In November 2025, 4th year PhD student Leila Sachner presented her poster "Just Do It: The Influence of Invalidation on Anxiety and Willingness to be Stressed" at the Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Conference in New Orleans, LA, USA. This poster presented findings from Leila's masters thesis examining the influences of validating and invalidating responses on anxiety. Results suggested that perceived invalidation in close relationships was linked to increased anxiety symptoms, but was not linked to willingness to experience stress.
It is a fantastic accomplishment to be accepted and present at a large national conference such as ABCT disseminating important research outcomes to researchers and clinicians alike. We are excited to continue studying implications of these findings and additional factors that may be contributing to these relationships!