Dr. Sauer-Zavala is a Research Assistant Professor in Boston University’s Psychological and Brain Sciences department. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky and she completed her predoctoral internship at Duke University and her postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University. Dr. Sauer-Zavala’s research is focused on identifying emotional factors that are important in the development and maintenance of a range of mental disorders. She is also interested in using information gleaned from her basic psychopathology research to develop streamlined, easily-disseminated interventions that directly target the factors that maintain disorder symptoms. In particular, Dr. Sauer-Zavala is interested in treatment development for borderline personality disorder. She is currently supported by an NIMH funded career development award aimed at identifying discrete treatment strategies that engage putative mechanisms engaging borderline personality disorder Additionally, as the Director of Education and Training for the Unified Protocol, Dr. Sauer-Zavala is interested in identifying best practices for disseminating empirically-supported treatments.

Learning Objectives:  At the conclusion of this lecture, participants will be able to:

Describe the rationale for focusing on transdiagnostic temperamental vulnerabilities in the treatment of common mental disorders, rather than focusing on disorder symptoms.
Understand the literature on the malleability of temperament across time and in response to treatment.
Summarize the Unified Protocol approach to address temperament, particularly neuroticism, in treatment. 

Light refreshments will be served. 

Continuing Education Credit:  The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.  The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.  Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours.  In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference.  WPIC is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists.  WPIC maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.  This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits. 

For more information regarding this lecture, please contact Beth Fyne (email: fynee@upmc.edu; Telephone: 412-246-5546).

Please visit our web site at www.psychiatry.pitt.edu for more information on lectures and educational events sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry.