Children and Families

Strategies for Helping Teen Girls with Their Mental Health Struggles

A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published in early February 2023 found that, in 2021 (at the height of the pandemic), 57% of high school girls reported experiencing “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year,” up from 36% in 2011. That’s nearly twice as high as the 29% of males who reported having those feelings in 2021. What’s worse, 30% of the girls surveyed reported seriously considering suicide and 13% attempted suicide one or more times in 2021.

Improving Results of Treatment with Adolescents Through an Injection of Fun

Christin Santiago and Anette Birgersson have taught professionals around the world how to incorporate fun into the very serious work of trauma-informed treatment for youth and adolescents. Studies have shown that interventions that are fun and engaging increase motivation, buy-in, and improve the therapeutic alliance. Likewise, incorporating aspects of fun into our lives as professionals is also essential for mental and physical overall health and well-being.

Christin and Anette will introduce best practices for both individual and group work that will include: utilizing games and activities, sensory-based interventions, facilitation techniques and mitigating risk. The aim of the webinar is to learn, laugh, and feel increased confidence as fun professionals!

School Shootings: What We Know About Attacks on Campuses

The frequency of school shootings has increased in recent years, capturing the attention of parents, clinicians, and policymakers. As a result, communities and stakeholders are desperately looking for ways to identify and provide preventive assistance to high-risk youth before tragedy strikes. While our understanding of school shootings is still growing, research has identified some relevant patterns and risk markers that make professionals uniquely positioned to engage in prevention efforts. After presenting key research insights, Dr. Rodrigues will focus on youths at risk for school shootings and ways to navigate high-risk situations safely and ethically. Attendees will be provided critical details about those who perpetrate school shootings from the existing research, and potential safeguards communities can implement.

Using Motivational Interviewing Skills with Parents and Families

Working with the families of children and teens with problematic behaviors presents unique challenges. In this webinar, Hilary Bolter and Jennifer Ollis Blomqvist will discuss specific strategies drawn from Motivational Interviewing that can help professionals build better relationships, address challenges in treatment, and produce better outcomes for all.

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.

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.

Attachment, Development, and How We Become the Persons We Are: A Conversation with Alan Sroufe

Alan Sroufe, one of the world’s leading developmental psychologists, will be joining host David Prescott for a discussion of Dr. Sroufe’s life work, which is also the subject of his new book, A Compelling Idea: How We Become the Persons We Are.

Dr. Sroufe’s groundbreaking theoretical and empirical contributions to the fields of developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology have been reported to the academic world in over 150 papers and journal articles and seven books.

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in the COVID Era – Webinar

Founded in 1992 by Fran Henry, a survivor who learned first-hand the complexities of sexual abuse, Stop It Now! prevents the sexual abuse of children. It does this by mobilizing adults, families, and communities to take actions that protect children before they are harmed. Stop It Now! provides support, information, and resources to keep children safe and create healthier communities, while keeping the focus on adult responsibility and accountability. As a part of this mission, Stop It Now! offers help for personal situations through a confidential national prevention Helpline.