VIRTUAL DAY

Principles to Practice: Applying Whole-Child Approaches to PSB Intervention and Prevention

Monday, October 19, 2026

Our virtual day sessions will move beyond introductory concepts, offering deeper dives into real-world applications and practitioner-focused strategies. Attendees should have a foundational understanding of PSB in children and adolescents, but sessions are designed to be valuable for both intermediate and advanced practitioners.

This day is ideal for:

clinicians and professionals who are looking to deepen their practice knowledge and skills for working with children and youth with harmful sexual behaviors and their caregivers.
graduate students interested in this practice specialty 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

Early Bird Registration – through Sept. 30

Virtual Day: $105
In-person Day: $200

Standard Registration – begins Oct. 1

Virtual Day: $120
In-person Day: $230

Student Rate

Virtual Day: $50
In-person Day: $65

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.

Agenda: Monday, October 19

All times are in Eastern.

9:00 – 9:15

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

9:15 – 10:45

Fostering Imagination in Therapy with Children and Adolescents
Craig Haen, Ph.D., RDT, CGP, LCAT, AGPA-F

Research in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology have highlighted important connections between imagination and the acquisition of emotion regulation and executive functioning skills for young people. At the same time, meta-analyses show that we still have a long way to go in enhancing the effectiveness of child/adolescent treatment, where non-improvement and treatment dropout are common. This presentation will highlight the potential for imagination as a transtheoretical mechanism of change and consider the “why and how” of incorporating techniques that foster imagination into clinical practice.

About Dr. Haen

Craig Haen, Ph.D., RDT, CGP, LCAT, AGPA-F has a private practice working with children, adolescents, adults and families in White Plains, NY. Craig is co-founder and Training Director of the Kint Institute, which offers post-Masters clinical training in the arts and trauma treatment in New York City. He is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, where he serves as co-chair of the Community Outreach Task Force. In this role, he has coordinated responses to mass trauma events internationally for the past decade and co-authored the organization’s public statements on human rights issues. He received the Social Responsibility Award in 2021 in recognition of this work. Craig is also an independent scholar whose most recent book was Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents, with the late Nancy Boyd Webb.

10:45 – 11:00

BREAK

11:00 – 12:30

Whose Resistance Is It? Caregiver Engagement and Practitioner Bias
Amanda Pryor, MSW, LCSW, CSAYC

Caregiver engagement is among the best predictors of positive outcomes for children and youth with harmful sexual behaviors, yet families and caregivers are often perceived as more difficult to work with than young people themselves. Clinicians frequently encounter denial, minimization, defensiveness, inconsistent participation, or apparent indifference, leading to frustration and assumptions that caregivers “just don’t want to engage.” These dynamics can inadvertently reinforce practitioner bias, increase therapeutic rupture, and reduce treatment effectiveness. This workshop examines the relational, developmental, and systemic factors that shape caregiver engagement in treatment. Participants will explore how trauma, shame, guilt, fear, cultural beliefs, family stressors, child protection involvement, and practitioners’ own cognitive and emotional responses influence engagement. The workshop will look more closely at caregiver motivation and provide practical strategies for responding to denial and minimization without disengaging the family from services. Drawing on evidence-informed and family-centered approaches, participants will strengthen their ability to foster collaborative therapeutic alliances, maintain accountability while supporting caregiver capacity for change, and recognize and address their own biases.

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.

12:30 – 1:00

LUNCH BREAK

1:00 – 3:00

Keeping the Brain in Mind: Adversity, maltreatment, neurodevelopment and PSB
Kevin Creeden, M.A., LMHC

There is a growing amount of research demonstrating that early experiences of child maltreatment can alter brain development in a variety of ways. A range of learning and behavioral difficulties emerge from these alterations including executive functioning problems, emotional dysregulation, behavioral difficulties, altered threat detection and response, sensory processing problems, reward processing, memory related issues, and specific learning deficits in language processing and math. It is important to note that children who experience maltreatment can display an array of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral difficulties or none at all and that these differences can be influenced by features of the maltreatment including the developmental timing, type of maltreatment, duration, intensity, and adult response as well as heritable factors and environmental conditions.

Because the presentations and needs of each child and family can be so varied there is no single treatment modality and no specific group of interventions that will meet the treatment needs of every child who presents with neurodevelopmental issues, problematic sexual behavior and/or a history of maltreatment. Clinicians will first and foremost need to be aware that there may be a neurodevelopmental aspect of the child’s processing and behavior that shape this individual’s perspective, decision-making, and experiences in idiosyncratic or challenging ways.

This workshop examines what research tells us about the neurodevelopmental impact of maltreatment on learning and behavior and discusses ways this may contribute to children engaging in problematic and harmful sexual behavior. We will also discuss the implications for assessment and treatment along with providing a framework for addressing these issues.

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.

3:00 – 3:15

BREAK

3:15 – 4:45

Anime and Youth: Understanding its Impact on Adolescent Perceptions of Sexual Behavior
Jermaine Wall, LICSW-S, JSOCC

Anime has become a substantial cultural medium for adolescents globally, often consumed during critical periods of identify development, sexual socialization, and moral reasoning. While many youth engage with anime harmlessly, some content includes repeated portrayals of sexualized power dynamics, boundary violations, age-discrepant relationships, and distorted depictions of consent. For youth already vulnerable due to trauma exposure, neurodevelopmental differences or emerging PSB, these portrayals may interact with existing cognitive and emotional risk factors. This workshop moves beyond sensationalized discussions of media influence and instead provides a nuanced, clinically grounded examination of anime as a potential contextual influence in youth sexual behavior development.

About Jermaine Wall, LICSW-S, JSOCC

Jermaine Wall is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over a decade of experience in clinical therapy and social services, concentrating primarily on youth and adolescent mental health. Jermaine holds a Master of Social Work from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences with a Minor in Organizational Leadership for Nonprofits from the University of Florida. He is licensed in Georgia and Alabama and holds multiple specialized certifications, including the Juvenile Sexual Offending Counselor certification. Jermaine is the founder and Clinical Therapist at Crescent Counseling Services in Birmingham, Alabama.
Driven by a passion for destigmatizing mental health, Jermaine is dedicated to developing innovative programming that promotes optimal mental well-being. Beyond his clinical endeavors, he extends his impact by developing Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and services through his community-based initiative, Healthy Coping Club.

4:45 – 5:00

CLOSING AND EVALUATION

VIEW THE IN-PERSON AGENDA

Continuing Education Credits and Certificates of Attendance

The virtual conference day has been submitted for 6 CEs for LMHC, MSW, LMFT, and Psyc. 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