This workshop will provide participants with a brief overview of adolescent development, as well as an understanding and appreciation of the impact of mental health and wellbeing problems on young people today. This informative and interactive first half of the day, will cover mental health problems/illnesses, signs and symptoms to look out for, how to identify the difference between ‘normal’ thoughts, feelings, behaviours as part of an adolescent’s social/emotional development vs. when to be concerned that something more serious is going on for that young person.
Furthermore, this course will cover communication skills when working with young people and will do this by providing case studies and an experiential learning environment to further participant learning.
This second part of the workshop will provide the opportunity to engage and be a part of an informative and experiential/ interactive session on young people and AOD. The training will include discussions, information and activities that focus on adolescence, AOD, risk-taking behaviour and crisis situations. The session will also focus on how we can best support young people, focusing particularly on ways in which we can best communicate with them through these years of experimentation and risk taking.
Furthermore, there will be a focus on the vulnerability of our youth in relation to AOD due to advertising and cultural norms. It is important that we as professionals understand and appreciate the landscape in which young people are growing up. We will also look at ways that young people can support their friends in high risk situations and how we as adults, can have conversations with young people about AOD and their lifestyle choices.