Training Description
This 1.5 hour workshop explores key areas of therapeutic engagement with adolescents who sexually abuse. While professionals often seek out the most effective models and instrumentation for assessment and treatment, it can be easy to forget that therapeutic engagement can make or break the treatment experience, and the skills and strategies within it therefore contribute to public safety. Following a discussion of common problems in engaging clients meaningfully and a close examination of the principles of effective correctional intervention, the key strategies and area of focus include: understanding key biases; getting grounded in the “therapeutic factors” common in all treatments; the importance of hope, expectancy, and the working alliance; using approach goals; getting trauma-Informed; session preparation skills; using specific motivational techniques; and (time allowing) collecting client feedback.
Trainer Biography
David Prescott, LCSW, LICSW serves as Director of Professional Development and as a Clinical Director for the Becket Family of Services. Devoted to building healthy lives and safe communities, he has produced 18 book projects and numerous articles and chapters in the areas of assessing and treating sexual violence and trauma. Mr. Prescott is a past president of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. He is also the 2014 recipient of that organization’s Distinguished Contribution award. Previously, he received the Bright Lights award from the National Adolescent Perpetration Network in 2007. He is a Certified Trainer for the International Center for Clinical Excellence and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. He has lectured around the world, including most recently in Namibia, Australia, Japan, Germany, Iceland, Poland, Romania, Canada, and the U.K. He also serves on the editorial boards of three scholarly journals: Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, and Motivational Interviewing: Training, Research, Implementation, and Practice and the Journal of Sexual Aggression.
Learning Objectives
This training is designed to help you:
- Participants will learn the central components of a strong therapeutic alliance
- Participants will learn about approach goals and the advantages of using them in treatment
- Participants will learn specific skills for session preparation to ensure a smooth flow to interventions