Homestudy Program: Anything less than your best is unacceptable: Deconstructing maladaptive perfectionism (S. Cunningham, orig. 11.19.2020)
4/24/2023 - 12/31/2050
Location: Virtual Event
Event Description
We are pleased that you are interested in IPA's (new for 2021) Homestudy Continuing Education Programs!
This process is straightforward: Watch the recording. Complete the evaluation and pass the short test. Receive CE certificate via email.
After registering you will receive a confirmation email, including a critical link and confirmation code. At the very bottom of the email message, you will find an Attendee Confirmation Code for (name) and a link to Log in to event portal at (link). Once logged in, you will see instructions and links to the recording as well as the evaluation and test.
Enjoy!
Originally offered as:
IPA 2020 Virtual Fall Conference
1.5 Hour of Category I CE credit Thursday, November 19th, 2020, 1:15 - 2:45 p.m. ET
Anything less than your best is unacceptable: Deconstructing maladaptive perfectionism
Striving to perform at our absolute best at all times may seem like a laudable goal, but there is a difference between aiming for this result and expecting it as the default outcome. Contexts and cultures with a high focus on competition and achievement, where this is also accompanied by a commensurate emphasis on the unacceptability of failure, tend to foster a set of attitudes and behaviors that are typically described as “being a perfectionist.” Although this concept holds somewhat of a positive connotation in the broader American culture, it is often far from benign in its implications. Maladaptive perfectionism is the result of an achievement-oriented mindset calcifying into rigid, unrealistic self-expectations that inevitably promote feelings of shame, inadequacy, and demoralization. This presentation will deconstruct the concept of maladaptive perfectionism, including its roots, its impact, and its negative consequences. We will address the distinction between maladaptive and adaptive perfectionism, including the implications of these attitudes for performance, achievement, and self-concept. Extant research on perfectionism will be discussed in which we will explore the link between maladaptive perfectionism and a range of negative wellness-related outcomes, including those that might seem less immediately intuitive, such as physical health, impairment in interpersonal functioning, and risk for suicide. The presentation will include content on the mental health implications of shifting to an adaptive perfectionist mindset, as well as review of strategies for change when working with clients who demonstrate traits and behaviors indicative of maladaptive perfectionism.
Learning Objectives:
By completing this program, participants will able to:
1. distinguish between maladaptive and adaptive forms of perfectionism
2. describe some of the negative implications/outcomes associated with holding a maladaptive perfectionistic mindset
3. identify intervention strategies for changing beliefs and behaviors associated with maladaptive perfectionism
4. explain how maladaptive perfectionism may have different presentations and/or implications for individuals from diverse identities and backgrounds
Presenter: Stephanie J. Cunningham, Ph.D., HSPP Dr. Stephanie J. Cunningham serves as a psychologist in the Department of Mental Health Services in the Indiana University School of Medicine. Her work focuses on providing direct clinical care to the School of Medicine’s wide range of medical learners, including medical students, graduate students, and physicians completing their residency and fellowship training. Prior to joining the IU School of Medicine she served as Staff Psychologist in the Counseling Center at the University of Southern Indiana, where she provided psychotherapy services, consultation, supervision, administration of the Counseling Center's outreach and programming initiatives, and coordination of the Center's clinical training program for master's-level graduate students. She earned her master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Morehead State University and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology as well as a graduate certificate in Women's Studies at the University of Akron. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Counseling Center at Ball State University.
Dr. Stephanie Cunningham
Special Note to Conference Attendees
The Indiana Psychological Association (IPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Indiana Psychological Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Indiana State Psychology Board and Indiana Behavioral Health Board:
IPA is an approved provider of Category I continuing education for psychologists.
IPA is an approved provider of Category I continuing education for LSW, LCSW, LMFT, LMHC, LMFTA, LCAC and LAC.
Licensees must judge the program’s relevance to their professional practice.
Please note that APA rules require that credit be given only to those who attend the entire workshop. Those arriving more than 15 minutes after the scheduled start time or leaving early will not receive CE credits. Partial credit cannot be given. We ask that all participants complete the post-program evaluation form and homestudy test at the conclusion of the program. Dr. Cunningham and IPA have not received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.
CE certificates will be distributed via email within two weeks after a passing test (75+%) is submitted.
