Safer Talk is an ongoing series of webinars, conversations, and podcasts devoted to preventive and restorative responses to sexual and social violence. We provide this service to help professionals stay current in the face of ever-changing, challenging circumstances.
- Tackle Your Challenge – Uncovering Solutions for Making Significant Life Changes
Ella will lead the audience through a series of steps that they can then use to help clients find solutions to challenges and make changes in their own lives. You can watch the process unfold even as you participate silently. The webinar provides time after the exercise for your questions and observations. - International Perspectives on Working With Those Who Have Sexually Abused
Hosted by: David PrescottGuest Speaker: Kieran McCartan Date: Thursday, June 9, 2022Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET Not able to … - Strategies for Overcoming Gender Differences When Working with Male Clients
In this webinar, Dr. Must and Dr. Pflugradt will discuss clinical topics pertinent to women working in the criminal justice system. The speakers will also address the different contexts of this work, such as community-based programs and institutional settings. This discussion is also recommended for male mental health professionals who are interested in learning more about these dynamics in order to be better allies, colleagues, co-therapists, or supervisors. - Why So Many Young People Commit Crimes in Groups
Jaimee Mallion has studied group-based offending, including street gang membership and is finding answers to these questions. In this webinar, she will explore what can help young people desist from committing criminal acts in groups. - Stopping Sexual Abuse Before It Happens: A Conversation with Christine Friestad and Ingeborg Jenssen Sandbukt
In this webinar conversation, Ms. Friestad and Ms. Sandbukt will describe their efforts in making these projects happen. Like many professionals around the world, they have faced challenges in the areas of implementing the highest-quality treatment, assisting with community reintegration, coping with stigma, and making services available to those who have not felt that they could trust those offering help. - Empathy, Motivation, and Love in Action: A Conversation with Stephen Andrew
This webinar conversation is for you if you want to advance your capacity to connect with clients of all backgrounds. Stephen Andrew has, among other activities, spent decades working with men who perpetrate violence. Far from growing cynical or jaded, he has delved ever further into helping others to become their best selves. His practice focuses on deep empathy, compassion, and love, as well as the role of trust in the lives of people who have mistreated others. - The Role Of Protective Factors In Best Practices For Preventing Sexual Re-Offense: A Conversation With Sharon Kelley, David Thornton, and Gwenda Willis
this webinar, Gwen, David, and Sharon will talk about the journey leading to the development of the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors against Sexual Offending (SAPROF-SO), Version 1 and why they believe best practices should include consideration of both risk factors and strengths-based, protective factors. - Straight Talk About Diagnosis, Its Limitations, and Alternatives: A Conversation with Lucy Johnstone
Recorded on February 10, 2022 Hosted by: David PrescottGuest Speaker: Dr. Lucy Johnstone Dr. Lucy Johnstone is a consultant clinical … - How Do Well-Intentioned Implementations of Treatment Programs Succeed or Fail?
This webinar conversation will focus on Norbert Ralph’s experiences implementing Aggression Replacement Training and his Being a Pro curriculum in multiple settings. It will also offer observations from a recent paper on implementing the Good Lives Model and other efforts with Motivational Interviewing. - “What Did I Miss?” When a Client Re-Offends
Drawing on case examples, this webinar conversation examines re-offending from four perspectives: The clinician (Shoshanna Must), the client’s legal representatives (Laurie Rose Kepros), the administrators and programs involved (David Prescott) and considerations for when therapists or clients are Persons of Color –specifically those who come from traditionally marginalized and disproportionately incarcerated communities (Tyffani Dent). It addresses the effects of re-offense on the professionals who worked with offenders and explores ways that professionals can cope with these setbacks. - Ancient Ways and Modern Times: A Conversation with Geral Blanchard
Geral Blanchard has spent decades in practice with individuals who have abused. He has traveled to the farthest corners of the world studying how people change, recover from trauma, and build better lives. Geral has studied with healers and shamans across Africa and the Americas, most recently with the Kogi tribe in Colombia (one of only a very few guests they have ever invited). While many are familiar with his classic books, such as The Difficult Connection and Transcending Trauma, Geral’s more recent work has built on what he has learned from indigenous cultures and the recent empirical study of the use of psychoactive drugs in the treatment of trauma and addictions. - Sex, Tech, and Teens: A Conversation with Alex Rodrigues
Internet technological advancement, while an invaluable societal resource, is not without hazards. Teens now face challenges that were unimaginable 10 years ago: unsolicited sexual messages, revenge porn, “incels” (individuals who consider themselves to be ‘involuntarily celibate’), sexploitation, online domestic violence, and doxing (the distribution of personal information against that person’s will). Online technology is unavoidable, but the risks associated with it can be minimized. That’s the message Dr. Rodrigues will bring to this informal webinar conversation. - The Criminal Justice System’s Need for Better Understanding of Clients with Autism Spectrum Disorders
In this webinar with Dr. Spence, a world-renown expert in the treatment and assessment of justice-involved people with autism, we will examine the ways criminal justice systems fall short in ensuring the safety and effective rehabilitation of this vulnerable and challenging population. It’s a much-needed conversation that will shine light on how we can improve outcomes. - How Can We Reform the Criminal Justice System?
Free Webinar: In 1967, President Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice outlined a massive set of recommendations (involving law enforcement, courts, corrections, etc.). Unfortunately, many of these recommendations were never implemented, and few actual reforms have occurred. The largest issue has been the sheer volume of traffic through the legal system (often resulting in incarceration) and the culture of control and punishment, which are largely untouched by the reform efforts. The volume can be addressed by more citations which require fines and fees – or restorative justice – for misdemeanor offenses (broken-window types of offenses). Moving from public safety approaches to public health models will also alter the reach of the justice system; this is evident in the legal system’s handling of drug- and alcohol-related issues. This webinar will provide a brief exploration of these and related issues. - Psychotherapy and Sexuality – Where Do Addiction, Pornography, and Moral Incongruity Begin and End? A Conversation with David Ley
Everyone has their opinions, and this can be especially true when it comes to controversial topics such as pornography and addiction. Moving beyond our moral beliefs to what research shows can be challenging, particularly when the science in these areas is imperfect. As is often the case, scientific inquiry can often produce surprising results that challenge us to re-think our practice. - The Evolution of Treating Adolescents Who Have Sexually Abused: A Conversation with Timothy Kahn, M.S.W.
The field of treating youth who have sexually abused others has changed dramatically across the past four decades. Where programs once imported ideas developed in adult institutions, the field is now more highly specialized, evidence-informed, engaging, and hopeful. In this webinar, Timothy Kahn (the author of workbooks such as Pathways, Footprints, Healthy Families, and Roadmaps to Recovery) will discuss the many changes that have taken place in assessment, treatment, and supervision practices over time. - Campus Dilemma: Unique Challenges of Addressing Problematic Sexual Behavior in Students
Recorded on September 14, 2021 Hosted by: David PrescottGuest Speakers: Joan Tabachnick and Jay Wilgus Over the past decade, increased … - A Look Inside Adolescent Drug Courts: Motivation and Beyond
his webinar will explore the evolution of juvenile drug treatment courts. Where the legal system has too failed many who enter it, practices that focus on client engagement and behavior change (such as Motivational Interviewing) have improved outcomes. Jennifer Wyatt and Margaret Soukup are the authors of Motivational Interviewing Skills in Action for Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Teams and will share highlights from that publication that are specific to youth and applicable to other settings. Attendees will receive a download of this document. - The Compassion Prison Project: A Conversation with Fritzi Horstman
childhood trauma helped shape its conception. Over the course of several months in 2019-2020, Fritzi and a dedicated team of facilitators and volunteers partnered with incarcerated men at a Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP), a maximum-security prison in Central California. Together, they created powerful tools to address and heal from childhood trauma. The project is often known for its documentaries, “Step Inside the Circle” and “Honor Yard.” This webinar conversation explores the evolution of this project and its core values of compassion, humanity, accountability, nonviolence, generosity, and equity. - Manhood, Masculinity, and Treatment for Sexual Offending
Recorded August 5, 2021 Guest Speaker: Alejandro Leguízamo Hosted by: David Prescott In treatment geared towards men who have committed … - Webinar – Raising Resilient Kids: A Conversation with Aliza Pressman
This webinar focuses on trauma and resilience—topics of importance to all professionals. Whether we work with children, teens, or adults, fostering resilience in the wake of trauma is vital to understanding clients and providing effective interventions. - “Whatever Happened to the Smoke Break?” Strategies for Secondary Trauma
Kristin Dempsey and Ali Hall will show that the same qualities that make us effective with others in our work—such as empathy, compassion, and caring—may over time leave us more vulnerable to secondary trauma. Fortunately, these same qualities can provide us with significant protective factors as well. While secondary trauma is always present for helping professionals, pandemic circumstances have amplified and accelerated these experiences and impacts. Join us for this interactive event! - The Gifts of Compassion: Understanding and Overcoming Suffering
Dr Stan Steindl explains how compassion evolved as a vital part of our nature and thought, and the way we look after one another, and even ourselves. He then shows how to use our compassion as a key to a healthier mental life through a clear series of steps and practices. - Webinar – The Right Relationship in Corrections Can Reduce Risk: Here’s How
A Conversation with Michael Clark Webinar hosted by David S. Prescott The jury is back in on what kinds of … - Webinar – The Feminist War on Crime
Join host David Prescott and guest speaker Aya Gruber for the next Safer Talk webinar. The Feminist War on Crime explains how feminists, in their quest to secure women’s protection from domestic violence and rape, became soldiers in the war on crime and contributors to mass incarceration by emphasizing white female victimhood, expanding the power of police and prosecutors, touting the problem-solving power of incarceration, and diverting resources toward law enforcement and away from marginalized communities. Today, many feminists grapple with the problem of hyper-incarceration in the United States, and yet commentators on gender crime continue to assert that criminal law is not tough enough. This punitive impulse is dangerous and counterproductive. In order to reverse this troubling course, Gruber contends that we must abandon the conventional feminist wisdom, fight violence against women without reinforcing the American prison state, and use criminalization as a technique of last—not first—resort. - Webinar – What You Should Know About Ending Violence in the Deaf Community
A Conversation with Mary Pat Luetke-Stahlman Webinar hosted by David S. Prescott,Editor of Safer Society Press Deaf people are significantly … - Webinar: What Are the Skills That Help People Change? A Conversation with Theresa Moyers
This webinar conversation is of interest to any professional who wants to be more effective with more people. It is not limited to clinicians; the same characteristics apply across disciplines. This is a rare opportunity for a discussion with one of the world’s leading experts. - Why We Must Embrace Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Criminal Justice System
Hosted By: David S. PrescottGuest Speakers: Heather Ellis Cucolo & Michael L. Perlin This webinar will explore therapeutic jurisprudence, an approach … - Acceptance, Understanding, Compassion, and Personal Responsibility – A Path to Healing: A Conversation with Stephan Jones
Stephan Jones is the son of Rev. Jim Jones, whose actions with the Peoples Temple ended in the deaths of over 900 people in Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978. Away playing at a Temple-promoted basketball game at the time, Stephan and his teammates lost most of their families, loved ones, and community that night. This conversation will explore Stephan’s journey through the traumatic events into a deep acceptance and understanding of them. His is a story of interest to all who have found themselves at a crossroads in the wake of trauma. - On Being Female: How We Can Use Our Gender to Help Our Clients and Take Care of Ourselves at the Same Time
Professionals often don’t have the chance to discuss the experiences of women working with men who have abused. This hour-long webinar conversation will address these and related topics. - Attachment, Development, and How We Become the Persons We Are: A Conversation with Alan Sroufe
The recording of this webinar is now available. Click here to learn more! - Through the Glass: One Woman’s Pursuit of Justice, Healing, and Forgiveness
The recording of this webinar is now available. - Good Lives, Self-Regulation, and Explanatory Depth: A Conversation with Tony Ward
The recording of this webinar is now available. - The Lucifer Effect – How Good People Become Bad: Implications in the Mental Health/Forensic Setting
The recording of this webinar is now available. - Native American Youth and Cultural Adversity: A Conversation with Tatewin Means and Christopher Lobanov-Rostovsky
Native American youth are disproportionately experiencing mental health challenges in tribal communities where there is often a lack of prevention and treatment resources. Teen suicide, substance abuse, interpersonal violence, and other trauma are common within this underserved population. This conversation will look at the historical antecedents and current climate, and discuss the challenges for service provision to Native American youth, including federal, state, and local efforts and limitations to serving this population. - The Ethics of Labeling: A conversation with Gwenda Willis, PhD, PGDipClinPsyc
The recording of this webinar is now available. - Surviving Sexual Violence in the Current Era
The recording of this webinar is now available. - Ending Racialized Violence: A Webinar Conversation with Dr. Apryl Alexander
The recording of this webinar is now available. - Webinar: Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and Embodied Therapy
Recorded on June 4, 2020 Hosted by: David Prescott Guest Speakers: David Emerson, YACEP, TCTSY-Fand Jenn Turner LMHC, TCTSY-F Trauma-Sensitive Yoga … - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Using Workbooks In Work with Young People in Treatment Webinar
Recorded on June 18, 2020 Hosted by: David Prescott Guest Speaker: Phil Rich This brief workshop will consider and discuss the … - Solution-Focused Strategies: Police Work, Suicide Prevention, and Beyond – Webinar
Recorded on May 28, 2020 Hosted by: David Prescott Guest Speaker: Emma Burns, BSc, MSc(Hons) This webinar conversation will explore Solution-Focused … - Trauma-Informed Resilience Skills in the COVID Crisis – Webinar
Recorded on May 21, 2020 Hosted by: David Prescott Guest Speaker: Jill S. Levenson, Ph.D., LCSW This presentation will describe how professional … - An Evolution of Practice: From the Dodo Bird to Deliberate Practice – A Conversation with Scott Miller – Webinar
Recorded on May 14th, 2020 Hosted by David Prescott Guest Speaker: Scott D. Miller, Ph.D.,Founder of International Center for Clinical Excellence … - Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in the COVID Era – Webinar
Recorded on May 7, 2020 Hosted by David Prescott Guest Speaker: Jenny Coleman, LMHCDirector of Stop It Now! Founded in … - Reintegrating People Who Have Sexually Abused Into the Community – Webinar
Recorded on April 30th, 2020 Hosted by David Prescott Guest Speakers: Kelly Richards & Kieran McCartan The presence of people who … - Considering Culture in the Time of COVID-19
Recorded on April 23rd, 2020 Hosted by David Prescott Guest Speaker: Dr. Tyffani Dent The past few years have seen … - Telehealth in the COVID-19 Era: Reports from the Front Lines – Webinar
Hosted by David PrescottGuest Speakers: Katherine Gotch and Shan Jumper The rules around telehealth and teletherapy were already confusing before … - A Conversation About How Helping Professionals are Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic: Webinar
Recorded version of this live webinar is now available through our website. Click here to learn more. Welcome to this interactive …