Treatment of Problematic Sexual Behaviors in Children and Adolescents

When a child or adolescent sexually acts out it can be a scary experience for not just a parent, but also for the provider working with the family. This talk will first correct common myths and misconceptions of children who sexually act out (e.g., the supermajority of these children are highly responsive to treatment and are not pedophiles). The second aspect of this talk will be a walk through of the evidence for how to treat these children and the likelihood of success (e.g., with appropriate, evidence-based practices, children ages 3 to 18 who engage in these behaviors are up to 95% successful in treatment and do not sexually reoffend again). Evidence for effective approaches and concrete examples and tips for working with these children and their families will be the main focus of this talk.

Speaker

Michael Gomez, PhD, Psychologist in Outpatient Child Psychiatry at Bradley Hospital and The Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University

Dr. Gomez is currently on staff at Bradley Hospital one of the teaching hospitals for The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and the nation’s first, and oldest, psychiatric hospital specifically for children and adolescents committed to dissemination of evidence-based practices in psychology. Dr. Gomez was previously director of the Adversity and Resilience Community Center (ARCC), a child trauma behavioral health clinic in the West Texas area where he was also adjunct professor at Texas Tech University Psychological Sciences; the Texas Tech University College of Education; and the TTUHSC School of Nursing. He was previously faculty at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect/Child Study Center Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the Oklahoma University Health and Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.  He specializes in trauma-focused CBT, treatment of adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB), PCIT, TARGET, and assessment of autism spectrum disorders. He is a nationally certified TF-CBT trainer, of which he is one of 70 in the world. Additionally, he is a nationally certified CE-CERT trainer, a model for addressing burnout and vicarious trauma in providers, of which he is one of 10 in the US. He is also a nationally certified PCIT therapist.  He is trained in assessment and diagnostics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He is one of the three national co-chairs for the National Child Traumatic Stress Networks (NCTSN) Trauma and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Workgroup (formerly the NCTSN Trauma and ASD Community of Practice), as well as a member of the NCTSN steering committee, the NCTSN affiliate program, and the NCTSN youth task force.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:

1. Differentiate how child/adolescent PSB’s are qualitatively different than adult pedophilia
2. Explain a conceptual base for implementing evidence based (vs. non-evidence based) strategies for youth with PSBs
3. Identify specific evidence-based practices to address PSBs in children and adolescents

Details

• Target audience: psychologists, physicians, social workers and other interested health care professionals
• Instructional level: Intermediate
• 3.0 CE hours/credits (see below)

Registration

• Program fee: $49.00
• Online registration closes on Wednesday, October 26
• For refund/cancellation information please email [email protected] or call Nicole Rios at 401-432-1203.

Register online