CBT for procrastination: New perspectives in mental health

Procrastination is a frequent concern that clients bring to their therapists. Our digitally connected societies are increasingly becoming task oriented. We have ‘project-like’ expectations for starting and completing tasks. On one hand, procrastination is an innocuous behaviour, which is part of everyday living, yet on the other hand, it can become a generalized pattern which affects one or several important areas of life. The therapist also needs to separate procrastination as a problem in itself from procrastination which is a part of different mental health conditions.

In this interactive training, Dr. Sanjay Rao will review recent literature on procrastination outlining common patterns, causes, and presentations in therapy practice. The links between procrastination and mental health will be included in the decision-making process to effectively manage this problem.

There is plenty of pithy social media wisdom on managing procrastination. This training will go beyond that to teach a systematic protocol that can be applied in different areas of life such as work, home, educational institutions, and more.

Learning objectives:

• History and background: When did procrastination become a problem?
• Typology and causes of procrastination
• Psychological understanding of procrastination and treating a disorder without a diagnosis
• A protocol approach to treating procrastination