Date: June 4, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 2:15 pm ET /
8:00 am – 11:15 am PT
Format:   Live interactive training offered via Zoom

Presented by: Ivan Kruh, PhD (He/Him/His) (See Bio) and Keith Cruise (See Bio)

You must attend the entire live training and complete an evaluation to be eligible for CE credits. If you seek only psychology credits, the evaluation is optional, and you can remain anonymous.

Online Training Description:

Our understanding of the risks and needs of youths who have sexually harmed has advanced in recent years. Whereas assessments once looked only at those risk factors that signal dangerousness, they now employ a more comprehensive approach that takes into account:

• The youth’s protective factors
• The youth’s developmental status
• Multiple contexts in which the youth exists (e.g., home, school, and community environments)

Further, many authors have pointed out that identifying risk factors is not nearly as helpful as explaining how risk factors and protective factors have occurred and combined to make harmful behaviors more or less likely to occur. Over time, these risk and protective factors form a narrative—a story of how the youth came to behave the way they have.

In this training, Drs. Kruh and Cruise explain how the risk assessments of the past have evolved into comprehensive, structured methods for understanding and explaining a youth’s potential for harmful behavior. Narrative risk formulations are a key component of assessment and management in mental health and criminal justice settings. The presenters examine:

• A model for narrative risk formulation
• Essential knowledge about adolescent development and developmental psychopathology
• Current data on adolescent sexual re-offense rates
• How trauma plays a role in sexual abuse by adolescents
• “Scenario planning” to identify situations for potential abuse

As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

1) Describe the recent evolution in conducting evaluations of youths with problematic sexual behavior.
2) Explain in broad terms the rationale for utilizing narrative formulations in risk assessment work.
3) Use a model for developing and integrating narrative formulations into evaluations of youths with problematic sexual behavior.

Interactive Follow-Up Meeting

Attendees are invited to join an open discussion 15 minutes following the end of the training, where you can engage with fellow attendees by turning on your camera and microphone. This is an opportunity to share your experiences and contribute to a meaningful exchange of ideas. Time will be allocated to address questions or insights from the training. Please note that attendance is optional and will not affect your eligibility for a training certificate.

We can refund your training fee up to 24 hours prior to the start of the training.

To view all training details and review our list of frequently asked questions, please click here to visit the promotional page.