Lunch & Learn Series
Fall 2026 Series | MASOC & MACAProgram 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 and allied professionals working with children and youth engaging in problematic sexual behaviors. This is a collaborative effort between MASOC and MACA.
This series offers CE credits to augment this unique professional development opportunity. Credits are free to MA professionals thanks to the generous support of the Children’s Trust of MA. If you are from out of state, the cost for CE credits is $10/session.
Dates & Topics
All sessions are from 12:00 to 1:00 pm Eastern.
September 15, 2026
Residential Staff as Treatment Partners: A Trauma-Informed, Relationship-Based Approach to Supporting Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior with Amy Hogarth, MFT; Micah Bannister, LMHC; and Ivy Medeiros, LICSW
October 6, 2026
Making the Case for Comprehensive Sex Education in the Child Welfare System with Karen Rayne, PhD, CSE and Andrea Requenes
November 17, 2026
Keep Safe – A Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Program for young people with learning disabilities and/or neuro-diversity who have harmed sexually and their parents/carers with Stephen Barry and Alice Hunt
December 15, 2026
Nonconsensual Sexual Behavior among Youth: Age dynamics and implications for prevention with Melissa Bright, PhD
January 19, 2027
Planting Seeds of Prevention: The Power of Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Education with Amanda Barratt, LMSW, CSE, CST; Josef Canaria; and Paige Allia, MA
RECORDINGS OF PREVIOUS SESSIONS
View all previous sessions on our Recorded Webinars page.
Residential Staff as Treatment Partners: A Trauma-Informed, Relationship-Based Approach to Supporting Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior
Presenters: Amy Hogarth, MFT; Micah Bannister, LMHC; and Ivy Medeiros, LICSW
Youth with problematic sexual behavior–especially those in residential settings–require consistent, relationship-based interventions that extend beyond therapy sessions. Residential staff are uniquely positioned to reinforce treatment goals through the countless interactions they have with youth each day, yet many receive limited preparation for this critical role. Recognizing this need, Stevens Treatment Programs developed a comprehensive training program and practice model that prepares non-clinical residential professionals to become skilled partners in the clinical treatment process.
During this workshop, Stevens team members will present the philosophy, framework, and implementation of this training model, including practical strategies for creating a common treatment language across residential and clinical teams. Participants will learn how the model helps staff consistently reinforce individualized treatment goals, increase youth engagement and resilience, reduce the need for restrictive interventions, and transform routine interactions into meaningful therapeutic opportunities. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for developing residential staff as effective treatment partners and strengthening collaboration between direct care professionals and clinicians to improve outcomes for youth.
Learning objectives:
- Explain how trauma, attachment, regulation, development, and strengths influence youth behavior and inform relationship-based care.
- Apply practical, evidence-informed strategies—including Motivational Interviewing, ARC principles, co-regulation, and developmentally appropriate interventions—to reinforce treatment goals during everyday interactions.
- Demonstrate how residential staff can serve as effective treatment partners by using consistent language, intentional interventions, and collaboration with clinical teams to promote youth engagement, accountability, resilience, and positive outcomes.
About the Speakers
Amy Hogarth, MFT, Micah Bannister, LMHC, and Ivy Medeiros, LICSW are the Program Director, Director of Clinical Services, and Executive Director of Stevens Treatment Programs in Swansea, MA. Stevens serves boys ages 11-22 with severe trauma histories, complex behavioral and emotional needs, and histories of problematic sexual behavior.
Making the Case for Comprehensive Sex Education in the Child Welfare System
Presenters: Karen Rayne, PhD, CSE; and Andrea Requenes
Comprehensive, inclusive, pleasure-forward, consent-based sexuality education is critical for all young people, including those who are child welfare involved and also those who have engaged in PSBs! This session outlines how and when child welfare involved youth fall through the sex education cracks and how child welfare providers can be a bridge to healthy sexuality. It supports providers as they consider their own biases, history, and knowledge base, and affirms that sexuality education, provided in trauma informed ways, is an integral piece to the child welfare setting. It is based on An Introduction to Sexuality Education: A Handbook for Child Welfare Providers.
Learning objectives:
- Describe the importance of comprehensive sexuality education in child welfare settings.
- Assess their own preparation for providing comprehensive sexuality education.
- Identify at least two resources for further learning regarding comprehensive sexuality education in the child welfare space.
About Dr. Karen Rayne, CSE
Dr. Karen Rayne, CSE, has worked in education for the past two and a half decades with a specialty in comprehensive sexuality education across the lifespan. She is Co-Founder and Director of Education for UN|HUSHED, where she writes and edits books and lifespan comprehensive sexuality curricula, trains sexuality educators, and builds collaborative coalitions.
About Andrea Requenes
Andrea Requenes is the Vice President of Learning at the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services and has spent her nearly 30 year career in various training and leadership roles in the field of child welfare. Andrea began her career as a foster care caseworker for the Louisiana Department of Social Services and briefly worked in mental health before returning to child welfare. In addition to being trained in various curricula, she is a Licensed Child-Placing Agency Administrator and a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) practitioner through TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute for Child Development.
Keep Safe – A Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Program for young people with learning disabilities and/or neuro-diversity who have harmed sexually and their parents/carers
Presenters: Stephen Barry; and Alice Hunt
Keep Safe is a CBT-based prevention/early intervention and/or treatment program that can be delivered as a group or individual family intervention for young people with learning disabilities who have harmed sexually and their parents/carers, incorporating the Good Lives Model and Good Way Model. The program can also be used with a broad range of young people including those with neuro-diversity and can be adapted to be used as a prevention/early intervention program within a range of settings. The program was developed in collaboration with Kent University Tizard Centre, Safer IDD, the Be Safe Service and the learning disability community and is in use with more than 500 multi-disciplinary practitioners across the UK, Ireland, and Japan. The program has a range of resources and activities that can be used with participants and incorporates a strengths-based approach located within the young person’s support network. The workshop will introduce attendees to the program, underpinning theory, structure and implementation.
Learning objectives:
- Articulate key strategies for working with children and young people with learning disabilities who have harmed sexually and their parents/carers.
- Describe the core components of the Keep Safe Programme.
- Identify at least two practical strategies for creative ways to engage with the young person’s parents/carers and support network.
About Stephen Barry
Stephen Barry is a social worker registered with Social Work England, and an integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor, accredited with the United Kingdom Council for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Stephen is the Clinical Lead/Manager for the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health NHS Partnership Trust Be Safe Service in Bristol, England, providing assessments and interventions for children and young people who have displayed problematic/harmful sexual behaviour, their parents/carers, and offers consultation and training to professionals.
Stephen has held a number of advisory roles, is the Co-Chair of the NOTA EDI Scrutiny Panel, Trustee for Circles of Support and Accountability, South West, and Director of CSA Insight. Stephen in collaboration with Kent University Tizard Centre and Safer IDD, supported the development of the Keep Safe Programme for young people with learning disabilities who have harmed sexually. He has two publications in the 2019 Journal of Sexual Aggression relating to children and parents.
About Alice Hunt
Alice Hunt is a qualified Probation Officer and therapeutic counsellor, registered with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, working for the Be Safe Service in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in Bristol, England, supporting children, young people and families where there are worries about sexual behaviour. Alice has worked for over 20 years in the public and voluntary sector specialising in working therapeutically with adults and young people with complex needs in a variety of settings, as well as offering consultation, supervision and training to other professionals. Alice leads on the delivery of the Keep Safe Training.
December 15, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Nonconsensual Sexual Behavior among Youth: Age dynamics and implications for prevention
Presenter: Melissa Bright, PhD
About Melissa Bright, PhD
Dr. Melissa Bright is the Chief Science Officer and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Violence Prevention Research. After completing her PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Georgia, Dr. Bright spent eight years on the faculty at the University of Florida in both the College of Medicine and College of Education where she developed a multidisciplinary research agenda around family violence and social determinants of health. In 2021, Dr. Bright left academia to found the Center for Violence Prevention Research. Her goal was to create a research organization that was accessible to non-researchers and that conducted research with immediate implications for practice. Dr. Bright has published dozens of papers in high impact scientific journals including JAMA Pediatrics and the Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
January 19, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Planting Seeds of Prevention: The Power of Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Education
Presenters: Amanda Barratt, LMSW, CSE, CST; Josef Canaria; and Paige Allia, MA
This interactive session will engage participants in a conversation around access to childcare and early education as an evidence-based strategy for the primary prevention of violence perpetration. Access to affordable, high-quality trauma-informed early education and childcare has the potential to impact a range of positive community health outcomes, including the prevention of sexual violence. During this session, the presenters will unpack the barriers to early childhood education and childcare and the lifelong impact it has on communities. We will dig into materials for early education providers on trauma-informed care and wellness and care that can prevent violence.
Learning objectives:
- Describe how trauma-informed early childhood systems collectively function as upstream prevention strategies for interpersonal & sexual violence.
- Identify structural and relational protective factors that can be strengthened to improve safety outcomes and economic stability in under-resourced communities.
- Identify and Implement trauma-informed resources in early-childhood education and childcare settings that can prevent violence.
About Amanda Barratt, LMSW, CSE, CST
Amanda Barratt is the Associate Director for the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence. Amanda is a nationally certified sex therapist/sexual health educator and envisions communities where people can live free from violence and experience delight and pleasure.
About Josef Canaria
Josef Canaria is a Program Director at the MCEDSV. With over 12 years of experience in sexual, domestic, and youth violence prevention, he has advanced community-centered approaches at the state and national levels. He values creating spaces for honest conversation, reflection, and meaningful social change. As a gay, Asian immigrant, Josef grounds his work in lived experience and a commitment to building safer, more inclusive communities.
About Paige Allia, MA
Paige Allia is a Senior Program Manager for the MCEDSV, focusing on preventing domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking through survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and anti-oppression practices. With a background in cultural and medical anthropology and yoga therapy, Paige brings over a decade of leadership experience in Michigan service agencies, crisis response, and university instruction. Paige is a dedicated social justice advocate committed to supporting survivors and driving cultural change through prevention.
Continuing Education for Clinicians
Looking for more professional development and continuing education opportunities? MASOC offers two annual conferences, regular lunch and learns, and on-demand webinars to inform practitioners of best-practices, treatment approaches and emerging research on problematic sexual behaviors.