From Avoidance to Resilience: Emotional Exposure Strategies for Schools (Series Begins Oct. 5, 2026)

For this webinar series, participants will automatically be enrolled in all 5 sessions.

Speaker

Alex Hirshberg, Psy.D., Hirshberg Behavioral Services, LLC

Description

Coming soon.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must attend all 5 sessions, either live or via the recording, and successfully pass a quiz following Session 5. Within 24 hours of the live webinar, registrants will be emailed a link to view the recorded webinar. The recording will be made available for 7 days after each session. If you are not eligible for PDPs and/or CEUs, you may apply for a Certificate of Attendance.

This session introduces the relationship between emotional discomfort, avoidance, and student functioning in school settings. Participants will explore common emotional antecedents that contribute to distress and dysregulation, including uncertainty, transitions, lack of control, waiting, peer judgment, mistakes, performance demands, and social expectations. The session will examine how well-intentioned adult responses can unintentionally reinforce avoidance patterns and reduce resilience over time.

This session focuses on practical Tier 1 approaches that help students gradually build tolerance to everyday emotional stressors. Participants will learn how classroom routines, participation structures, transitions, collaborative work, productive struggle, and emotional coaching can function as low-intensity emotional exposures that strengthen coping capacity. Emphasis will be placed on creating supportive environments that encourage flexibility and resilience without overwhelming students.

This session provides an overview of evidence-based exposure approaches commonly used in school mental health settings. Participants will learn the rationale and implementation considerations for imaginal exposure, behavioral experiments, interoceptive exposure, emotional exposure, and graduated behavioral exposure. The session will emphasize how exposures can be designed collaboratively, ethically, and developmentally within school environments.

This session examines the role of avoidance in school refusal behavior and chronic absenteeism. Participants will explore how anxiety, reinforcement patterns, family accommodation, and school responses can contribute to escalating avoidance cycles. The session will provide practical guidance for developing exposure-based reintegration plans that increase attendance while supporting emotional regulation and coping skill development.

This session explores the application of emotional exposure principles with students who demonstrate high levels of rigidity, distress related to demands, emotional explosiveness, or extreme avoidance behaviors. Topics will include pathological demand avoidance profiles, autism-related rigidity, intolerance of uncertainty, and challenges related to flexibility and control. Participants will learn strategies for balancing co-regulation, relationship-based support, and gradual tolerance-building without reinforcing chronic avoidance patterns.

About the Speaker

Alex Hirshberg, Psy.D., (he/him) is the founder and executive director of Hirshberg Behavioral Health Services, LLC in Hadley, Massachusetts. Dr. Hirshberg is a clinical psychologist who provides behavioral consultation, professional development, and psychological assessment services to schools across Massachusetts. He also has a small outpatient therapy practice focused on using Cognitive Behavior Therapy for individuals with anxiety and mood disorders. His interest areas include Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) in schools, trauma informed practices, and developing in-district social-emotional programs.

Membership Information

Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.

PDPs and CEUs

MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz.

Event Cancellation Policy

If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.

For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.

 

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All sessions are 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm.

  • Session 1: October 5, 2026, Understanding Avoidance and Emotional Antecedents in Schools
  • Session 2: October 19, 2026, Tier 1 Emotional Exposure Strategies for Classrooms and Schools
  • Session 3: November 2, 2026, School-Based Exposure Interventions: Practical Tools for Counselors and Student Support Staff
  • Session 4: November 16, Addressing School Refusal and Anxiety-Based Avoidance
  • Session 5: November 30, 2026, Special Topics: Demand Avoidance, Rigidity, and Emotional Exposure in Complex Student Profiles