The training will provide an introduction to and overview of the contemporary process of sexual risk assessment for young people who engaged in sexually abusive behavior, including the necessity of a comprehensive assessment process. It will review types of assessment, the two primary approaches to risk assessment, and the most commonly used assessments in assessing sexual risk in adolescents (and children), and will also look at the nature of and empirical support for both risk factors and juvenile risk assessment instruments. Importantly, the training will emphasize the need for sensitivity to both context and developmental factors in evaluating children and adolescents, and the goal of recognizing the young person as a whole person and placing sexually problematic behavior into the context of both their psychosocial history and current psychosocial functioning. Understanding both the weaknesses and the strengths of the risk assessment process, the training will also highlight the capacity and value of structured risk assessment instruments in helping to understand the nature and circumstances of risk for assessed individuals, as well as factors and circumstances that protect against risk, and their value as tools for treatment planning and case management.  

Social isolation, loneliness, and difficulty fitting into social settings and networks are everyday experiences in the lives of adolescents. Many adolescents have given up hope of having truly fulfilling sexual relationships when they are adults. This training offers professionals who work with adolescents ways to talk with them about sex and sexuality and help them develop and practice the skills necessary for developing into sexually healthy adults. It addresses topics rarely discussed in programs for adolescents: the boundaries of flirting on- and off-line; what informed consent for sex is and how it works; relevant knowledge of how the body works; appropriate language for communicating about sex. Adolescents’ understanding of what is and isn’t acceptable and legal is vitally important for their future success in sexual relationships

This training on the forensic application of CFT begins with a compassionate understanding of the origins of harmful behavior. It explores how one task of forensic practice is helping clients reimagine their sense of guilt within the context of compassionate motivations (for example, feeling bad about one’s actions rather than about one’s self and building on one’s inherent motivation to live amicably within society). The training next addresses the application of CFT to those whose crimes cause significant harm to others. It guides professionals in considering a trauma-informed approach to case formulation and draws on a compassionate understanding of the difficulties that can emerge from the survival strategies that human beings deploy under extreme adversity. Finally, the training addresses the importance of self-compassion for professional self-care in order to facilitate a compassionate (and sustainable) context for treatment

Sociocultural factors in the assessment and treatment of individuals who sexually offend are important to examine. Awareness of implicit biases and the cultural competence of the therapist are essential in ethical treatment. Cultural humility is the ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are more important to the client. Participants will become informed of cultural considerations in the assessment and treatment. This workshop will assist participants in identifying cultural factors (i.e., racial/ethnicity, language, religion, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability) during assessment to better inform treatment and risk management recommendations.

The Risk/Need/Responsivity (RNR) framework revolutionized correctional intervention schemes when it was first introduced in the 1990s. Since that time, practitioners and programs alike have worked to ensure that clients in forensic settings really do receive an intensity of intervention that is commensurate with the level of risk they pose (risk principle), while criminogenic needs are specifically targeted (need principle). However, despite gains in the areas of risk and need, the field continues to struggle with the responsivity principle, which encourages service providers to consider the nature of their involvement with clients.

This four-hour intensive workshop is tailored to professionals (including psychologists, social workers, and counselors) specializing in intimate partner violence and working within the criminal-justice, health-care, mental-health, and social-service systems.Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a person-centered counseling approach that helps individuals to explore and resolve ambivalence about change. After an orientation to the underlying spirit, structure and skills of MI, practical exercises will help participants strengthen skills for demonstrating empathy, recognizing and eliciting “change talk”, and rolling with client discord/resistance.

In summary, the workshop will present relevant research regarding brain development and maturity indicating that psychosocial immaturity in adolescence is a significant risk factor for general delinquency and harmful sexual behaviors, and that there are evidence-based methods for assessment and treatment of this factor.

This workshop explores what modern professionals can learn from traditional healing practices, particularly in helping people recover from trauma and prevent abuse of all kinds. As examples, the workshop focuses on understanding the ethical integration of how placebo, hope, and expectancy effects can be used to assist clients’ ability to participate in treatment as well as understanding transformative processes and their relationship to Maslow’s peak experiences and self-actualization. The workshop also explores the definitions of evidence-based practices and best-practice therapies and how current models do and don’t make use of what ancient knowledge has to offer. Finally, it examines the emerging research into entheogenic medicine and explores possible implications for multi-disciplinary treatment.

This training will provide a helpful framework for mental health practitioners and other professionals seeking to understand the intersection of technology, sexuality, and youth to professionals who work with adolescents. It explores the potential risks and benefits that the Internet offers regarding sexual education. It provides key resources that can help frame the issue for adults. Additionally, a brief review of adolescent development will help explain why adolescents are particularly vulnerable to risky online behavior. Attendees will be able to identify key terms and online trends such as cyber-dating violence, sexploitation, doxing, revenge porn, and catfishing. Attendees will learn about emerging ideas for intervention designed to address these issues and help teenagers grow into responsible digital citizens. Finally, attendees will also be introduced to information about popular social media personalities, the arrival of “gaming” as a distinct industry, and a brief explanation about the Darknet.