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Community Outreach
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What kinds of community outreach do you do?
I feel that it is important to give back to the community as much
as I can. One of the best ways that I can do that is by providing my expertise to the public for free. I provide
free seminars to local organizations such as PTSA, church and professional groups that have parents looking to better understand and
raise their children.
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Do you have any upcoming workshops that I can attend?
Yes, I do. The following
is a schedule of upcoming workshops for local parent organizations that have invited me to speak:
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Do you ever give trainings to other therapists on working with kids and teenagers?
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Yes,
if you are a therapist, social worker, teacher, psychologist or any other professional interested in working with kids and teens,
check out one of my upcoming workshops:
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What organizations have you
been a resource to?
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Some of the groups that I have been associated with are:
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What kind of topics do you discuss?
Here
is a list of workshops that I have created that are available for your group to better
help parents and professionals alike better understand kids and teenagers:
I am constantly researching
new topics to present. So if your group or association is interested in learning better ways to help your kids, teens and families
change and grow, please Contact me. As each organization is unique, I am able to customize a presentation to
fit your interests. In fact I may be working on a topic right now that suits your needs.
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Are your seminars dry and boring?
No.
Actually, I always get great feedback from participants telling me that these workshops are a lot of fun. Not only are
they very interactive, but without fail, there are always great questions from parents which lead to exciting group interactions. This
creates more of a discussion-like atmosphere instead of them feeling like dry and boring lectures.
I always try to use
levity to lighten some of these very heavy and scary topics. There are three main reasons why I do this:
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Do you do any community outreach specifically geared
toward kids?
As a matter of fact, I have. From 2007 - 2008 I volunteered my time as an instructor for "Our Whole Lives"
Lifespan Sexuality Education.
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WHAT?! What is that?
Our Whole Lives is a series of sexuality education curricula for various age groups from as early as kindergarten and going all the way to adulthood. In April, 2008, I concluded a 27-week class providing up-to-date information and honest, age-appropriate education for the 7th - 9th grade class. This program helps kids clarify their values and improve their decision-making skills within a safe and supportive group atmosphere. Our Whole Lives promotes values of self worth, sexual health, responsibility, justice and inclusivity. The goal is to help participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. | ||
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Why do you teach kids about sex? I feel that this is a very important issue in today's world. Children (especially teens) have so much access to information and more importantly... misinformation about sex, leading to very poor decisions. Many of those rash choices can be drastically life altering. The more real information kids have, the better choices they generally make. As I asked in my February 2007 issue of Tips on Teens #004 - "Are You Worried about Your Teen Having Sex?" -- Who would you rather have (your kid) learn (about sex) from… his 15-year-old ignorant friends? Or you and medical professionals? That is a scary question for most parents to face; but it is an important one. I'd rather your kid make choices on what knowledgeable professionals teach than on what his friends think they know. | ||
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Are there any other organizations
that you donate your time to?
Yes, I am a volunteer for the both the Red Cross Disaster Mental Health team in the West
San Fernando Valley and the CAMFT Trauma Response Network for both California and the San Fernando Valley. That means if
there is ever a local tragedy (anything from a single house fire to a community wide disaster) I am called upon to offer mental
health support to both the Red Cross staff and victims of the event.
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Will you tell me more about your community outreach?
Of
course, I'd be happy to talk to you more about what I do. Please Contact me and we'll talk about how we can collaborate
to design a program that would give back to the community by helping kids, teens and their families change and grow.
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