cost.
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FREE Live Online Training
2-Day Intensive Training - Cognitive Processing Therapy:
An Evidence-Based Approach to Treat PTSD and Related Conditions
An Evidence-Based Approach to Treat PTSD and Related Conditions
March 9 & 10, 2026 from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Central
Can't attend live? Register anyway for 14-day FREE ACCESS to the training!
*After you register, upgrade to receive up to 18.75 CE hours.
*After you register, upgrade to receive up to 18.75 CE hours.
Designed to prepare you to use CPT right away, this training will equip you with session-by-session instructions, scripts, worksheets, and handouts to help move your clients from suffering and despair to hope and healing. You’ll learn:
- The who, when and how of CPT
- Powerful cognitive restructuring skills to help clients overcome ways of thinking that keep them “stuck”
- Effective ways to utilize structure and consistency to help clients become their own CPT therapist
- How to help clients release themselves from shame, guilt and blame about the trauma
- And more!
Don’t miss this opportunity to train with one of the leading trauma experts in the field – all with no risk to you!
Register for FREE today!
Meet Your Speaker!
Kathleen M. Chard, PhD
Kathleen M. Chard, PhD, is a co-developer of CPT and director of the Trauma Recovery Center at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. Serving as the VA CPT Implementation Director, Dr. Chard oversees the dissemination of CPT to mental health clinicians across the United States. She is the co-author of Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Model (The Guilford Press, 2017) and author of CPT for Sexual Abuse Treatment Manual (2012). A sought-after speaker, Dr. Chard has personally trained over 5,000 clinicians throughout the United States on using CPT with veterans, active duty personnel, and civilians in addition to overseeing the training of tens of thousands of others via the trainers she supervises.
Take a peek at your exclusive bonus packages!
Take your event experience to a new level with our exclusive upgrade package that includes CE credit, access to the program recording, PLUS the bonus training “Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Groups” (valued at $249.99) and a 1-year digital Psychotherapy Networker subscription (valued at $139.99) all for one low price!
An $849.97 value... today just $99.99!
Live Upgrade Package
✔ Up to 12.5 LIVE CE hours
✔ Up to 6.25 self-study CE hours
✔ 14-day recording access
✔ 1-year digital Psychotherapy Networker Subscription
✔ Up to 12.5 LIVE CE hours
✔ Up to 6.25 self-study CE hours
✔ 14-day recording access
✔ 1-year digital Psychotherapy Networker Subscription
Self-Study Upgrade Package
✔ Up to 18.75 self-study CE hours
✔ 30-day recording access
✔ 1-year digital Psychotherapy Networker Subscription
✔ Up to 18.75 self-study CE hours
✔ 30-day recording access
✔ 1-year digital Psychotherapy Networker Subscription
FREE Live Online Training
2-Day Intensive Training - Cognitive Processing Therapy:
An Evidence-Based Approach to Treat PTSD and Related Conditions
An Evidence-Based Approach to Treat PTSD and Related Conditions
March 9 & 10, 2026 from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Central
Can't attend live? Register anyway for 14-day FREE ACCESS to the training!
*After you register, upgrade to receive up to 18.75 CE hours.
*After you register, upgrade to receive up to 18.75 CE hours.
Schedule for the Day
All times are U.S. Central
All times are U.S. Central
8:00 - 9:45 am – Program Opening & Morning Session
9:45 - 10:00 am – Morning Break*
10:00 - 11:50 am – Morning Session (Cont.)
11:50 am - 1:00 pm – Lunch Break*
1:00 - 2:15 pm – Afternoon Session
2:15 - 2:30 pm – Afternoon Break*
2:30 - 4:00 pm – Afternoon Session (Cont.) & Closing
*Break start times are approximate
Here’s a peek at what you’ll learn:
WHAT IS COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY (CPT)?
TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS: SETTING THE STAGE CLINICALLY
ARE YOU READY TO DELIVER CPT?
SESSION 1: OVERVIEW OF PTSD AND CPT
SESSIONS 2 & 3: CONNECTING EVENTS, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
SESSIONS 4 & 5: PROCESSING THE TRAUMATIC EVENT
SESSIONS 6 & 7: LEARNING TO SELF-CHALLENGE
SESSIONS 8, 9 & 10: SAFETY, TRUST AND POWER/CONTROL
SESSIONS 10, 11, 12 & AFTERCARE: ESTEEM, INTIMACY AND FACING THE FUTURE
CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS
- The evolution of the approach – and why that matters today
- CPT and CPT+A
- Empirical evidence supporting CPT
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
- Structure: Review, content, check in, assignment
TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS: SETTING THE STAGE CLINICALLY
- The who, when and how of CPT
- How to gather trauma history to identify the index event
- Assessment: PCL-5 and PHQ-9, co-morbidities and risk of harm
- Family involvement considerations
- Discerning between assimilated and overaccommodated beliefs
- Balancing structure with ongoing case conceptualization and flexibility
ARE YOU READY TO DELIVER CPT?
- Core competencies of the CPT therapist
- Common areas of therapist uncertainty: client readiness, using a manualized approach and more
- CPT errors most clinicians make (and what to do about them)
SESSION 1: OVERVIEW OF PTSD AND CPT
- Explaining PTSD symptom clusters (and how they interact) in an understandable way
- PTSD as a problem of non-recovery; why people get “stuck”
- Cognitive theory within the context of trauma
- How CPT will help clients move forward
- “Stuck Points” and the Impact Statement
SESSIONS 2 & 3: CONNECTING EVENTS, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS
- What are “Stuck Points” and how do I identify them?
- Introduction of trauma-related ABC model
- Identification and labeling of emotions (accurately)
- Differentiating between thoughts, feelings and facts
- “I think” v. “I feel”
- Listening for logic, proportion and patterns
- Challenging assimilated cognitions
SESSIONS 4 & 5: PROCESSING THE TRAUMATIC EVENT
- A deeper dive into assimilated beliefs
- Differentiating among intention, responsibility and the unforeseeable
- 80/20 rule for clarifying v. examining evidence
- Getting to the feelings under the thoughts/assumptions
- Introduction of “Challenging Questions” worksheet
- Identification of patterns of problematic thinking
SESSIONS 6 & 7: LEARNING TO SELF-CHALLENGE
- Conduct treatment midpoint assessments
- What to do if progress is minimal at this point
- Introduction of Challenging Beliefs worksheet
- 5 themes of trauma – safety, trust, power/control, esteem and intimacy
SESSIONS 8, 9 & 10: SAFETY, TRUST AND POWER/CONTROL
- Safety: Addressing generalized fears and safety obsessions; exploring probability and likelihood
- Trust beliefs related to self v. others
- Examining the continuum of power and control
- Possible resolutions to negative beliefs about trust, power and control
SESSIONS 10, 11, 12 & AFTERCARE: ESTEEM, INTIMACY AND FACING THE FUTURE
- Examining beliefs about self-worth and capabilities
- Challenging overgeneralizations about groups of people based on the trauma
- Self-intimacy and intimacy with others
- Addressing maladaptive attempts to self-soothe
- Comparing the original impact statement with the new one
- Review of treatment, goals for the future, aftercare planning
CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS
- Nonadherence to treatment: do’s and don’ts
- Variations on CPT
- CPT in a group setting, specifically for sexual abuse
- Issues in working with different types of trauma
- Trauma among clients with brain injuries, low intelligence, or aging/dementia
- PTSD complicated by grief
- Trauma in adolescence; its effects on other developmental periods
- Diversity and cross-cultural adaptations
FREE Live Online Training
2-Day Intensive Training - Cognitive Processing Therapy:
An Evidence-Based Approach to Treat PTSD and Related Conditions
An Evidence-Based Approach to Treat PTSD and Related Conditions
March 9 & 10, 2026 from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Central
Can't attend live? Register anyway for 14-day FREE ACCESS to the training!
*After you register, upgrade to receive up to 18.75 CE hours.
*After you register, upgrade to receive up to 18.75 CE hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
PESI offers several free training courses every year on the most current and effective approaches in therapy. It's our way of giving back to our community of clinicians who are doing such important work in the world.
This event is free to attend, however, if you would like to earn CE credit, be sure to click the "Add CE" tab in your portal after registering. Enter your credit card information and complete the upgrade to become eligible to earn CE for attending this event. It's that easy!
Yes! This training is designed for:
- Psychologists
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Addictions Professionals
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Psychotherapists
- Case Managers
- Physicians
- Other Mental Health Professionals
If you would like to be a part of this event but you are unable to attend live, you can sign up for free and receive 14 days of access to the event recording to watch on your own. You can also purchase the self-study version of the training and receive 30 days of access to the event recording to complete whenever is most convenient for you. Earn up to 18.75 CE credits with either option!
Yes, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with Dr. Chard live during the training. This ensures you get the most out of this educational experience.
There is no obligation or commitment required when registering for the free training. It's an opportunity for you to learn and explore CPT therapy strategies at no cost.
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