Crisis Intervention and Verbal De-escalation: How Best to Support System-Involved Youth

Sonja Lenz-Rashid, PhD, LCSW

Training Description

This training is to help support those working with system-involved youth in various capacities. This training will include content on assessment and intervention during crisis situations with system involved youth who are psycho-socially and cognitively escalated and agitated. It is essential that all those who work with system involved youth know and understand how to de-escalate clients quickly and effectively. Powerpoints, videos, challenging case vignettes, and small group sharing of scenarios will be used.

Learning Objectives

1. Practice how to assess the different levels of crises when working with children and youth.

2. Practice how to intervene with various crises situations with system involved youth.

3. Practice how to process post-crisis with youth as well as with others involved.

Agenda 

9:30-9:35am: Check in and introductions

9:35-10:00am: Types of crises brainstorm and small group discussion

10:00-10:30am: Assessment techniques during crisis/What works, what doesn’t work

10:30-10:45am: Break (CEUs will not be offered for this time)

10:45-11:30am: Intervention techniques and Verbal First Aid

11:30am-12:15pm: Processing post-crisis: The importance of follow-up

12:15-12:30pm: Check out and evalutions

Meet Our Trainer

Dr. Sonja Lenz-Rashid, LCSW, is a Professor of Social Work at San Francisco State University and a Co-founder and Faculty Research Evaluator of the SF State Guardian Scholars Program (GSP). Launched in 2005, the GSP serves over 90 current and former foster care youth on campus and has an annual budget of over $1 million (and is a non-profit on campus). Dr. Lenz-Rashid has studied the outcomes of, and best practice models for, former foster care youth at the national, state and Bay Area levels. Her research and publications have provided valuable feedback to child welfare administrators, legislators, and program developers in how best to serve these disenfranchised young people using evidence-based practice. She is also a consultant, trainer and clinical supervisor at a number of Bay Area non-profits serving children and youth being served by the foster care, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems. She has over twenty-five years serving vulnerable youth in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This course meets the qualifications for (2.75) BBS CEUs for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.