Training and presentations

The second part of our mission statement – “Train others to replicate our programs” – is a crucial component for sustaining Second Growth’s innovative programs across an ever-widening area.

Second Growth provides training and presentations in four areas:

1. Violence prevention for schools and communities
2. Substance abuse prevention programs for schools and communities
3. Resources for addressing youth suicide – prevention, intervention, violence
4. Curriculum development

When violence, substance abuse, or suicide is a threat to the youth in your community, good help can be hard to find. However, the people who have received the benefit of our assistance will tell you that Second Growth has served them well. We have provided a range services in support of safer and more productive communities in over two hundred fifty sites in nine states. In a manner uncommon in our field, we have built our success on simply “being there” in ways that count, while developing prevention, early intervention, and crisis response resources in the places where we have served. We have kept our promises.

Our professional staff members bring more than two decades of practical experience and an engaging style of service to the task of promoting the renewal of hope in the toughest of circumstances. Presenting professional development trainings for a national audience of educators, healthcare providers, social workers, law enforcement professionals, coaches, clergy, and other human service providers, Second Growth has helped good people to do great work.

Second Growth offers four kinds of training and presentations:

1. Counseling

Counseling is offered as individual and family sessions ranging from thirty minutes to two hours as needed. We specialize in brief interventions that consist of approximately six sessions for most individuals, as well as on-going support for court involved or school-based situations.

2. Professional development training

Professional Development Trainings are offered in two hour, four hour, or six hour sessions, as well as two or three-day programs. Our programs are available for agency specific audiences of 20-200 participants or open trainings for interdisciplinary groups consisting of individual participants from across the region.

3. School-based presentations

School-based Presentations are offered as a daylong package that includes multiple sessions for individual classrooms during the school day, faculty training after school, and parent forum in the evening.

4. Conference workshops and community presentations

Conference Workshops and Community Presentations are offered as one hour, half-day, and daylong sessions for groups of six to six hundred participants. Our programs for parents and children are among our most popular.

1. VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES

• WHEN CRUEL IS COOL - A closer look at harassment
• KEEP THE POWER, INCREASE THE PEACE – Understanding anger
• DIALOGUE REDUCES DANGER LIKE NOTHING ELSE – Skills for addressing youth violence

As danger begins to appear in even the safest places, we must work together to promote the kind of thinking and action that will make every community a positive environment for our children. At Second Growth, we believe that dialogue reduces danger like nothing else. With components designed for youth, parents, educators, healthcare providers, and other youth service professionals, our programs are a practical way of beginning a critical discussion that engages everyone in the task of increasing the peace.

WHEN CRUEL IS COOL – A Closer Look at Harassment

The hard edge of popular culture can bring devastation to the lives of certain adolescents. Acting in a rough manner in tough times, an increasing number of youth embrace disrespect as a daily practice. This dynamic workshop will engage students, educators, parents, and the entire community in the task of fulfilling each person’s responsibility to confront hurtful behaviors and to teach respect as a core value.

Together, we will define harassment with personal examples of what we have experienced or witnessed in the places closest to our own hearts and homes. Then, we will map out a practical plan for addressing such violence when it first appears.

A professionally produced DVD version of a live presentation of “When Cruel is Cool” is available to help teachers jump-start the conversation in their own classrooms.

KEEP THE POWER, INCREASE THE PEACE – Understanding anger

Preventing physical and emotional violence is high on the list of concerns for most people, yet getting mad is an integral part of daily life. Learning to express anger in a way that is helpful instead of hurtful is a valuable skill. Participants will learn simple but highly effective steps for managing anger and resolving conflicts without resorting to violence of any kind.

DIALOGUE REDUCES DANGER LIKE NOTHING ELSE – Skills for addressing youth violence

A violence prevention/early intervention training program designed for educators, health professionals, and other youth service providers, this intensive one-day workshop will help to fill participants’ backpacks with practical tools for engaging teens in hard talks about hurt. We will explore a continuum of violent behaviors progressing through the topics of harassment and bullying, anger and assault, and depression and suicide, and substance abuse.

Addressing the real-life needs of young offenders, we will examine productive intervention strategies that help build positive skills, promote personal responsibility, and strengthen connections with a caring community. Our conversations will focus on how we as individuals can contribute to a more peaceful world by helping one child at a time.

2. SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES

• MAKING CHANGE – Dealing with addiction
• MATTERS OF SUBSTANCE – Friends help friends stay safe
• WHAT DO YOU LOSE, WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO USE?

Chemical dependence is an illness with a progression of symptoms and a corresponding set of opportunities for supportive interventions. Second Growth has been instrumental in developing effective prevention and early intervention resources for adolescents in both school and community settings. Our training programs keep it simple and get practical in a hurry giving participants a clear understanding of what they can do to help out without getting in over their heads.

MAKING CHANGE – Dealing with addiction

A daylong workshop for adult leaders of adolescent substance-abuse groups, this program will share all our “Making Change” scripts and strategies: a resource for young people who are considering or committed to recovery. Not AA or NA, but an experience that encourages 12-step involvement, this is a starting point to engage young people in a dialogue about choices. “Making Change” groups feature information, motivation, and peer support in a straightforward style that uses a structured format to address some of the most critical issues of early recovery for young people.

MATTERS OF SUBSTANCE – Friends help friends stay safe

The life-threatening consequences for teens that abuse alcohol or other drugs can precede an awareness of how close to the edge they are, and how far they can fall. Peers are usually the first to know when trouble is in the works, but few have the skills, knowledge, experience, or motivation to help.

In this workshop, case histories will illustrate the dangerous reality of driving under the influence, alcohol poisoning and drug overdose, assault and dating violence, depression and suicide, and gang activity. The “ask more than you tell” tone of the activities will focus on how and why to help a friend with a substance-abuse problem before it is too late.

WHAT DO YOU LOSE, WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO USE?

Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, inhalants, over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, and marijuana are common drugs that adolescents abuse. The epidemic of young heroin and cocaine addicts brings great urgency to the task of reaching teens more effectively before the problem starts.

Most young people have heard the facts presented for years, but they still find it difficult to connect what they know with what they are dOing. “What You Lose” is a discussion of techniques for getting teens emotionally involved with information that can make a significant difference in their lives, designed to support caring adults in the challenging task of helping teens to translate their knowledge of the “gateway drugs” into safe and sound choices.

3. RESOURCES FOR ADDRESSING YOUTH SUICIDE – PREVENTION, INTERVENTION, POSTVENTION

• COMMUNICATION SAVES LIVES – Preventing teen suicide
• LIGHTS IN THE DARK – Strategies for suicide intervention
• AFTER THE STORM – Community response to youth suicide

During the past twenty-three years, our program staff members have been directly involved with three types of activities that address the complex issue of youth suicide. Assisting schools and communities across the Northeast, we have been involved in prevention education, crisis intervention, and critical incident response. Our programs reflect the practical experience of “being there” and our materials have become a widely used resource.

COMMUNICATION SAVES LIVES – Preventing teen suicide

The incidence of youth suicide is alarmingly high. When a young person first begins feeling depressed, some simple steps can be taken to help that person to help him/herself. This workshop presents practical ideas and useful information for recognizing risks, responding appropriately, and accessing community resources. While addressing difficult questions in a relaxed manner, this program gets everyone involved and hopeful about reaching out with help before it is too late.

LIGHTS IN THE DARK – Strategies for suicide intervention

Suicide intervention is one of the most challenging of all crisis responses. This intensive workshop is only for emergency medical personnel, mental health crisis team members, hotline workers, and other professionals with prior training in crisis response. We will explore the nature of suicidal ideation, and focus on the specifics of what to look for, what to say, and what to do to create safety in the moments of greatest danger. Tools and techniques will be demonstrated for engaging clients in the delicate task of finding hope in the hardest of times.

AFTER THE STORM – Community response to youth suicide

In the aftermath of the tragedy of a young life ended by suicide, the entire community struggles with the trauma of sudden loss.

Bringing neighbors out of the silence to join together and make a difference for the ones left behind, this program will lead the community through the essential task of rebuilding a safety net of support in the shadow of darkness.

Despite the desire of some to explore the details of what may have gone wrong in an attempt to understand the events of the past, respect for all will direct the questions and discussion to what individuals can do to help each other through the grieving process and make a positive contribution for the present and future.

4. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

• WHEN CRUEL IS COOL – A closer look at harassment
• BETTER CHOICES – Early-intervention activities for risk-takers and rule-breakers
• THE HERO'S JOURNEY – Assets development

Risk prevention curricula for middle and high schools

Second Growth staff members have been invited to teach in over one hundred schools during the past twenty years. Our conversations with troubled students have evolved into practical lessons for all students. Our curriculum and training are a package that serves as a practical course on the fine art of dialogue between teacher and student. The versatility of the teaching tools and their broader application are an immediate benefit to instructors in the process of engaging students in the hard work of values clarification on the fly. We specialize in staff development programs to “train the trainers” in both school and agency settings.

WHEN CRUEL IS COOL – A closer look at harassment

The hard edge of popular culture can bring devastation to the lives of certain adolescents. Acting in a rough manner in tough times, an increasing number of youth embrace disrespect as a daily practice. This dynamic workshop will engage students, educators, parents, and the entire community in the task of fulflling each person’s responsibility to confront hurtful behaviors and to teach respect as a core value.

Together, we will define harassment with personal examples of what we have experienced or witnessed in the places closest to our own hearts and homes. Then, we will map out a practical plan for addressing such violence when it first appears.

A professionally produced DVD version of a live presentation of “When Cruel is Cool” is available to help teachers jump-start the conversation in their own classrooms.

BETTER CHOICES – Early-intervention activities for risk-takers and rule-breakers

The Better Choices Program is a short-term early-intervention resource for young people who have been involved in a first offense of substance abuse, violence, or shoplifting/vandalism. The program is a short-term, goal-oriented, skills-building experience for individuals or groups that assists offenders using the elements of asset development and narrative assessment. Better Choices features a series of three separate manuals with engaging lessons that promote awareness for more effective decision-making “in the heat of the moment.”

THE HERO’S JOURNEY – Assets development

Every young person will encounter a series of challenges on the journey to independence that must be overcome for a safe and successful life. Each person must face certain conflicts on their quest, in classic struggles with internal and external foes. Woman/Man vs. Self, Woman/Man vs. Woman/Man, or Woman/Man vs. Nature.

Explore your own epic. Celebrate your adventures and achievements while examining your own personal risks and resources. Build your own strategy for defeating the demons both real and imagined that might be standing between you and the legendary treasure of self-knowledge.

Ideally suited for conferences, freshman seminars, or other high school audiences, this workshop leads participants on the first steps of their own journeys.