Continuing Education Center

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!

As mental health professionals, we recognize the importance of creating inclusive and supportive environments for all individuals, especially those from marginalized groups that have traditionally experienced limited access to mental health resources. This Our Safe Haven series, co-moderated by Jimmy Widdifield, Jr., and David Prescott, aims to bring together allies and LGBTQ+ practitioners to improve our collective support for the LGBTQ+ community in mental health services.

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.

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. These sessions offer attendees an opportunity for open discussion, support, and skill development. Your contributions will enrich the collective understanding and help shape best practices in this evolving field.

The effect of aging on sexual recidivism has been studied for more than twenty years, and research results consistently show a dramatic reduction in risk with age. Dr. Jeffrey Sandler, alongside Naomi Freeman, has taken this question a step further by examining whether this trend holds true for men who commit sexual offenses over the age of 60. Their 2024 study, with another forthcoming, provides critical new insights into this question.

In this webinar, Dr. Sandler discusses their findings and explores broader implications for understanding re-offense risk, treatment needs, and public safety.

Our Safe Haven sessions are a unique opportunity for professionals to engage in informal discussions about their work in the mental health field. At Safer Society, we place a high value on community and collaboration, creating environments where professionals can share experiences, seek support, and practice self-care. These sessions are a chance to embrace compassionate and empathetic approaches that promote healing for both those who cause harm and those who have been harmed.

Unlike our more exclusive ‘Our Safe Haven’ sessions, these gatherings focus on organic discussions about the inherent challenges and victories in this demanding field.

Our Safe Haven sessions are a unique opportunity for professionals to engage in informal discussions about their work in the mental health field. At Safer Society, we place a high value on community and collaboration, creating environments where professionals can share experiences, seek support, and practice self-care. These sessions are a chance to embrace compassionate and empathetic approaches that promote healing for both those who cause harm and those who have been harmed.

Unlike our more exclusive ‘Our Safe Haven’ sessions, these gatherings focus on organic discussions about the inherent challenges and victories in this demanding field.

Jonny Matthew, a social worker and criminologist with more than 30 years of experience, developed this training to provide professionals with the skills to recognize and address ADHD in adolescents, specifically those involved in HSB. Drawing from his own experiences with ADHD, Matthew offers insights that help practitioners support these young people in ways that reduce risk, promote recovery, and foster long-term well-being.

In this training, Jonny underlines the necessity of trauma-informed approaches and explores methods for making treatment more effective, such as compassionate engagement and creating a safe environment. He also describes how medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy can be tailored to meet the needs of these youths.