Working with adolescents can sometimes feel like an "adversarial sport," especially when teens arrive at treatment mandated, ambivalent, or highly emotionally dysregulated. Traditional therapeutic approaches that rely on the clinician acting as an authoritarian expert often trigger psychological reactance, defensiveness, and rebellion.

This dynamic presentation begins to equip clinicians with a powerful, transdiagnostic toolkit that integrates the most effective elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT/DNA-V), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). You will learn how to shift from trying to "fix" resistant teens to skillfully guiding them toward building "flexible strength" and a life worth living.

Over the 2026-27 school year this series will expand teaching evidence-based strategies to:

1. Master the Art of Engagement (MI)

2. Build Flexible Strength (ACT/DNA-V)

3. Regulate Intense Emotions (DBT)

4. Navigate Adolescent-Family Dilemmas

5. Ignite Passions and Connection

Who should attend: Psychologists, social workers, school counselors, pediatricians, and any mental health professionals seeking practical, developmentally-appropriate, and compassionate strategies to empower youth and their families.