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Our Safe Haven: Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQ+ Clients and Providers

We invite mental health providers who are allies for LGBTQ+ clients, as well as LGBT+ practitioners, to participate in our upcoming “Our Safe Haven” session series. These gatherings provide a space for open dialogue and shared insights on how to establish and sustain safe spaces for individuals with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

During each session, we explore several discussion topics, including but not limited to:

Stress, including the chronic social pressures faced by stigmatized minority groups.
Professional biases, including those faced by both LGBTQ+ clients and practitioners
Resources for specialized knowledge and training
Ethical and professional challenges
Creating and maintaining safe spaces for clients and providers can be daunting, often feeling overwhelming. However, by fostering collaboration and mutual learning, we can create supportive environments for our work and ourselves.

$8

How Sex Positivity Improves Sexual Offense-Specific Treatment

Adopting a sex-positive outlook enables supportive and nonjudgmental discussions with clients. Dr. Bud Ballinger—clinical and forensic psychologist with extensive experience in the assessment, treatment, and risk management of individuals who engage in sexually abusive behavior—designed this training to:

Explore the Origins of Sex-Negativity: Understand the historical context and development of sex-negative attitudes.
Enhance Treatment through Sex-Positive Perspectives: Explain how and why developing a sex-positive perspective can improve treatment.
Challenge Personal Beliefs and Biases: Engage in self-reflection to identify and challenge personal beliefs and biases about sex that may hinder treatment.
Develop and Implement Ethical Decision-Making Skills: Gain practical strategies for helping clients develop skills for informed and ethical decision-making regarding sex, sexual media, and pornography use.
Promote Healthy Sexual Behavior: Establish the goal of treatment as fostering sexual behaviors that are healthy for each client.

$50.00

Our Safe Haven: Supporting Youths Through the Complexities of Sexually Explicit Media

Practitioners and parents alike have seen the dramatic increase of sexually explicit media (SEM) across various digital platforms, extending beyond traditional adult websites to social media and mainstream online spaces. This presents new challenges for parents, educators, and health professionals in guiding adolescents and children through their media consumption.

As media outlets evolve to keep viewers engaged, so too must our approaches to media literacy and education for young people. However, professionals and caregivers face many challenges when teaching youths how to be sophisticated consumers of media:

The sensitive and controversial nature of pornography
How easily accessible SEM is online
Lack of comprehensive sex education curriculums
Rapidly evolving digital landscape
Combating misinformation and unrealistic/harmful sexual scenarios
Potential legal concerns
Addressing compulsive behaviors
Promoting critical thinking
In summary, the prevalence of online pornography, discomfort discussing sex, lack of resources, and the harmful content itself make it very challenging for professionals and caregivers to effectively teach youths about these issues.

Join us for an upcoming Our Safe Haven session, featuring a discussion moderated by Seth Wescott and David Prescott. These sessions provide a forum for professional dialogue on the challenges associated with SEM and its dangerous impacts on youths.

$8.00

Ambivalence / Duality: Mastering Empathic Listening & Compassionate Practice

This is the second module in this mini course, which takes a deep dive into the heart of compassionate communication. We have all felt two ways about making difficult changes in our lives. This module examines the components of intrinsic motivation, which plays a key role in our ability and willingness to enact meaningful change.

$50.00

Evidence-Based Strategies for Treating Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Sexually Harm

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who cause sexual harm present unique challenges that often go unaddressed by well-intentioned treatment providers and programs. This training, led by Dr. Kim Spence, a seasoned professional with 25 years of experience in this field, equips attendees with techniques to effectively support clients with ASD who have exhibited sexually harmful behavior.

Through case examples, the training emphasizes common vulnerabilities and co-morbid conditions experienced by clients with ASD, highlighting the intricate interplay between their neurodivergence and the manifestation of sexually harmful behavior. Attendees gain teaching methods that foster appropriate social interactions between clients with ASD and their peers, paving the way for positive behavior change.

Building Culturally Competent Assessment and Treatment

Since 2014, the Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) has been assisting Canadian courts in arriving at more just sentences for people of African descent. IRCAs are assessments that consider an individual’s experience with racism, discrimination, and cultural factors in the context of their offending behavior. By systematically gathering information on the historical and contemporary impact of race and culture, IRCAs provide a richer, multi-dimensional understanding of individuals that can inform more effective rehabilitation and reintegration strategies. They were originally designed to address “race blindness” in sentencing, which has resulted in the overrepresentation of Blacks in the carceral system—best viewed as a symptom of systemic racism. Since the introduction of IRCA, the implications of having culturally competent assessments at sentencing have been felt in other settings.

During the training, Mr. Wright explores the history and context behind the development of IRCAs and how they are being increasingly adopted by the criminal justice system. Through interactive discussion and case examples, participants gain practical knowledge on how to interpret and apply the information gathered through IRCAs to build cultural competence at both an individual and organizational level. Specific implications for culturally informed assessment and treatment of Black people who have committed sexual offenses are examined. The training also provides considerations on the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview.

$120

Change Talk – Hopes and Dreams: Mastering Empathic Listening & Compassionate Practice

This is the third module in this mini course, which takes a deep dive into the heart of compassionate communication. Research has found that the way clients talk about change can be the best predictor of treatment outcomes. This module explores the often-subtle language that indicates a client’s growing readiness to undertake challenging changes.

$50.00

Enhancing Mental Health Support for LGBTQ+ Youths

Compared to their peers, LGTBQ+ youths experience disproportionate rates of adversity and trauma, including child maltreatment. Well-intended professionals who do not know or understand best practices risk unintentionally perpetuating harm. This webinar serves as a starting point for bridging the knowledge gap and fostering informed discussions.

In this 90-minute session, host David Prescott brings together a panel of mental health providers who either serve LGBTQ+ youths or identify as LGBTQ+ themselves to explore:

Characteristics of allyship within the mental health field
Common challenges faced when providing mental health services to LGBTQ+ youths and their families
Strategies for delivering affirming and inclusive care

Free

Beyond Motivational Interviewing: Mastering Empathic Listening & Compassionate Practice

This is the fourth module in this mini course, which takes a deep dive into the heart of compassionate communication. Motivational interviewing is an excellent way to connect with people on a deeper level, helping them to make positive changes while becoming a more compassionate and empathetic person yourself. This module focuses on critical questions that will help you refine your approach and make a lasting impact

$50.00

Our Safe Haven: Addressing the Complexities of Sex Trafficking

Has your work been affected by sex trafficking? Do you work with individuals who have been trafficked or those who have engaged in trafficking? Or would you simply like to deepen your understanding of these issues?

Join us for these Our Safe Haven sessions, where we delve into the stresses and solutions of navigating such challenging situations. These sessions provide a secure and supportive environment for professionals to engage in meaningful dialogue, share experiences, and collectively work toward prevention, protection, and rehabilitation for those affected by human trafficking. Our hosts, Katie and David, are seasoned professionals in the field who empathize with the hurdles you face and are here to help guide you through.

$8

Our Safe Haven: Addressing the Complexities of Sex Trafficking

Has your work been affected by sex trafficking? Do you work with individuals who have been trafficked or those who have engaged in trafficking? Or would you simply like to deepen your understanding of these issues?

Join us for these Our Safe Haven sessions, where we delve into the stresses and solutions of navigating such challenging situations. These sessions provide a secure and supportive environment for professionals to engage in meaningful dialogue, share experiences, and collectively work toward prevention, protection, and rehabilitation for those affected by human trafficking. Our hosts, Katie and David, are seasoned professionals in the field who empathize with the hurdles you face and are here to help guide you through.

$8

Providing Treatment to Minor-Attracted People

There is growing recognition that many adults with a sexual attraction for children are motivated not to cause harm. Referred to as minor-attracted persons (MAPs), these individuals have not committed sexual offenses and the primary goal is to provide support to help them remain free of offending. Yet, these clients, and those who treat them, face the additional challenge of apprehension among lay persons and other professionals who do not understand the complexities of this issue, conflating these well-intentioned MAPs with people who have harmed. Implementing the right treatment approaches is crucial in safeguarding children and helping clients build better lives for themselves.

This training explores how stigma, social norms, moral panic, and sexual attraction act as barriers to those seeking help in preventing themselves from committing their first offense. Dr. Spooner provides a comprehensive understanding of minor-attracted people, as well as the inaccurate narratives about MAPs that result in strained relationships between providers and clients. Lastly, participants are encouraged to identify and reflect on their personal biases, explore effective approaches to meeting the needs of MAPs, and consider alternative approaches to current practices.

$75

Our Safe Haven: Encountering Cases of Sibling Sexual Abuse

Working with family and other caregivers after sexual abuse has occurred entails navigating significant challenges. Professionals in this field, despite being invaluable, often go without due recognition. Sexual abuse by siblings, commonly seen in our field, underscores the need for comprehensive guidance for facilitating resolution and supporting families in their journey toward reconciliation and recovery—a resource that is often in short supply.

To the dedicated professionals supporting individuals who perpetrate abuse and encounter cases of sibling sexual abuse, we see you. We recognize the challenges you navigate with limited resources.

Join us for an upcoming Our Safe Haven session, where Linda Valenta joins David Prescott from Australia to discuss the challenges inherent in this line of work. Engage in open discussions, offer support, and be supported!

$8

Motivational Interviewing for Adolescents and Young Adults: Style, Skills, and 4th Edition Insights for Addressing Sexual Offending Behaviors

This training offers an in-depth exploration of Motivational Interviewing (MI) strategies for identifying and exploring client motivations that may not seem evident, particularly among those who seem resistant to treatment. Presenter David Prescott reviews four micro-skills and specific techniques involving scaling questions and options menus for engaging clients and focusing on personally meaningful and relevant goals. Some of these skills review a new examination; this includes differentiating between simple and complex affirmations. Prescott also reviews the less-obvious ways that clients indicate that they are considering making changes to their lives and offers skills for strengthening commitment to treatment goals.

By effectively applying these MI principles and techniques, clinicians can significantly enhance treatment outcomes and empower clients to make meaningful and lasting life changes.

$50