Helping Kids Who Never Asked for Help in the First Place
Presented by Janet Sasson Edgette, Psy.D.

Web Conference Description

Therapists often find themselves feeling uneasy in the presence of their teenage clients, many of whom make no bones about not wanting to be there. Charged with helping these kids make changes that they deny needing or having any control over, they can wind up trying much too hard to gain their clients¹ trust, demonstrate their sincerity, and prove themselves useful, all of which actually makes it harder for kids to connect.

This ninety-minute Web Conference introduces a model of working with pre-adolescents and adolescents, as well as with their parents, that focuses on establishing genuine contact with young clients, in part by avoiding the temptations of trying too hard or of letting things slide for the sake of gaining rapport. In this approach, therapists are responsible for actively processing both their own and their clients experience, and encouraged to use transparency and a kind curiosity to bring up pressing issues as they present in session, starting with the first.

This Web Conference is introductory instructional level and designed to help clinicians:

1) Apply appropriate therapeutic techniques to help teenagers and adolescents achieve maximal growth; 
2) Manage times when teenage clients do not talk, deny problems, get angry with the clinician, and/or say "you're making things worse!";
3) Negotiate issues having to do with confidentiality, boundaries, and self-disclosure;
4) Advocate for teens while still holding them accountable for their choices;
5) Integrate individual and family work with the same client.

If you have any questions about this Web Conference, or would like more information, please contact us here.