Lunch & Learn Series

Program Overview

CE Credits: 1 credit per session

This Lunch and Learn series is a monthly, 1-hour, high-octane focus on the emerging issues for clinicians working with children and youth engaging in problematic sexual behaviors. This is a collaborative effort between the Children’s Trust, MACA and MASOC.

This series offers CE credits to augment this unique professional development opportunity. Credits are free if you live or work in MA.  If you do not live or work in MA and you would like CE credits, there will be a charge of $10 per credit. CE credits are made possible through William James College.

View full session overviews below.

January 30, 2024 | 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Sexual Wellbeing: Why It Matters for Adolescents Who Cause Harm

Presenter: Jane Fleishman, Ph.D., M.Ed., MS, AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator

Developing consensual sexual relationships can be a challenge particularly in the context of adolescents with problem sexual behaviors. Bringing discussions of healthy sexuality to our clients necessitates candor and a comprehensive sexuality education approach. Yet how do we create an atmosphere of positive, non-coercive, and pleasurable sexual expression for adolescents with problem sexual behaviors? Using a public health model which incorporates sexual health, sexual pleasure, sexual wellbeing, and sexual justice (Mitchell et al., 2021) and the Circles of Sexuality (Dailey, 1981), we can offer our clients an opportunity to develop the tools they need for consensual sexual and intimate relationships. This session will offer participants the most up-to-date research on effectiveness of comprehensive sexuality education, three models of comprehensive sexuality education for psychoeducational groups, ideas for the application of these approaches, and an overview of the challenges adolescents with problem sexual behaviors face.

February 27, 2024| 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Through the Lens of Trauma: Preventing & Responding to Harmful Sexual Behavior in Young People

Presenter: Jill Levenson, Ph.D., LCSW

If we want to address and prevent sexual behavior problems with children and adolescents, we need to incorporate knowledge about the development of sexually abusive behavior into a comprehensive primary prevention scheme woven into the fabric of schools, clinical therapy, social services, and public policy. This 1-hour session will discuss a primary prevention perspective that looks holistically at the causes and consequences of interpersonal trauma and its far-reaching effects for children, families, communities, and systems of care. This session will challenge attendees to think about abuse and resilience through the lens of trauma, so we can enhance our approaches to children with sexual behavior problems (CSBP). Trauma-informed frameworks provide an innovative approach for treatment and prevention. This session will describe how a history of trauma might influence a child’s behavior, boundaries, and self-regulation. A set of trauma-informed practices (TIPs) will give specific strategies for integrating TIC into services designed to prevent and respond to CSBP.

March 26, 2024 | 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Hitting Reset: Understanding Gamer Culture and Its Implications for Child and Adolescent Treatment

Presenter: David Delmonico, Ph.D., Stephen Kuniak, Ph.D., and Natalie Drozda, Ph.D.

Apex. Halo. Minecraft. Fortnite. LoL. GTA. WoW. Roblox. According to a Pew Research study in2018, an estimated 90% of 13-17-year-old adolescents play video games on their computer, gaming console, or cell phone. Understanding the “Gamer Culture” is critical to the assessment and treatment process, especially for children and adolescents.

This workshop will use lecture and demonstration to introduce participants to various forms of gaming and gaming culture. There will be discussion regarding how gaming may intersect the world of sexuality, including in-game pornography and sexual behavior. In addition, the positive and protective aspects of gaming will be presented. The latest trends in therapeutic gaming will be discussed, including the risks and benefits of directly gaming with your child and adolescent clients. This workshop will provide thoughtprovoking, practical ideas for working with children and adolescents who game.

April 30, 2024 | 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Not Just Fun and Games: Using Biofeedback to Enhance Self-regulation

Presenter: Kevin Creeden, M.A., LMHC

Perhaps the most significant impact of interpersonal trauma is the diminished capacity to regulate the intensity and duration of affective states such as fear, anger, and sexual impulses. Not only do many of the youth we treat struggle to regulate their emotional and behavioral responses but frequently they fail to recognize or accurately label the physiological cues that precipitate or accompany these dysregulated responses.
This training proposes that the use of HRV (heart rate variability) biofeedback as a treatment intervention that enhances the awareness of physiological cues and promotes an increased capacity for self-regulatory responses. This can not only improve behavioral stability but can facilitate a greater sense of personal competence and resilience.

May 28, 2024 | 12:00-1:00 PM ET

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse through Connection and Support: Lessons from Stop It Now! and WhatsOK

Presenter: Jenny Coleman, MA, LMHC

For decades, child sexual abuse has been addressed primarily with reactive approaches, after a child is harmed. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in support for the development of primary prevention initiatives—specifically, programs that focus on perpetration prevention and pursue opportunities to reach youth and young adults at-risk to abuse with support and resources. The goals of this workshop are to examine this new landscape of child sexual abuse prevention and identify areas for future development. Attendees will expand their knowledge of perpetration prevention resources, their development, and potential impact. Specifically, What’s Ok? from Stop It Now! will be featured as novel examples of perpetration prevention initiatives. The speaker will discuss the development, implementation of, and lessons learned from this program, and close with a focus on critical gaps in prevention that must be addressed.