Compass

Seminar Overview

Information and social networking technologies have revolutionised the way young people interact with each other and view the rest of the world. Websites, texting,  Facebook, chat rooms, email, Playstation, Podcasts, Twitter, and countless other platforms have become enmeshed as part of 21st Century youth culture. While these technologies provide opportunities to learn and communicate like no other time in history, there are also considerable risks for young people in these environments that can often lead to negative health, social, and educational outcomes. Stories of bullying, exclusion, stalking, misinformation, addiction, and suicidality are well documented in the media and have become commonplace.  All professionals working with young people need an understanding of the workings of this electronic world and the way their clients or students perceive it. We need to be prepared with strategies for assessing and managing the potential impacts on the young people with whom we work.

Some of the key topic areas to be discussed in this workshop will include:

A  plain english introduction to the main information and communication technologies that young people are using today and an overview of how they are used, misused, and sometimes abused.

Tools for assessing the appropriateness and/or riskiness of young people’s electronic activities that can be easily incorporated into your existing practice framework.

Ideas for debriefing young people after they have experienced a significant negative incident via electronic mediums to minimise the chance of more serious problems developing as a result.

Intervening with young people to assist them to appropriately self regulate their use of these mediums and guidelines for how to intervene when they are unwilling or unable to do so for themselves.

Some of the information and misinformation generated on the internet by self help and ‘problem specific’ websites and how they might hinder therapeutic processes.

Creative ideas for incorporating electronic mediums into your work with young people to build relationships and maximise therapeutic outcomes. Important components to include in your agency protocols to ensure the appropriateness, safety and confidentiality of these interventions.

Dr Ros Montague and Peter Bazzana together have more then 30 years experience of working with a range of issues that relate to young people. They are both based at the NSW Institute of Psychiatry in Sydney, Ros as the Director, and Peter as the Coordinator of Suicide Education. They have prepared this new workshop in response to a growing number of requests from our customers for information on best practice approaches with the ‘Electronic Generation’. Their engaging and interactive teaching styles, combined with the thoughtful use of case study material, mean that this seminar will be relevant to all professionals working with young people, regardless of their agency context.

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