We are excited about our youth-focused CBT certification program! Youth CBT certification helps clinicians effectively treat children and adolescents using evidence-based cognitive behavior therapy techniques. Our specialized training and supervision program takes into consideration the developmental, cognitive, and emotional factors unique to young clients. We designed it to help therapists treat children and adolescents in the most effective, evidence-based way—and to provide a supportive professional home for them.
We’re pleased to spotlight Alana Adler, LCSW, an experienced youth-focused clinician who has completed the program’s required foundational workshops and is continuing her certification journey. In this interview, she shares how youth-focused CBT training through Beck Institute has strengthened her clinical effectiveness and enhanced her ability to support young clients facing a range of challenges.
Ms. Adler is a clinical social worker with over 15 years of experience treating children and families. A graduate of the NYU Silver School of Social Work, she has an extensive background working in hospital mental health settings, schools, and in-home treatment programs. She currently provides specialized care as a clinician at Bergen CBT, a practice focused on children, adolescents, and their families, and at Roaring Whisper, a specialty practice dedicated to the treatment of Selective Mutism, in Northern New Jersey.
Tell us a bit about your background and what drew you to working with youth.
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 15 years of experience helping families navigate anxiety, ADHD, and other emotional and behavioral challenges. I find myself drawn to this work in both professional and personal ways; as a child, I struggled with significant anxiety myself, and it wasn’t until young adulthood that I was introduced to cognitive restructuring. Discovering that I wasn’t a passive victim of my thoughts—and that I could actually evaluate and respond to them differently—was a massive shift. That sense of agency is exactly what I want to help young people develop as early as possible.
What are some of the biggest mental health needs you’re seeing in young clients?
Anxiety is the most common thread, whether it manifests as OCD, social anxiety, or selective mutism, often alongside ADHD and behavioral dysregulation. We’re also seeing the impact of a culture designed to reduce discomfort and provide immediacy, which means many children haven’t had natural opportunities to build distress tolerance. They often don’t trust their ability to handle frustration or uncertainty, leading to avoidance or family accommodation that inadvertently keeps the problem alive. My focus is on helping kids build tenacity through direct, supported experiences that prove discomfort isn’t dangerous.
How is CBT especially well-suited to address these issues in youth?
CBT is practical and transparent, which kids appreciate. It doesn’t just tell them what to do; it explains how their brain and body work. It’s also incredibly grounded in reality—it acknowledges that setbacks and hard situations are inevitable. Rather than trying to “fix” or eliminate those experiences, CBT gives children a concrete toolkit to respond to them more flexibly. For me as a clinician, the fact that it is so heavily backed by evidence is non-negotiable.
What made you decide to enroll in our youth-focused CBT certification program?
Even after many years in practice, I’m a firm believer that there is no finish line when it comes to clinical skills. Working with children is a unique challenge because you’re constantly navigating shifting developmental stages and family systems within a very fast-paced cultural landscape. I enrolled to sharpen my case conceptualization specifically for complex presentations like ADHD and anxiety. I want to ensure my work is as effective as possible in identifying the specific drivers—like avoidance or emotional dysregulation—that maintain a child’s difficulties.
You’ve already taken the trainings required for Phase One. How would you describe them?
They were engaging and, more importantly, rooted in actual clinical complexity. The role plays and case discussions didn’t feel like abstract theory; they reflected the real families I see in my office every day. Learning from Dr. Robert Friedberg was a particular highlight. He has a real gift for translating dense CBT concepts into child-friendly, practical interventions that actually work for a range of presenting challenges.
How have these workshops enhanced your effectiveness in working with youth?
These workshops provided a dual benefit: a deeper mastery of case conceptualization and a fresh toolkit of creative interventions. By learning to pinpoint the specific factors driving a child’s challenges, my clinical approach has become much more purposeful. The “ready-to-use” nature of the materials meant I could apply new, dynamic strategies in my very next session, keeping both my practice and my clients’ progress moving forward.
What are your long-term professional goals?
My immediate goal is to move into the next phase of the Beck Institute certification to stress-test my skills through individualized supervision. There’s no substitute for that kind of high-level, specific feedback when you’re navigating the nuances of modern youth mental health. Once I’ve fully integrated these advanced interventions into my practice, I’d love to transition into teaching and supervising. With the massive demand for kids’ mental health services right now, I want to help other clinicians deliver care that is truly effective.
As the demand for high-quality youth mental health services continues to grow, investing in specialized CBT training is one of the most impactful ways clinicians can improve outcomes for children and adolescents. We’re so glad to have Ms. Adler in our certification community and look forward to supporting her continued growth.
If you work with children and adolescents, we hope you will learn more about our CBT certification program for clinicians working with youth. By earning certification, clinicians not only strengthen their own practice—they contribute to raising the standard of care for youth mental health everywhere.
Related Training: See All Youth-Focused CBT Trainings
Read more about CBT for youth: