Utilizing Strengths-Based Interventions: Ending Harmful Sexual Behaviors by Promoting Healthy, Prosocial Lives

Adolescents and adults often enter sex offense-specific services presenting with mistrust, defensiveness, hopelessness, shame, anger, and other responses that can impede effective work.  A Strengths-Based Approach (SBA) helps create an environment in which these clients begin to feel psychologically safe, open, and engaged in services.  There is growing empirical support for utilizing strengths-based practices, which not only help mitigate harmful sexual behaviors but also develop and reinforce skills for leading healthy, prosocial lives.  

Culturally Responsive Approaches to Sexual Violence in Indigenous Communities

Sexual violence is rampant in Indigenous communities, where more than half of the women in the community have experienced sexual harm. The need for professional treatment of problematic behavior in these communities has never been greater, but Western approaches have proved ineffective. This training delves into the complexities of addressing sexual violence in Indigenous communities, offering a deep understanding of the historical and cultural factors at play.

Treating Intellectually Disabled Adolescents with Sexual Behavior Problems

This training focuses on the overarching principles associated with the effective assessment and treatment of intellectually disabled youths exhibiting problematic sexual behaviors while identifying specific treatment needs and treatment interventions for some of the different constellations of social, emotional, and cognitive difficulties that may be presented by these youths.

Our Safe Haven: An Open Dialog for Abuse Prevention Professionals

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.

Treatment with Adults Who Have Sexually Abused

This training provides a foundational understanding of treatment for adults who have sexually abused. It is of interest to those who are newer to the field as well as those who wish to develop their existing skills further. It describes the components of effective treatment programming and delivery. It outlines steps for understanding clients in the moment and helping them to find their own motivations and strategies for making changes to their lives. It explores methods (for example, Motivational Interviewing and the Good Lives Model) that function as frameworks that practitioners can use to organize treatment.

Community Management of People Who Have Sexually Abused and the Challenges of Working with Special-Needs Clients

This training provides practical information on two components that often go unexamined: sensible approaches to community management and how to work with clients with special needs.

The first half of this training summarizes and provides information on effective approaches to the community management of sexual violence risk, with a focus on the most current approaches. Policymakers have historically attempted to manage risk by instituting measures of official control, such as sex offender registries, GPS monitoring, and residency restrictions. However, the scientific literature suggests that such measures often don’t accomplish their intended goal. This training will explore

Group Therapy for Adults Who Have Sexually Abused

Providing group therapy requires more skill than many professionals often realize. This training is for professionals who are new to the field as well as more seasoned professionals who want to learn new skills from an established expert.

For many years, group therapy has been the preferred mode of treating adults who had sexually abused, quite simply because it is more efficient—in terms of both time and cost—than individual treatment. Today, however, we know that group treatment is about so much more than treating many clients at once.