Lunch & Learn Series

Dates & Topics

PSB in Preschoolers: Distinctions Between Engaging with Siblings and Peers with Kimberly Lopez, MA, Nicole Barton, BA, Cierra Henson, BA
May 19, 12-1pm ET | Register

PREVIOUS SESSIONS 

Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice System Response to Problem Sexual Behavior by Youth with Alix Rivière, PhD and Daniele Rose, MBA
Jan. 20, 12-1pm ET | Recording

Trusted Voices, Real Needs: Parent and Caregiver Insights for Effective Communication by PSB Professionals with David Goldsztajn Farelo, PhD and Meg Bossong, MS
Feb. 17, 12-1pm ET | Recording

TF-CBT with Adolescents with Problematic Sexual Behaviors: Lessons Learned with Melissa D. Grady, PhD, MSW, LICSW and Jamie Yoder, PhD, MSW
Mar. 31, 12-1pm ET | Recording

The Power of Language: Exploring Our Written Clinical Words with Melissa Santoro, LICSW
Apr. 21, 12-1pm ET | Recording

View all previous sessions on our Recorded Webinars page.

January 20, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

Massachusetts’ Juvenile Justice System Response to Problem Sexual Behavior by Youth

Presenters: Alix Rivière, PhD; Daniele Rose, MBA; and Melissa Threadgill, MPP

In some instances, children who engage in PSB become involved with the juvenile justice system. The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) and the Massachusetts Youth Diversion Program (MYDP), operated by the Department of Youth Services, are collaborating to promote trauma-responsive and individualized responses to adolescents alleged of committing sex offenses. Join us on January 20th to learn more about our state’s current system and how the OCA and MYDP are working to increase diversion opportunities for youth who engage in PSB.

Learning objectives:

• Describe Massachusetts’ current juvenile justice response to youth PSB incidents.
• Explain what recent available data tells us about the involvement of youth with PSB in the juvenile justice system.
• Describe Massachusetts’ efforts to divert youth with PSB away from formal court involvement.

About Melissa Threadgill, MPP

Melissa Threadgill is the Senior Director of Policy & Implementation at the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate. In her role, Melissa oversees a portfolio of research, policy, and implementation projects that promote coordination and efficacy of state services for Massachusetts’ most at-risk children.

About Alix Rivière, PhD

Alix Rivière is a Policy & Implementation Manager at the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA). Alix leads the OCA’s child sexual abuse prevention work through research and policy development across child-serving sectors. She also supports the work of the Center on Child Wellbeing & Trauma, the training division of the OCA.

About Daniele Rose, MBA

Daniele Rose found her true calling at the Department of Youth Services, where she has spent more than twenty years working with youth and their families. Currently, Ms. Rose serves as the Program Manager for the MA Youth Diversion Program. One of the highlights of her career is when young people who have aged out stop her to share how their lives have improved. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master’s in Business from Curry College, but her true passion has always been focused on child development.

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February 17, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

Trusted Voices, Real Needs: Parent and Caregiver Insights for Effective Communication by PSB Professionals

Presenters: David Goldsztajn Farelo, PhD and Meg Bossong, MS

Health communications are often a challenge for content experts trying to communicate with people . For professionals, agencies, and organizations who work regularly with children and youth with harmful or concerning sexual behaviors or child sexual abuse prevention more broadly, we are tremendously eager to reach parents and caregivers as core partners in response and prevention. We also often miss the mark with our materials and outreach pathways. This session explores the results of statewide focus groups in Massachusetts with families and caregivers about their needs, concerns, and trusted sources of information about the sexual and relationship development of their children. We will discuss the key thematic findings, as well as implementation and utilization suggestions for resource development and design.

Learning objectives:

• Describe key themes, concerns, and information needs identified by parents and caregivers in Massachusetts focus groups regarding children’s sexual and relationship development and child sexual abuse prevention.

• Analyze common gaps and misalignments between expert-driven health communications and caregiver expectations, including preferred messengers and trusted information sources.

• Apply focus group findings to inform the design, messaging, and dissemination of parent- and caregiver-facing prevention resources and outreach strategies.

About David Goldsztajn Farelo, Ph.D.

David Goldsztajn Farelo, Ph.D. is a seasoned public health researcher with expertise in participatory evaluation and health equity. At the Boston Public Health Commission, he led research and evaluation efforts for city-wide violence-prevention initiatives, designing evaluation measures and data-collection systems. He evaluates and refines youth peer-leadership programs for BIPOC communities, focusing on racial justice and equity. His background includes teaching anti-racist research methods at Boston University. He brings a unique combination of technical rigor and community-engaged practice to his evaluation work.

About Meg Bossong, M.S.

Meg Bossong, M.S. is the Executive Director of MASOC. Meg has spent her entire professional career in the realms of sexual violence prevention and response. Meg held several prevention and community mobilization roles with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), where she worked with communities, schools from K-12 to higher ed, agencies, faith communities, and law enforcement. Meg also was the Director of Intimate Violence Prevention & Response and Health Education at Williams College. There, she incorporated leading edge research on problem sexual behaviors in late adolescents into curriculum design and student support, situational prevention through environmental design, and restorative and transformative justice practices into prevention and response.

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TF-CBT with Adolescents with Problematic Sexual Behaviors: Lessons Learned

Presenters: Melissa D. Grady, PhD, MSW, LICSW and Jamie Yoder, PhD, MSW

Compared to the general population, adolescents with problem sexual behaviors (PSB-A) have elevated rates of childhood adversity and trauma. Early trauma can contribute to a number of risk factors associated with sexual offending during adolescence including emotional dysregulation, sexual arousal, difficulties with interpersonal relationships, and cognitive processing struggles. Yet, treatment programs for PSB-A often do not address such trauma sequelae and may predominately focus on reducing offending behaviors. It is thus critical to train PSB-A clinicians to address both PSB and trauma. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) combined with the gold standard of PSB work has the potential to provide therapists with the guidance they need to address both needs simultaneously. In this workshop, we will present our conceptual model that integrates TF-CBT for PSB-A and discuss lessons learned from both our pilot feasibility study on training and implementation of TF-CBT for PSB-A in community practice and juvenile justice settings and our ongoing quasi-experimental research on this modality.

Learning objectives:

• Recognize the connections between trauma and risk factors associated with PSB.
• Describe components of an integrated model designed to address trauma and PSB with adolescents.
• Identify lessons learned from the implementation of a pilot TF-CBT treatment intervention with adolescents with PSB.

About Jamie Yoder, PhD, MSW

Jamie Yoder, PhD, MSW is Associate Professor of Social Work at The School of Social Work, Colorado State University. Dr. Yoder has practice experience working with youth who commit sexual and non-sexual violence and youth victims of sexual crimes. Her research interests span etiology, prevention initiatives, and equitable and effective intervention strategies for youth sexual violence with a particular focus on systemic strength-based services. Her scholarly work exemplifies her dedication to advancing theory, practice, and policy in the delinquency and sexual abuse fields. Dr. Yoder leads various externally funded projects and has been a lead author and has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles related to these topics.

About Melissa D. Grady, PhD, LICSW

Melissa D. Grady, PhD, LICSW is Professor at Catholic University’s National School of Social Service where she teaches in the areas of mental health, clinical practice, clinical theory, and research methods to masters and doctoral students. Her research areas are in the translation of evidence-based practice and on the prevention of sexual violence. She has over 50 peer-reviewed publications written on these topics and has presented at numerous international, national, and regional refereed conferences as well as provided a number of continuing education trainings for various organizations. In addition, she is an Associated Editor for the journal Sexual Abuse and is the Editor-in-Chief for the Clinical Social Work Journal. She has been an active practitioner for over 25 years and maintains a private practice in Washington, DC. Her clinical experience includes both work in the public mental health sector and private sector. She has worked with clients who have committed sexual crimes and who have experienced trauma, depression, anxiety, anger management as well as other mental health issues.

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April 21, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

The Power of Language: Exploring Our Written Clinical Words

Presenter: Melissa Santoro, LICSW

This session will explore the power of language as it pertains to the clinical documentation of our treatment and
support for the clients we serve. Participants will explore the potential impacts of our written word choices and increase their knowledge regarding the core concepts of trauma informed care and language. In an effort to reduce risk & liability, an overview of “do’s & don’t’s” for clinical documentation is provided. This workshop would benefit service providers and therapists working with children, teens, adults, and families.

Learning objectives:

• Describe the core concepts of Trauma Informed Practice.
• Articulate key matters of language choice in clinical documentation.
• Identify three concrete ways to change word choices in clinical documentation to utilize trauma informed language.

About Melissa Santoro, LICSW

Melissa Santoro, LICSW has specialized in providing sexual abuse-specific treatment, training and clinical supervision since May 2004. She has held various leadership positions for non-profit agencies, focusing on outpatient services for children, teens and adults impacted by trauma. She is the co-founder of Pathway to Resilience, LLC providing high quality training and consultation, specific to topics regarding trauma informed and best practices.

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May 19, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET

PSB in Preschoolers: Distinctions Between Engaging with Siblings and Peers

Presenters: Kimberly Lopez, MA, Nicole Barton, BA, Cierra Henson, BA

This webinar will focus on a recent research publication involving preschoolers’ engagement in problematic sexual behavior (PSB). The purpose is to identify differences between preschoolers who engage with siblings compared to peers by examining the impact of child maltreatment, exposure to family sexuality, and coercive sexual behavior. Through discussion, we’ll look to illuminate unique dynamics of PSB with siblings of preschool-aged children. Additionally, these results may aid in clinical considerations for conceptualization, prevention, and response within younger populations that are distinct from older youth populations.

Learning objectives:

• Identify developmentally appropriate sexual behavior in preschoolers.
• Explain risk factors that impact preschoolers’ engagement in PSB.
• Describe differences between PSB engagement with siblings compared to peers.

About Kimberly Lopez, MA

Kimberly Lopez, MA, is a doctoral clinical psychology student at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Her research interests include child abuse and neglect, youth violence, and evidence-based treatment interventions for minority populations. Lopez previously served as a research technician at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth, where she focused on problematic sexual behaviors in preschool and school-aged children.

About Nicole Barton, B.A.

Nicole Barton, B.A., is a Clinical Psychology Doctoral student at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, with research interests broadly in child internalizing and externalizing behavioral challenges in the context of parental psychopathology. Her current projects are examining child school refusal and chronic school absenteeism. Prior to attending graduate school, she was a postbaccalaureate researcher at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where she primarily researched problematic sexual behaviors in youth, adverse childhood experiences, substance use in the perinatal period, and MIECHV home-visiting services.

About Cierra Henson, B.A.

Cierra Henson, B.A., is a School Psychology Doctoral student at Oklahoma State University. Her interests include Applied Behavior Analysis, supporting students with emotional and behavioral challenges, and consultation with teachers and caregivers. She previously worked as a research technician at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center with a focus on Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior in preschool and school-age populations. Additionally, she worked in a clinical setting as a Registered Behavior Technician providing ABA therapy to children on the autism spectrum.

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