Pricing

Non-Members; $50
NYMHCA Members: $40

Continuing Education Credits

NYS LMHCs: 2.0 CE hours
NYS LMSWs and LCSWS: 2.0 CE hours
NYS LMFTs: 2.0 CE hours
NYS Licensed Psychologists: 2.0 Contact hours
NYS CASAC, CPP, CPS, CASAC-G, CPP-G, and CPGC renewal: 2.0 CE hours
NBCC Certified Professionals: 2.0 CE hours

(This is a LIVE VIRTUAL event. Access to a recording will not be available.)

Presented by

Andrew Blizard, LMHC, LPC

Social isolation and loneliness is an epidemic in the United States. In this presentation, we will review the current literature on the effects and prevalence of social isolation, drawing from the 2023 U.S. Surgeon General’s report titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” which discusses trends in social connectedness among Americans. The presentation will focus on the physiological and psychological health risks of prolonged social isolation. Additionally, we will examine how loneliness and social isolation affect individuals across the lifespan from childhood through older adults. Multicultural considerations will also be discussed, including the impact of social disconnection on marginalized groups. The presentation will also address how social isolation interacts with and exacerbates various mental health diagnoses, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders. We will cover clinical strategies for assessing and addressing social isolation in therapy. Attendees will review quantitative tools (e.g., Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale) as well as qualitative assessment approaches to explore clients’ levels of social connectedness. Evidence-based interventions will be presented, including helping clients become more socially connected and challenging maladaptive social cognitions. Along with therapeutic interventions, we will discuss a call for systemic changes to community infrastructure, public policy, and cultural norms to combat the growing trends of social isolation.

Learning Objectives:
As a result of attending this course, learners will be able to:

1. Identify the physiological health risks correlated with social isolation.

2. Describe the relationship between social connectedness and mental health conditions like depression, substance use disorders, and anxiety disorders.

3. Understand how social disconnection and isolation impact people across the lifespan.

4. Summarize evidence based interventions for helping socially isolated or lonely clients.

About Andrew Blizard

Andrew Blizard is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York who works with adolescents, adults and families in his Hudson Valley based private practice. He has worked in hospital, university, and outpatient clinical practices throughout his career, focused primarily with substance use disorders. In recent years and post-COVID, his work has focused more on social connectedness and loneliness patterns, and how to offer interventions on these issues for various populations.