Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
Identifying anxiety in a client is rarely the hard part. Identifying which anxiety disorder is, and it matters, because generalised anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety, a specific phobia, selective mutism, agoraphobia and panic disorder do not get treated the same way. Get it wrong and you can spend months applying something that was never going to fit.
Amanda Petrik-Gardner works through all seven from the DSM-5, and she goes past the criteria to what each one sounds like in a room. Where the line falls between developmentally normal separation anxiety and a disorder. Which phobias come from an incident and which arrive out of nowhere. Where anxiety presentations overlap with autism, which she has worked with directly. And where a reasonable reaction to a difficult life situation gets labelled as a disorder and medicated.
The afternoon is treatment, and it is practical rather than descriptive. Cognitive behavioural models applied to each presentation, Socratic questioning, thought records, and cost-benefit analysis used to help a client see for themselves what their coping strategy is costing them. Two relaxation techniques taught properly. Activity scheduling and the link between behaviour and mood. Then exposure across the whole category, with hierarchies built for social anxiety, phobias and panic. She began her career in anxiety with children, including under-sixes, so the child and adolescent material is not an afterthought.
You’ll walk away with
- Diagnostic criteria for all seven anxiety disorders, and what each one actually sounds like in session
- Differential diagnosis: separating the disorders from each other, and from a proportionate reaction to circumstances
- Where separation anxiety is developmentally normal and where it stops being so
- Cognitive behavioural models mapped to each presentation
- Socratic questioning and thought records, demonstrated rather than described
- Cost-benefit analysis so a client can see what a coping strategy is costing them and choose differently
- Two relaxation techniques taught in enough depth to use on Monday
- Activity scheduling and making the behaviour and mood connection visible to a client
- Building exposure hierarchies for social anxiety, phobias and panic, with worked examples
- Anxiety in children and adolescents, from preschool age up, throughout rather than as a separate section
- Overlap with autism presentations, and what transfers
Watch the course trailer
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Where this sits: the broadest of Amanda Petrik-Gardner’s clinical courses and the natural starting point. Her OCD course takes exposure work considerably further, and More than Just a Bad Habit covers body-focused repetitive behaviours.
Course Duration: 6 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
When clients with OCD, anxiety disorders, and body-focused repetitive behaviors need evidence-based treatment that actually works, clinicians refer to Amanda Petrik-Gardner. Her specialised expertise in exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral interventions gives practitioners proven methods to help clients break free from the most stubborn anxiety patterns.
Licensed across eight states with over a decade in private practice, Petrik-Gardner has built her reputation on delivering concrete results for conditions that often resist traditional therapy approaches. Her deep training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Inference-Based CBT, and the Comprehensive Behavioral Model makes her a go-to resource for clinicians treating OCD, trichotillomania, skin picking, hoarding, and complex anxiety presentations.
What sets her training apart is practical application. Petrik-Gardner doesn't just teach theo - she shows clinicians exactly how to implement ERP protocols, structure exposure hierarchies, and navigate the challenging moments when clients want to avoid or seek reassurance. Her specialised knowledge spans everything from panic disorder and social anxiety to body dysmorphic disorder and selective mutism, giving practitioners comprehensive tools for anxiety spectrum conditions.
Her approach combines rigorous evidence-based methods with compassionate understanding of how these disorders impact daily life. She teaches clinicians to recognise the subtle ways OCD and BFRBs present, how to differentiate between anxiety disorders that look similar, and most importantly, how to help clients build lasting recovery skills.
For your practice, expect to gain specific ERP techniques for different OCD subtypes, practical strategies for treating body-focused repetitive behaviors, and clear protocols for helping clients with hoarding behaviors. Her methods help clinicians feel confident treating conditions they may have previously referred out.
Quick Win: Petrik-Gardner's approach to compulsive reassurance seeking - teaching both clients and their support systems how to respond differently to anxiety - helps to create immediate relief and faster treatment progress.
Qualifications
- M.S., Counseling Psychology, University of Kansas, 2008
- B.A., Psychology, Kansas State University, 2006
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (Kansas, Maine)
- Licensed Professional Counselor (Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Arizona)
- Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner (Nebraska)
- Approved out-of-state telehealth provider (Florida)
Authored Books
- The Compulsive Reassurance Seeking Workbook (2024)
Featured & Recognition
- Creator, OCD Exposure Coloring Books (2021)
- Guest, OCD Family Podcast (2024)
- Active YouTube and Instagram mental health educator (2022–2025)
Teaching & Roles
- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Private Practice, Topeka, KS and Telehealth, 2015–present
- IOCDF Conference presenter (multiple years)
- Professional webinar presenter (2022–2025)
- Licensed Clinical Outpatient Therapist, Stormont Vail, Topeka, KS, 2014–2016
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 5
- Topics 0
- Duration 6 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English