MERIT FREE MONTHLY LIVE WEBINARS
Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) is a form of integrative individual psychotherapy that seeks to assist adults diagnosed with psychosis to make sense and meaning of the challenges and possibilities in their lives and to find ways to manage these and direct their own recovery.
MERIT supports people's recovery by helping them make sense of their experiences and discovering a sense of personal agency and self-determination. The MERIT clinician assesses the person's metacognitive capacity and offers interventions that help in improving metacognitive capacity.
We wish to invite practitioners working in the field of mental health to join us for a monthly group discussion, during which we will invite eminent clinicians who work from a MERIT framework, to share their learnings and expertise in promoting recovery in people with serious mental illness.
MERIT Monthly Live Webinars
Monthly Live WebinarsÂ
These webinars are sponsored through the generosity of Richmond Fellowship QueenslandÂ
Date:Â 1st Thursday of each month.Â
Time:Â 9.30 am to 10.30 am or 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm (AEST) Brisbane time. Times may vary depending on local and international presenter's time zone.
Each month, we will invite different experts to provide input on the essential elements of MERIT and engage in a general discussion of its applications.
Â
MERIT Free Live Webinars - 2025 Dates
Date: 4 December 2025
Time: 9.30 - 10.30 am Brisbane time (AEST)
Topic: MERIT in Supervision: Building the Reflective Alliance (Part 2)
This seminar explores how to apply MERIT principles to clinical supervision, transforming traditional hierarchical relationships into collaborative learning partnerships. There will be a 20-minute case presentation followed by Aieyat's reflection on the case, utilising MERIT's principles, ending with a group discussion.
Participants will learn practical strategies for implementing joint reflection, navigating difficult conversations, and creating supervisory relationships that promote transformative learning. Designed for supervisors and clinicians familiar with MERIT therapy, this session shows how to leverage the supervisory relationship as a powerful tool for professional development and enhanced clinical practice.
Presenter: Aieyat Zalzala, PhD
Aieyat is a licensed counselling psychologist from the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital. She serves as both the assistant training director of psychology and the assistant director of DEI education and training. Dr. Zalzala has clinical interests in providing insight-oriented therapy to individuals suffering from severe mental illness, with special emphasis on those with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Her research interests are centered on metacognition and health equity in mental health care.
Date: 1 May 2025
Time: 9.30 - 10.30 am Brisbane time (AEST)
Topic: Philosophical Questions and Replies: I
Presenter: Dr John Lysaker, Professor of Philosophy at Emory University
John Lysaker is a Chair in the Department of Philosophy at Emory University. His research explores topics in aesthetics, ethics, metaphilosophy, philosophical psychology, and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. His current projects focus on the nature of philosophical writing, the sense of self in schizophrenia, Brian Eno's 'Music for Airports,' and the nature of friendship. More
Click here to find more information on Dr John LysakerÂ
View John's presentation below.
Date: 5 June 2025
Time: 9.30 - 10.30 am Brisbane time (AEST)
Topic: Philosophical Questions and Replies: II
Presenter: Dr John Lysaker, Professor of Philosophy at Emory University
In this extended session, John willingly gave of his time and wisdom in following on from his presentation in May, Philosophical Questions and Replies.
Date: 3 July 2025
Time: 9.30 - 10.30 am (AEST)Brisbane time
Topic: Mastery and related practical application of MERIT
Presenter: Jay Hamm PsyD
Jay Hamm, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist at Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center in Indianapolis, IN. He provides MERIT to adults diagnosed with serious mental illness and actively trains graduate students and community mental health workers in MERIT. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters on metacognition, MERIT, recovery, and psychotherapy supervision.
View Jay's July presentation below.
Date: 7Â August 2025
Time: 9.30 - 10.30 am Brisbane time (AEST)
Topic: Decentration and the Self–World Relationship: Theoretical Foundations from a Metacognitive PerspectiveMERIT August Seminar 2025 – Decentration and the Self–World Relationship: Theoretical Foundations from a Metacognitive Perspective – Courtney Wiesepape
This presentation will explore the construct of decentration as a key facet of metacognition, focusing on how it informs our understanding of the relationship between the self and the world. We will review theoretical models, including Henri Grivois’ theory of centrality, consider how centrality can be operationalised and measured as a feature of metacognition, and review empirical evidence for decentration deficits in psychosis.
Presenter: Courtney Wiesepape
Courtney Wiesepape, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor at Indiana State University, where she directs a research lab focused on the development and assessment of metacognitive processes. She teaches graduate courses in clinical psychology and provides supervision and mentorship to students involved in clinical practice and research. Her clinical work centers on psychotherapy for individuals with serious mental illness, with an emphasis on recovery-oriented and metacognitively informed approaches.
View Courtney's presentation below.
Date:Â 4 September 2025
Time:Â 9.30 - 10.30 am (AEST) Brisbane time
Topic:Â Decentration in Psychotherapy for Psychosis: Clinical Applications of a Metacognitive Approach
This presentation will examine the clinical relevance of centrality and decentration within psychotherapy for individuals with psychosis. We will propose a three-phase approach to addressing centrality. Practical strategies for fostering decentration in treatment will be discussed, with an emphasis on how this capacity can support recovery.
Presenters:Â Kelsey Huling & Courtney Wiesepape
Kelsey Huling, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist at Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Centre's (Indianapolis, IN) STARS and Older Adults Services clinics, serving individuals dually diagnosed with intellectual disability and serious mental illness as well as older adults with serious mental illness. Kelsey specialises in assessment, psychotherapy, and clinical research of individuals with psychosis and other serious mental illness. She provides MERIT in her individual and group work with patients and actively trains graduate students and community mental health clinicians in MERIT.
