Assessment of Mood-Dysregulated Adolescents and Adults
$45.00
Mood dysregulation is a symptom that is present in a variety of disorders, particularly trauma-based and anxiety disorders. It can be challenging for clinicians to understand and manage dysregulated mood since it can present as irritability, mood swings, and angry outbursts, which can challenge the therapeutic relationship. This training will provide information to assess better mood dysregulation and how it may present itself differently in various disorders and discuss therapeutic challenges and strategies to address them.
Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to:
- Identify mood dysregulation in adolescents and adults, particularly better understanding the role of mood dysregulation in trauma disorders, conduct and personality disorders, mood disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Understand Disruptive Mood Dysregulation disorder in adolescence, why it was included in the DSM 5 as a better explanation of many youth mood disorders than Bipolar disorder, and how it manifests itself over the life course.
- Analyze therapeutic challenges of mood dysregulation, such as irritability and anger towards providers and concerns about safety and self-harm.
Social workers completing this course receive 3 Clinical asynchronous continuing education credits.
For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 3 hours of Clinical and General Skill Building continuing education training.
Course Instructor: Jillian Graves, LCSW, Ph.D.
Recording Date: 2/29/2024
Recorded Live Webinar with downloadable presentation slides and/or handouts, evaluation, and a required quiz. The learner is required to pass with a 70% or higher to achieve the CE certificate of completion. The learner is able to reset the test until a satisfactory score is achieved. CE Training Workshops, LLC, provider #1770, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/2/2022 – 8/2/2025. CE Training Workshops, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7091. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CE Training Workshops, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. System Requirements: Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Safari, Edge on any modern operating system (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS). A desktop browser is recommended. We do not provide support resources for issues encountered using a mobile device. For more information about our policies and board approval statements, please visit our FAQS page.
Jillian Graves, LCSW, Ph.D. is an associate professor at Eastern Michigan University in the School of Social Work. She is currently the co-director of the IPE Center in the College of Health and Human Services.
Assessment of Mood Dysregulation in Adolescents and Adults (3 HR) Syllabus
I. Understanding Emotion and Regulation
- Emotions involve subjective experience, physiological, and behavioral responses
- Emotion regulation is the ability to manage internal states in socially adaptive ways
- Dysregulation impairs emotional control and contributes to psychopathology
- Emotional regulation improves across adolescence into adulthood
II. Causes and Contributors to Dysregulation
- Root causes: attachment disruption, neuropsychological vulnerabilities, trauma
- Dysregulation includes emotional intensity, duration, and frequency issues
- ADHD, PTSD, and Conduct Disorder can present with interoceptive awareness challenges
- Emotional dysregulation interacts with environmental stressors and internal coping limits
III. Diagnosing Mood Dysregulation in Youth
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) added to DSM-5 to differentiate from pediatric bipolar disorder
- Key symptoms: severe tantrums, chronic irritability, impairment across settings
- High comorbidity with ODD, ASD, ADHD, and unipolar depression
- DBT-C and parent involvement are effective treatment strategies
IV. Emotional Intensity, Duration, and Frequency
- Over- and underreaction seen in disorders such as social anxiety and antisocial behavior
- Duration issues highlighted in Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD
- Frequency disturbances noted in Intermittent Explosive Disorder and PDD
- Assessing these aspects is critical for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning
V. Interoceptive Awareness and Regulation
- Dysregulation often linked to misinterpretation of internal signals
- ADHD associated with hypersensitivity to bodily and environmental cues
- Implications for other disorders where emotional reactivity is distorted
- Enhancing awareness supports self-regulation development
VI. Therapeutic Alliance and Treatment Resistance
- Therapeutic relationship provides safety and co-regulation
- Clients may test clinicians through boundary-pushing or hostility
- Alliance quality is a predictor of therapeutic outcomes
- Clinicians must manage emotional reactions and maintain stability
VII. Control-Mastery and Client Testing
- Clients assess therapist safety through transference and passive-aggressive tests
- Guilt and shame are common in client dynamics: disloyalty, burden, omnipotence, survivor guilt
- Self-harm or aggression may be expressions of internalized pathogenic beliefs
- Holding space for testing without defensiveness fosters healing
VIII. Managing High-Risk Clients
- Clinician burnout, frustration, and countertransference are common
- Myth of omniscience leads to guilt or withdrawal in challenging cases
- Clinicians must accept uncertainty and use supervision/team support
- Education in DBT and emotional regulation frameworks improves confidence
IX. Clinical Tools and Program Models
- “Clinician Connections” model trains providers in emotional dysregulation awareness
- Structured programs mirror DBT: mindfulness, validation, problem-solving
- Parallel process: helping clinicians regulate improves client outcomes
- Team-based care supports both client and provider emotional safety
X. Skills for Emotional Regulation and Reframing
- DBT skills: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional awareness
- Reframing client behavior through a trauma-informed lens
- Journaling, self-reflection, and supervision support clinician self-awareness
- Emphasis on compassion, persistence, and growth in the therapeutic process
