VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Foundations of Problem Sexual Behavior Treatment and Response

October 21, 2025

Our Virtual Conference Day will cover core topics in understanding problem sexual behavior in children and youth. This the perfect fit for:

  • clinicians and professionals who work with children and youth and are regularly encountering problem sexual behavior in their practice, but don’t specialize in this area;
  • clinicians and professionals who are interested in working more directly with problem sexual behavior as an issue with children and youth but looking for foundational knowledge and training;
  • non-clinical professionals who work with young people and want to know more about the treatment approaches available for those who have problem sexual behaviors; and  
  • graduate students whose clinical program may not offer extensive course work on problem sexual behavior in children and youth.

Contact registration@masoc.net with any questions.

Registration Information

Regular Rate

$120
Applies after Oct. 6

Student Rate

$50
For current students. Email registration@masoc.net from your .edu email for the student discount code.

Group Rate (5+)

Agencies or organizations registering 5+ people receive 10% off. Email registration@masoc.net with your group members’ names to receive your group discount code.

Registration for the virtual day is closed as of Monday, Oct. 20. Sign up for email updates to be notified for future educational events. 

Agenda: Tuesday, October 21

8:45 – 9:00

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

9:00 – 10:00

What’s “Normal” Anyway? An overview of sexual development and the continuum of sexual behavior in young people
Jean Lindquist Grady, Psy.D.

Sexual behavior exists across the lifespan, including the entire span of childhood and adolescence. In order to understand which behaviors are concerning or problematic, it’s critical to recognize that those behaviors exist along a continuum alongside typical and expected behaviors. This workshop looks at everything from masturbation to sexting and helps practitioners understand how to approach them.
About Dr. Lindquist Grady

Jean Lindquist Grady, Psy.D. has over 25 years of experience in child welfare, mental health counseling, neurobiology and education, and is currently an Educational Psychologist within the Worcester (MA) Public Schools. Dr. Lindquist Grady evaluates youth who engage in problematic sexual behaviors and/or aggressive/threatening behaviors, as well as evaluates students, and provides consultation to multiple school districts within Massachusetts. She is an adjunct professor at Assumption University teaching graduate-level assessment courses within the School Counseling and Education departments. Dr. Lindquist Grady has provided professional development and training to school districts, community-based agencies, special education administrators, and mental health professionals on a multitude of topics. Throughout her career, Dr. Lindquist Grady has promoted best practices in trauma informed, community focused, student centered, strength based, equitable, and culturally conscious work with a commitment to continuous learning.

10:00 – 10:15

BREAK

10:15 – 11:45

Tools and Concepts of PSB Treatment
David Prescott, LICSW, ATSA-F

This workshop summarizes what decades of research and practice have found to be promising approaches in providing treatment to adolescents who sexually abuse. It explores what is meant by the term “evidence-based practice” and implications for practitioners, and it clarifies three principles of effective intervention. It highlights the most important components of the therapeutic alliance and the most important characteristics of providers. Most importantly, it offers hope for those working with these teens and their families.
About David Prescott, LICSW
A mental health practitioner of 40 years, David Prescott, LICSW is the Director of the Safer Society Continuing Education Center. He is the author and editor of 25 books in the areas of understanding and improving services to at-risk clients. He is best known for his work in the areas of understanding, assessing, and treating sexual violence and trauma. Mr. Prescott currently trains and lectures around the world. He currently lectures around the world and is the recipient of three lifetime achievement awards for his work on the prevention and treatment of sexual abuse from international professional organizations.

11:45 – 12:15

BREAK

12:15 – 1:45

Introduction to Assessment
Kevin Creeden, M.A., LMHC

Assessment is the bridge between an incident of problematic sexual behavior and effective treatment, case management, and safety planning for the young person who engaged in that behavior. A good assessment poses questions like, “Who is this young person?”, “What role does the behavior have in their life?”, “What needs do they have and how well or how often are they met?”, and “What are strengths and assets this young person has and where could they be better-resourced?” This workshop will introduce the basics of whole-child assessment to assist clinicians and professionals who don’t regularly work in this practice area with deciding what to do next after a young person’s PSB comes to light.

About Kevin Creeden, M.A., LMHC
Kevin Creeden, M.A., LMHC is the Director of Assessment and Research at the Whitney Academy in East Freetown, MA. He has over 40 years of clinical experience treating children, adolescents, and their families working extensively with sexually and physically aggressive youth. Over the past 30 years, his primary focus has been on issues of trauma and attachment difficulties, especially regarding the impact of trauma on behavior. Kevin has authored several articles and book chapters on the neuro-developmental impact of trauma on sexual behavior problems and harmful sexual behavior. He was also a contributing writer to the ATSA Adolescent Treatment Guidelines and the ATSA Child and Adolescent Committee’s paper on Children with Sexual Behavior Problems 2nd Edition. Mr. Creeden has served as the board Chair of MASOC (Massachusetts Society for a World Free of Sexual Harm by Youth), the president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), a Teaching Fellow at Boston College, an Instructor in Psychology at the Harvard Medical School, and a guest faculty at the Boston University School of Social Work and the Simmons School of Social Work. Mr. Creeden trains and consults nationally and internationally to youth service, community mental health, and forensic service programs.

1:45 – 2:00

BREAK

2:00 – 3:30

Best Practices in Safety Planning for Children and Adolescents Exhibiting Problematic Sexual Behaviors
Amanda Pryor, MSW, LCSW, CSAYC
Children and youth who’ve engaged in PSB are a diverse population whose behavior emerges for a wide constellation of reasons and in a diverse group of settings. This workshop will help participants to think about safety plans for children and youth in a way that emphasizes the young person’s own safety as well as the safety of others in their homes, families, or community.
About Amanda Pryor, MSW, LCSW, CSAYC

Amanda Pryor, MSW, LCSW, CSAYC is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over eighteen years of experience. She is a graduate of Indiana University School of Social Work. Her specialty is working with adolescents who have engaged in sexually harmful behavior. She is the Director of and is credentialed with IN-AJSOP, Indiana’s Initiative to Advance the Treatment of Sexually Maladaptive Youth. Currently, as the director of IN-AJSOP she provides credentialing services for professionals in the field of sexual maladaptive behaviors. Amanda is also the Juvenile Representative on the ATSA Board.

3:30 – 3:45

BREAK

3:45 – 5:15

Where to Now? Making appropriate referrals, duty to report, and working with non-adjudicated clients
Jeff Butts, LICSW

Beyond etiology, frameworks, and treatment planning, we get down to the simple logistics of working with young people with harmful sexual behaviors: what do we do now? This session will discuss how to make appropriate referrals to higher or lower levels of care, how to navigate your professional duty to report, and working with non-adjudicated clients.

About Jeff Butts, LICSW
Jeff Butts, LICSW is a clinician in private practice with a deep and impactful history of policy advocacy and program development. Jeff’s approach to work with young people with problematic sexual behaviors is trauma-informed and empirically-based. Jeff was the founding Executive Director of the SMART Team, a non-profit created to address the needs of young people deeply impacted by juvenile justice and trauma.  Since 1998, Jeff has served on the faculty of several colleges and universities including Simmons College, Boston University, Suffolk University and Springfield College. He has taught undergraduate, graduate and continuing education relevant to juvenile justice policy and clinical practice.  In 2001, Jeff was honored by the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers to receive the “Greatest Contribution Social Work for a Social Worker with Less than Five Years Post Masters Experience” and in 2015, he was honored by the Social Innovation Forum for his work founding SMART Team.

5:15 – 5:30

CLOSING AND EVALUATION

Continuing Education Credits and Certificates of Attendance

The virtual conference day has been approved for 7.0 CEs for LMHC by MaMHCA, MSW by NASW-MA, LMFT by NEAFAST, and Psyc by MPA-MA. Participants must attend and evaluate each session in order to receive CE credits. Any participants not seeking CEs will be issued a certificate of attendance after completing their evaluations.

Refund Policy

Refunds will not be given unless the conference is canceled. If you are unable to attend for any reason, you may designate a replacement. Please notify the conference coordinator as soon as possible of any changes via email at registration@masoc.net, or by phone at 413-344-0367.

Thank you to our sponsors