These workshops explore field-tested and evidence-based approaches for providing teens developmentally appropriate, effective therapy. Packed with practical strategies, stories from the field, and a bit of inspiration, the workshops include topics such as fostering therapeutic alliance, practical strategies for facilitating change, and creative approaches to counseling teens.
Offerings include:
- Reframing Resistance: Maybe teens aren’t stubborn, oppositional, or in denial
- Holy Therapy, Batman! Using superhero narratives with adolescents
- Cultivating Rapport: How to build therapeutic alliances with teens
- Facilitating Change: Helping teens move from ambivalence to action
- Behavioral Addictions in Teens
Descriptions can be found below. These trainings provide 3 general CEUs each and are typically scheduled to include one 15-minute break. They can be presented in-person or online. For more details or to schedule a workshop, contact me today.
REFRAMING RESISTANCE: MAYBE TEENS AREN’T STUBBORN, OPPOSITIONAL, OR IN DENIAL
Many teen clients seem unwilling, unengaged, or uninterested in therapy. That doesn’t mean they’re resistant, though. It means they don’t want to talk about their feelings with a stranger, learn shrink-wrapped coping skills, or identify measurable treatment goals. What teen would?
In this workshop, we’ll reframe this so-called resistance from developmental, attachment, and trauma-informed perspectives — to help us look beyond this initial reluctance, engage teen clients more effectively, and help them get unstuck. Packed with practical strategies, stories from the field, and a bit of inspiration, this workshop is sure to transform your clinical work with teens.
Learning Objective 1: Attendees will examine resistance among teens using developmental, attachment, and trauma lenses. This includes identifying ways these lenses are useful for reframing treatment reluctance among teen clients, as well as practical strategies for improving engagement, willingness, and treatment outcomes.
Learning Objective 2: Attendees will explore the idea of Stuckness, including common exacerbating factors such as stalled identity development, developmental debt, and minority stress.
Learning Objective 3: Attendees will review current research related to treatment reluctance among teens, the importance of trauma-informed strategies, and the role of therapeutic alliance when working with this population.
HOLY THERAPY, BATMAN! USING SUPERHERO NARRATIVES WITH ADOLESCENTS
Engaging adolescents in truly transformative therapy can be challenging for even the most seasoned therapists, requiring us to set aside cookie-cutter approaches in favor of genuine human connections. Don’t worry, though! Bruce, Wanda, and Five are here to help!
In this highly interactive presentation, we’ll explore the use of superhero narratives to build therapeutic alliance, increase engagement, and foster change. We’ll also examine ideas for addressing some of the Big Topics of Therapy — such as traumatic grief, moral injury, origin stories, and what happens if we take off our masks. Whether you’re a hardcore nerd or have never heard of Bruce, Wanda, and Five, you’ll leave this presentation with both practical ideas and fresh inspiration for counseling your adolescent clients.
Learning Objective 1: Attendees will examine the use of nerd culture, fandoms, and narrative approaches to build therapeutic alliance, increase engagement, and improve treatment outcomes when counseling adolescent clients.
Learning Objective 2: Attendees will explore several specific uses of superhero metaphors appropriate for use with adolescent clients — including when addressing complex topics such as trauma impacts, complicated grief, and moral injury.
Learning Objective 3: Attendees will apply their new learning to a client case study focusing on multiple challenging treatment topics — including complex trauma, attachment challenges, and failed identity formation.
CULTIVATING RAPPORT: HOW TO BUILD THERAPEUTIC ALLIANCES WITH TEENS
Building therapeutic alliance can seem daunting to many clinicians, especially when working with hard-to-engage teens. However, studies show effective therapeutic alliances are absolutely essential for engagement, retention, and positive outcomes.
We’ll start this workshop by exploring the importance of developing effective alliances and identifying common reasons teens can be resistant to treatment. Then, we’ll develop practical skills for overcoming those obstacles by increasing our trustworthiness, nurturing connectedness, and embodying empathy. Along the way, we’ll explore the role of self-disclosure, field-tested strategies for engaging teens with insecure attachment styles, and more.
FACILITATING CHANGE: HELPING TEENS MOVE FROM AMBIVALENCE TO ACTION
Change is a process, not an event. Many teens enter counseling with minimal commitment to this process. Instead, they seem resistant, stubborn, or in denial. Our goal as professional helpers isn’t to talk them into action — that wouldn’t work anyway — but to help them resolve their ambivalence about change, find their own motivation, and start moving forward.
We’ll start this workshop by examining core ideas from Motivational Interviewing and the Stages of Change model — two evidence-based approaches for facilitating transformative change. Then we’ll explore stage-specific interventions, strategies for integrating change-talk into every session, and field-tested ideas for facilitating change with teens. Along the way, we’ll examine developmental considerations, common obstacles, and briefly review the neuroscience of it all.
BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS IN TEENS
Behavioral addictions — such as excessive gaming, problematic porn use, and online gambling — have been on the rise since the pandemic, especially among teens. Unfortunately, very few counselors have any training or practical experience treating them. This highly interactive presentation will help change that.
We’ll start by identifying common behavioral addictions in teens, exploring reasons they develop, examining the role of dopamine, and more. Next, we’ll apply this information by taking a deeper look at problematic pornography use, with attention given to the unique challenges of addressing this behavioral addiction in teens. Then, we’ll explore several field-tested strategies for helping teens recognize problems, resolve ambivalence, and leave their behavioral addictions behind.
Learning Objective 1: Attendees will develop a working definition of behavioral addiction, identify examples common among teens, explore the role of dopamine, and consider various factors that contribute to some behaviors becoming addictive.
Learning Objective 2: Attendees will apply this new knowledge by exploring problematic pornography use, including prevalance, challenges unique to addressing this topic with teens, and practical ideas for managing personal biases and discomfort.
Learning Objective 3: Attendees will identify specific, field-tested strategies useful in helping teens start moving away from problematic behaviors such as excessive gaming, pornography use, and social media.