Psychologist and anxiety expert Dr. Reid Wilson will speak at The College of St. Scholastica Jan. 8 and 9. He will give a talk,“Don’t Panic: How to Control Symptoms of Anxiety,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, in the Mitchell Auditorium on campus. It is free and open to the public.

He will also conduct a day-long workshop, “Winning the Anxiety Game: Brief Strategic Treatment for Anxiety Disorders,” from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, in the Mitchell Auditorium. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The workshop is designed for therapists, social workers, psychologists, physicians, nurses and others interested in anxiety disorders. The cost for the event is $115 for practitioners and $30 for students. Materials and refreshments are included; lunch is not provided.

Reid's appearance is sponsored by the College’s Student Center for Health and Well-Being (SCHAWB). For conference information contact Tad Sears, SCHAWB director, at (218) 723-6017 or tsears@css.edu.

Workshop topics include, among others, “Current treatment of anxiety disorders and its weaknesses,” “Why do we worry so?,” and “Strategic treatment of panic disorder.” Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available from the Board of Social Work, Board of Psychology, Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, and Nursing.

Wilson is an international expert in the treatment of anxiety disorders. He directs the Anxiety Disorders Treatment Center in Chapel Hill, NC, and is the associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

He is the author of “Don’t Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks” and “Facing Panic: Self-Help for People with Panic Attacks,” and is coauthor of “Stop Obsessing! How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions.” His books have been translated into nine languages.  He has made appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Good Morning America.”

Wilson served as lead psychologist for American Airlines and designed the first national program for the fearful flier.  He served on the board of directors of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. His self-help Web site, www.anxieties.com, receives 16 million hits per year.

This is the fourth year that SCHAWB has sponsored a conference relevant to health and mental health issues. Previous conferences have focused on self harm, eating issues and the “chemistry of joy.”

“The conference not only educates our own staff around an issue relevant to our environment,” said Sears, “but it also provides us the opportunity to stay connected to community practitioners.”

The College of St. Scholastica is regularly recognized as one of the finest colleges in the Midwest. The 2009 “America's Best Colleges” survey by U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks St. Scholastica in the top tier of Midwestern universities. The Washington Post has rated St. Scholastica as one of the nation’s 100 “hidden gems” among U.S. colleges and universities.