Ancient Ways and Modern Times: A Conversation with Geral Blanchard

Geral Blanchard has spent decades in practice with individuals who have abused. He has traveled to the farthest corners of the world studying how people change, recover from trauma, and build better lives. Geral has studied with healers and shamans across Africa and the Americas, most recently with the Kogi tribe in Colombia (one of only a very few guests they have ever invited). While many are familiar with his classic books, such as The Difficult Connection and Transcending Trauma, Geral’s more recent work has built on what he has learned from indigenous cultures and the recent empirical study of the use of psychoactive drugs in the treatment of trauma and addictions.

Sex, Tech, and Teens: A Conversation with Alex Rodrigues

Internet technological advancement, while an invaluable societal resource, is not without hazards. Teens now face challenges that were unimaginable 10 years ago: unsolicited sexual messages, revenge porn, “incels” (individuals who consider themselves to be ‘involuntarily celibate’), sexploitation, online domestic violence, and doxing (the distribution of personal information against that person’s will). Online technology is unavoidable, but the risks associated with it can be minimized. That’s the message Dr. Rodrigues will bring to this informal webinar conversation.

The Criminal Justice System’s Need for Better Understanding of Clients with Autism Spectrum Disorders

In this webinar with Dr. Spence, a world-renown expert in the treatment and assessment of justice-involved people with autism, we will examine the ways criminal justice systems fall short in ensuring the safety and effective rehabilitation of this vulnerable and challenging population. It’s a much-needed conversation that will shine light on how we can improve outcomes. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year at this time, we were hoping that we’d be looking at the COVID pandemic in the rear view mirror. Obviously, the pandemic remains a serious issue for the entire world. Nevertheless, there are many things we can be thankful for as we look back at the previous year. Number one for us at Safer Society Foundation is our customers. Personnel and supply-chain issues have impacted to some extent or another the printers who manufacture our books and our warehouse which ships them. This has occasionally meant being out of stock with some of our titles, as well as experiencing delays with shipping (we HATE delays). But you, our customers, have faced these problems with us with patience and understanding. Thank you for that.

Sandy Jung receives CAFA award

We were very pleased to learn that Dr. Sandy Jung has received the 2021 Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) Distinguished Academic Award. Dr. Jung is a Professor of Psychology at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, and the author of the Safer Society Press book RNR Principles in Practice: In the Management and Treatment of Sexual Abusers. The award recognizes Dr. Jung’s “outstanding research program in her Psychology Crime Lab that focuses on the prevention of sexual assault, child sexual exploitation, and intimate partner violence.”

How Can We Reform the Criminal Justice System?

In 1967, President Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice outlined a massive set of recommendations (involving law enforcement, courts, corrections, etc.). Unfortunately, many of these recommendations were never implemented, and few actual reforms have occurred. The largest issue has been the sheer volume of traffic through the legal system (often resulting in incarceration) and the culture of control and punishment, which are largely untouched by the reform efforts. The volume can be addressed by more citations which require fines and fees – or restorative justice – for misdemeanor offenses (broken-window types of offenses). Moving from public safety approaches to public health models will also alter the reach of the justice system; this is evident in the legal system’s handling of drug- and alcohol-related issues. This webinar provides a brief exploration of these and related issues.

Alan Sroufe on Empathy as an Attachment Outcome

Editor’s note: The is the first in a series of posts in which we look back at past Safer Talk webinars and trainings to pull perspectives that we feel may be of interest to professionals in our field. During his Safer Talk webinar conversation with host David Prescott, Alan Sroufe, author of A Compelling Idea, was asked to give an example of how attachment in infancy influences the kinds of people we become.

Cycle to End Abuse

Bicyclist Tim Markison is in the middle of riding 3,000 miles from San Diego to Jacksonville to help raise money and awareness for the issue of child sexual abuse. Among the agencies, Tim is raising money for is Safer Society. You can learn more about Tim’s trek here and find out how you can support his endeavor. You can also read about Tim’s experiences on the road.