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Who's Calling The Shots? Saboteurs in Adolescent Psychotherapy

Monday, June 29th, 2026   1:45 PM EDT -3:45 PM EDT
Nancy Gallina, PhD, LCSW and Dena Werner, PhD, LCSW
$39.99 Cost For Member: $29.99

Adolescent psychotherapy requires navigating the complex interplay among adolescents, caregivers, and clinicians. Treatment engagement and outcomes are shaped not only by developmental stage and presenting concerns, but also by patterns of parental involvement, family system and dynamics, and the strength of the therapeutic alliance. Grounded in Erikson’s psychosocial theory and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems framework, this workshop examines barriers and facilitators to adolescent treatment across sociodemographic, child-specific, familial, and treatment-related domains.

 

The workshop integrates didactic instruction with structured discussion to link theoretical and empirical foundations with clinical application. Participants will examine how developmental and ecological perspectives inform case formulation, caregiver collaboration, and alliance processes, with emphasis on developmentally responsive and systemically informed strategies that strengthen engagement and improve clinical outcomes.

About the Presenter

Dr. Nancy Gallina is Dean of the Touro University Graduate School of Social Work. Through her leadership, the gender specific distance education opportunity for the observant community is thriving. In addition to her commitments in higher education, she continues to practice clinically with children, adolescents and their families.

Dr. Dena Werner is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice who specializes in the adolescent population with advanced training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Werner is a postdoctoral researcher at the Primary Care Research Institute housed within the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences where her work focuses on developing and evaluating psychologically informed interventions to improve treatment outcomes for adolescents with chronic medical conditions.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Identify and analyze key clinical, developmental, and systemic factors that influence treatment outcomes in adolescent psychotherapy.
  2. Describe the ethical and practical considerations of parental involvement, including confidentiality, alliance dynamics, and decision-making.
  3. Facilitate clinical discussion to enhance case conceptualization and to improve strategies targeting adolescent adherence and treatment engagement.

Agenda:


1.    Key Elements of Treatment in Adolescent Psychotherapy (20 minutes)

·      Explore the central constructs of adolescent psychotherapy including the significance of the therapeutic alliance, the initial phases of care including setting expectations and treatment planning, confidentiality, parental involvement, adherence/nonadherence behaviors, and recognizing the neurobiological and psychosocial tasks of adolescent development.

·      Examine these concepts based on the conceptual frameworks of Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development, ecological systems framework, and family systems theory.

2.    Barriers and Challenges to Adherence in Adolescent Psychotherapy (30 minutes)

·      Explore adherence-related concepts based on empirical data: What are the most common barriers and facilitators to adherence in adolescent psychotherapy? What are the prevalence rates of nonadherence and premature termination in adolescent treatment?

·      Examine the relationship between adolescent development and treatment adherence: How does adolescent tasks of development affect adherence levels? How does inconsistencies in treatment or premature termination affect the long-term well-being of the adolescent client?

3.    Recommendations to Resolving Nonadherence Concerns (30 minutes)

·      Discuss potential resolutions for nonadherence in adolescent psychotherapy including negotiating commitment, setting expectations, engaging in resourcing, and prioritizing relationship building. 

·      Examine completing obligations in adolescent psychotherapy: The importance of building rapport with parental figures and navigating systemic influences.

4.    Structured Discussion (30 minutes)

·      Explore complex clinical challenges, systemic tensions, and critical decision points that influence engagement, adherence, and alliance processes in adolescent psychotherapy.

5.    Summarize and Review (10 minutes) 


This workshop offers 2 Live Interactive Continuing Education Credits

This presentation is open to:
  • Social Workers
  • Professional Counselors
  • Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
  • Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
  • Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
Course Level: intermediate
Level of Clinician: intermediate
  • New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
  • Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
  • Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
  • Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives

Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification. Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling. The grievance policy for trainings provided by NEFESH INTERNATIONAL is available here Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid the tuition fee, logged in and out each day, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate (If this is a pre-recorded program, a post-test with a passing grade of 80% to receive a certificate.) Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion by clicking here.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
  • NEFESH International, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0116.
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0046
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Mental Health Counselor #MHC-0082
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0048.
  • CE You! is an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland.
    CE You! maintains responsibility for this program.
  • Therapist Express is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0122.
Refund Policy:
Full Refund until 48 hours before scheduled date.
48 hours before: full refund less $5.00 processing fee. After event no refund will be given.
*exclusions apply for reasonable need and cause.