What Every Therapist and Parent Can Do Today to Reverse the Childhood Mental Health Epidemic

What Every Therapist and Parent Can Do Today to Reverse the Childhood Mental Health Epidemic

Friday, March 14, 2025

9am-12pm

with Paul Sunseri, Psy.D.

2 CE credits
In person only

Description

Mental health challenges among children and adolescents are now a matter of national urgency. A increase in rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide has been evident for over a decade, well before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital that the mental health community develop a better understanding of the causes and contributors to the current epidemic of depression, anxiety, and suicide among young people, as well as identify treatments supported by research that actually work. This presentation will focus on three chief contributors that are vital for clinicians to understand and address: emotional and behavioral contagion, the influence of smart phones and other devices (and how to buffer kids from those influences), and a loss of opportunities to foster age-appropriate independence and resilience. The presenter will discuss ways clinicians attempt to help young people but in reality are making the epidemic worse. Finally the presenter will offer an 18-point strategic plan that can be implemented today clinicians and parents to reverse the mental health epidemic. Clinicians of all skill levels will find this presentation to be thought provoking and highly clinically useful.

Educational Goals

1. Increase participants knowledge base and clinical skills relative to working with depressed, anxious, and suicidal youth.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

1. Identify at least three specific clinical interventions currently being underutilized.
2. Name the three largest contributors to the mental health epidemic.
3. Advise parents of the one most important thing they can do to protect their child from the epidemic.
   

Presenter

Paul Sunseri, Psy.D. is the founder of three community mental health agencies in California, including the New Horizons Child & Family Institute. Dr. Sunseri has spoken internationally on the relationship between family functioning and children’s mental health and he has published numerous articles on the topic in peer- reviewed journals. Dr. Sunseri, a TEDx speaker, is an advocate for family-based therapy as a first line treatment for children and adolescents with serious mental illness. He is the developer of Intensive Family- Focused Therapy (myIFFT.org), a family-based treatment approach for children and adolescents with treatment resistant mental illness. Dr. Sunseri is also the developer of the Child & Adolescent Family Functioning Inventory (CAFFI), a brief, publicly available assessment tool that serves as both a treatment planner and an outcome measure. He is the chief architect of the National Conference for the Advancement of Family Therapies (NCAFT.org). Finally, Dr. Sunseri is the author of two books published by Routledge, one of the leading publishers in academic psychology: Family-Focused Treatment for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A New Paradigm and Gentle Parenting Reimagined: How to Make It Work with Oppositional and Defiant Kids.

Other Details

Time: 9am-12pm (9-10 networking/light breakfast, 10am-12pm 2hr CE event)

Location: Sierra2Center - Curtis Hall (2791 24th St, Sacramento, CA 95818)

There is a parking lot that is available for free for guests on 4th Ave & 24st (https://sierra2.org/sierra-2-center/directions-parking/).

Cost: 

Non-member $40

Licensed Member $35

Associate Member $30

Student Member $25

Early Bird (ends 2 weeks prior to event)

Non-member $35

Licensed Member $30

Associate Member $25

Student Member $20

For questions, more information, accommodations: contact us at sacramentocamft@gmail.com

This is an introductory, intermediate, and advanced level course. This program will benefit LMFT, LPCC, LEP and LCSW licensees and pre-licensees.

This course meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education law and ethics credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. The Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SVC-CAMFT), provider #62279, is approved by CAMFT to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. SVC-CAMFT maintains the responsibility for the program and all its content.

CE credit will be awarded via email after the completion of the course in exchange for a course evaluation. No CE credits will be awarded to persons not attending the presentation in it's entirety. Partial CE credit will not be awarded.

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