Professor Caleb Lack

02/20/2026

I would love to have you join me next month as I discuss trauma- and stressor-related disorders, like PTSD, reactive attachment disorder, and adjustment disorder, in this webinar!

DSM-5-TR™ for Trauma & Stressor Related Disorders

02/13/2026

It’s Valentine’s Day, which apparently means that all my trainings over at PESI are half off! So don’t break my heart by not learning amazing, evidence based treatments for Tourette’s syndrome and chronic tic disorders, how to make good ethical decisions, or so much more!

https://www.pesi.com/speaker/caleb-lack-2532302

02/10/2026

Grief and grieving are an expected part of being human. However, like all emotions, grief can become something beyond typical, interfering with functioning and causing high levels of impairment. Treating prolonged grief has received more attention since it was listed as a disorder in the DSM-5-TR, and this new study from researchers at Boston University provides some data that a transdiagnostic CBT treatment - the Unified Protocol - can be helpful for those who are struggling.

02/06/2026

One of the frustrating parts of having OCD or treating OCD is that some people just do not seem to respond well to our most well-supported, highly efficacious treatments. These "treatment resistant" folks have minimal or no gains despite undergoing high quality CBT-ERP or when using SSRIs.

In this intriguing new study from researchers in Italy, they found that having untreated OCD for longer than 3.5 years was associated with a significantly lower response rate to SSRI therapy. While we need some replication of this - and to see if there is a similar pattern for those who don't respond to CBT-ERP - these results really emphasize that early detection and treatment of OCD is crucial to success.

02/05/2026

Want more learning? Well come get some over the next few months!

February - ALTOC OCD specialization course (https://altoc.org/especializacionentoc/) and the IOCDF's Pediatric Behavior Therapy Training Institute (https://iocdf.org/professionals/training-institute/about-the-pediatric-btti/)

March - DSM-5-TR Trauma & Stressor-Related Disorders for PESI (https://www.pesi.com/item/dsm5tr-trauma-stressor-related-disorders-165330)

April - EITOC 2026 (three day intensive training on OCD) in Lima, Peru - https://altoc.org/eitoc2026/

May - Oklahoma Counseling Institute's Summer Super Summit (https://summersupersummit.com/)

And a reminder - you can always get on demand trainings from me at several places, for ethics, tics and Tourette's, Written Exposure Therapy, and more! (https://www.pesi.com/speaker/caleb-lack-2532302 and https://learn.thecenterforemotionalhealth.com/collections?q=caleb+lack)

02/04/2026

In case you missed it, the American Psychiatric Association has released the first of many papers from it's Future DSM Strategic Committee working groups. In it, we see the subcommittees holding forth on questions with easy answer (such as "Are functioning and quality of life essential elements of a complete psychiatric diagnosis?" - Answer: Yes, and we need more standard ways of assessing them), but grappling with changes that could include some very controversial ones not well supported by the research (such as emphasizing "biomarkers" for what are, at heart, socially constructed disorders).

I'd highly recommend reading the reports, regardless of your thoughts on the DSM and diagnosis generally.

02/02/2026

¡Únase a nosotros en Lima este abril para EITOC 2026!

(Enlace en los comentarios)

02/01/2026

In case you need some good laughs this weekend, maybe check out these “highlights” from my time grading college freshmen papers a few years ago.

(Link in the comments)

01/30/2026

Did you know that you can get FREE learning and CEUs thanks to Sheppard Pratt? They have an incredible library of 1 to 1.5 hour short courses you can take at no cost. It includes many on anxiety and OCD, including my talk on anger and rage. Check out their website and start learning!

01/24/2026

Very interesting new research out of several clinical labs in Germany. In it, they conducted CBT on patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia (CBT is our most well supported treatment for PD/AG), but half the group received modified treatment to increase their fear activation during ERP work (that is, additional interoceptive exposure to bodily anxiety symptoms). Follow up showed that both arms of treatment were highly effective, but that there was no difference in treatment outcome. In other words, higher self-reported fear and distress during ERP exercises did NOT result in better outcomes for those with panic disorder and agoraphobia.

These (and other findings in the article) are in line with an inhibitory learning model of how ERP works, and additionally point to the fact that we as clinicians must take into account HOW we do ERP, adjusting for different populations (phobias vs. OCD vs. panic disorder, for instance) in order to get the most potential benefit.

01/23/2026

It's always gratifying to see your work reaching people across the globe. Most weeks for the past 5 years (including this one), I've been the most read author on ResearchGate from my university. If you're looking for some information on OCD, PTSD, ethics, or pseudoscience, go check it out!