Shorter Presentations

These trainings run 60 to 90 minutes each and are designed to be presented online or in-person. They’re excellent options for keynotes, staff meetings, or lunch-and-learn trainings. Offerings include:

  • Man Up: Understanding the Guy Code When Counseling Adolescent Males
  • Sexual Trauma in Adolescent Males
  • Understanding Substance Use in Teens

Workshop descriptions are below.

MAN UP: UNDERSTANDING THE GUY CODE WHEN COUNSELING ADOLESCENT MALES
Description coming soon.

SEXUAL TRAUMA IN ADOLESCENT MALES
One in six males experience some form of sexual trauma, most before entering adulthood. Frequently, these experiences are dismissed, minimized, or ignored – by both the young man and the world in general. This can lead to a variety of emotional, behavioral, and developmental impacts, including mental health challenges, substance-related issues, school failures, and other concerns.

In this training, we’ll deepen our knowledge of common trauma impacts, consider ways the Guy Code exacerbates these impacts, and identify other developmental considerations. We’ll also identify the active ingredients for successful trauma therapy and explore a variety of field-tested approaches for working specifically with adolescent male survivors. Inspired by motivational interviewing, narrative therapy, and trauma-informed approaches, these strategies will increase engagement, improve treatment outcomes, and start the process of healing.

UNDERSTANDING SUBSTANCE USE IN TEENS
Nearly half all teens receiving mental health services have a diagnosable substance use disorder. Unfortunately, most mental health counselors have little training or experience when it comes to addressing substance use among teens. As a result, these concerns often go overlooked and unaddressed. In this highly interactive workshop, we’ll develop practical skills for identifying and working with teens who have substance-related concerns.

We’ll start by examining the stages of use, identifying common co-morbid mental health disorders, and exploring the reasons teens use, especially reasons rooted in insecure attachments – which we can define as disorders of mood, behavior, and social interactions resulting from a failure to form healthy attachments to primary care givers in early childhood. Along the way, we’ll explore field-tested strategies for addressing substance use, fostering change, and helping teens make new, more effective choices.