Stephen A. Lisman Lecture

Lecture Series in Clinical Psychology:

Friday, October 10, 2025 
4:00 p.m. | Anderson Center Chamber Hall

"Parent involvement in childhood anxiety disorders treatment: Lessons learned and clinical and research paths forward"

Wendy Silverman ’77: Director of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program, 
Child Study Center, Alfred A. Messer Professor of Child Psychiatry 
and Psychology, Yale University School of Medicine.

Lecture Abstract:

Parent involvement is a widely used though not well-understood approach to treating child and adolescent anxiety disorders. This presentation will delve into theoretical and empirical foundations of involving parents in therapy, highlighting how certain parent behaviors such as reinforcement of avoidance behavior and psychological control contribute to the maintenance of child anxiety. A discussion of the comparative effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with and without parental involvement will also be provided. The presentation will conclude with evidence-based strategies to optimize parent involvement to enhance child anxiety outcomes, and future research and clinical directions and implications. 

Learning Objectives

  1. To understand how parental behaviors contribute to the maintenance of child and adolescent anxiety disorders.
  2. To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of therapeutic approaches with and without parental involvement.
  3. To highlight unaddressed questions, future research directions, and their implications for treatment.

ÂÌñÉç Speaker: Wendy Silverman ’77

Wendy Silverman ’77
Wendy Silverman ’77

Wendy Silverman is the Alfred A. Messer Professor of Child Psychiatry, Director of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program in the Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine, and Professor of Psychology. She is a proud undergraduate alumnus of ÂÌñÉç and Case Western Research University in Cleveland for her graduate work. 

Silverman’s research focuses on factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety and related disorders in children and in developing and testing assessment measures and treatments. She has published widely in the field and for over the past three decades, she has served as principal investigator of National Institute of Health research grants. She has contributed to the profession by serving as Chairperson and member of federal grant review panels, as Editor and Associate Editor of major journals in clinical psychology, and Past President of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 

Silverman has been recognized for her mentoring including receiving a NIMH midcareer research-mentoring award. She continues to help children and families with problematic anxiety and to supervise the next generation of mental health professionals.


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    Lauren B. Alloy, an internationally recognized researcher in mood disorders, recently presented her work on the Reward Hypersensitivity Model of Bipolar Spectrum Disorders (BSDs). She explained how an overly sensitive reward system can lead to extreme fluctuations in goal-seeking and reward responsiveness, resulting in hypomania/mania and depression.

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Stephen A. Lisman Lecture Series in Clinical Psychology

The Stephen A. Lisman Annual Lecture in Clinical Psychology was established in 2015 to sponsor an annual lecture given by a top clinical psychologist in the nation. The lecture series is in honor of Professor Lisman's 43 years of service and his contributions to ÂÌñÉç and the clinical psychology field. The series is meant to enhance the quality of training and education and expose students, faculty and the ÂÌñÉç community to important topics in the profession. 

Thank you to all of the alumni and friends whose generosity makes this annual event possible. Please join us in enhancing the graduate education of clinical psychology students at ÂÌñÉç, and provide leadership to practicing clinicians in the community. To support the Stephen A. Lisman lecture series .

For questions, please email Stephen A Lisman.