Using the Becoming Who I Want to Be Workbooks for Adolescents with Problematic Behaviors

The Becoming Who I Want to Be workbooks for young men and women were designed for professionals working with youths with problematic behaviors toward others. The workbooks were written to be fun and engaging for clients whose adverse childhood experiences and problem behaviors have caused them to fall behind academically, socially, and interpersonally. Based on the Good Lives Model (GLM), the workbooks assist clinicians working with adolescents and young people whose behaviors have caused harm to others (including sexual and non-sexual violence).

How to Optimize Successful Sex Offending Treatment with the Road to Freedom Program

This four-hour training explores implementing a program based on the 4th edition of the workbook, The Road to Freedom, for people who have committed sexual offenses.

The RTF4 program is strengths-based, client-centered, trauma-informed, and based on the principles of risk, need, and responsivity. The training focuses on using the workbook in treatments that aim to reduce dynamic risk. Dr. Levenson further discusses the RTF4 sex offending treatment goals in the context of facilitating broader change in clients’ lives.

Motivating Suicidal Clients to Keep “Choosing Life”

There is perhaps no more critical time for helping professionals to listen to a client than when they talk about suicide. As a professional, you want to steer the client in a different direction. But is that the best approach? During the Safer Talk webinar Building Hope and Motivation with Suicidal Clients in Criminal Justice, guest speaker Natalie Cyr suggests that perhaps the best way to help those talking about suicide is to listen to their pain and offer to accompany them toward safety.

Resiliency and Working with Clients from Targeted Communities

In 2022, Miranda Galbreath posted a brief video intended for her friends and close colleagues. In it, she described her professional work with people who choose not to act on their sexual interest in children. An influential group with a well-noted political agenda took a brief section of the video out of context and reposted it widely on social media. Within days, she was publicly criticized over 72,000 times, including by a US Senator.

How Sand Tray Therapy Can Aid Your Treatment with Clients

Therapists and counselors around the world keep sand trays within close reach and know they can be excellent tools for therapeutic engagement and work. Despite their popularity, many therapists are unaware of the range of situations in which sand trays can prove effective. For example, manipulating symbolic objects, such as trees, people, and animals in a tray filled with sand can help clients express their emotional and psychological distress.

Conducting Sexual Abuser Risk of Sexual Harm to Children Assessments Using the ROSAC

Mental health, corrections, and child protective services professionals are commonly asked to assess the risk that a person who has sexually abused poses to a specific child and under what circumstances, if any, the abuser might safely be allowed to have contact with the child. The Risk of Sexual Abuse of Children (ROSAC: McGrath, Allin, & Cumming, 2015) is a structured professional judgment assessment instrument for conducting these types of risk of sexual abuse assessments.  This one-day online training reviews the theory and research basis for the ROSAC and focuses on using case studies to assist participants in practicing how to score and use the instrument to make risk determinations and develop safety plans. 

Building Hope and Motivation with Suicidal Clients in Criminal Justice

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness month. The number of people with mental illness who are incarcerated is twice the rate of the overall adult population (NAMI). To help in the prevention of suicide, we are hosting a free one-hour webinar with Senior Training Consultant and Motivational Interviewing Trainer for the Department of Justice and Public Safety, Nathalie Cyr.

Let’s Connect!

The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory this year on the healing power of social connection and community. Technology has made it easier for us to stay connected, but we are facing more loneliness than ever. But there is hope. In his report, Dr. Vivek Murthy said, “each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resource—a source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives.” At Safer Society we believe in the benefits of cultivating connections and work to create networking opportunities for our community.

Practical Application of the Good Lives Model

The Good Lives Model (GLM) has become a popular approach to the treatment of people who sexually abuse; however, substantial variation has been observed in its practical application. This three-hour online training focuses on how programs and therapists can best integrate the GLM into treatment with persons who have sexually abused. It is suitable for treatment providers and program administrators working in prison, civil commitment, and community-based settings who wish to integrate the GLM.

Reducing Risk with Continuity of Care Between Systems

The evaluation and treatment of people convicted of sexual crimes has changed dramatically over the last decade. We no longer reference the containment model and have adopted more comprehensive approaches. Many programs and practitioners have worked to implement the principles of effective correctional rehabilitation (such as risk, need, and responsivity) in the treatment and management of individuals who have committed sexual offenses. However, barriers frequently arise based on where the professionals providing these services are situated. Supervising officers are often employed by a