CTI—Child Training Institute

The Child Training Institute (CTI) provides cutting-edge training to mental health professionals, including clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and more, who seek knowledge in the latest evidence-based treatments and techniques to help young clients and their families.

Working with children and adolescents who have experienced significant trauma and abuse, who struggle with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, or who lag in emotional, psychological, developmental, or intellectual growth can be challenging. CTI is here to support the professionals who are, in turn, helping these children. We offer programs that encourage new ways to think about and approach the work, provide new skills, and support connections between clinicians and disciplines. We believe that on-going training is essential to each individual’s professional development, as well as the community of clients they serve.

CTI is proud to present live one-day and two-day trainings at our San Francisco location. Trainings are open to the public and provide continuing education credits for qualified participants.

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Upcoming CTI Program Schedule

Save the Dates:

Mon., April 11, 2019, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Trainers: Alicia Lieberman, Ph.D. and David Oppenheim, Ph.D.

In this day-long training with two internationally esteemed psychologists, we will explore the child-parent relationship from early in life. We will consider parental insightfulness into the emotional experience of the child and examine the significance of this relationship in children’s development for both normative and high-risk conditions. Integrated as a thread throughout this training will be critical concepts from Dr. Lieberman’s Child-Parent Psychotherapy model.

Thurs., May 23, 2019, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Trainer: Igor Galynker, M.D.

Depression and suicidality in adolescents is exceptionally high in the San Francisco Bay Area and clinicians struggle to find ways to understand, predict, and treat the symptoms associated with the risk that accompanies these issues. Dr. Galynker will introduce the suicide trigger state, provide clinical anecdotes that support his work and introduce us to his current research on imminent suicide risk.

Past CTI Programs

Trauma Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)—Two Day Training

Mon & Tue., October 1– 2, 2018, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Trainer: Lisette Rivas-Hermina, LMFT

This training will provide an overview of the importance of both the clinical and societal context of trauma assessment, how to identify appropriate client candidates for Trauma Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and implementation of the model through the PRACTICE components.

Upon completion of training, participants can be expected to:

• Describe the efficacy of the TF-CBT model demonstrated in multiple studies.
• Identify the importance of trauma assessment and how to incorporate it in treatment.
• Describe the central importance of the trauma narrative.
• Explain the PRACTICE Components and their goals in TF-CBT.
• Demonstrate how to implement TF-CBT using a variety of interventions.
• Utilize interventions that integrate cultural values and beliefs throughout implementation of the model.
• Recognize the role of vicarious trauma and the importance of self-care.
• Develop skills for cognitive processing trauma-related thoughts.

PLEASE NOTE PRE-REQUISITE: All participants will be required to complete a web training on the basic principles of TF-CBT prior to this training on October 2 – 3. The TF-CBT web training is $25 and provides 11 hours of CE Credits for eligible licensees. It is a standard pre-requisite for TF-CBT trainings that enables the trainer to focus on practice of skills versus basic theory.

Children’s Yoga & Mindfulness for Professionals

Mon., July 23, 2018, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Trainer: Lani Rosen-Gallagher, M.Ed., RYT 200, RCYT
This workshop will explore the benefits of yoga and mindfulness techniques, and how to utilize them for interventions with children. We will unpack the Social Emotional Learning toolbox and discuss the development of coping skills. Lastly, we will discuss the physiological ways that the brain and body interact.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• List practical, concrete tools in the Social Emotional Learning toolbox that develop emotional literacy and increase capacity for self-regulation.
• Identify child-friendly terms and phrases to explain the brain’s physiology as it relates to managing emotion. Describe in child-friendly terms the relationship between mind and body, self-regulation, impulse control, and positive social skills.
• Demonstrate games and yoga poses that increase capacity for executive functioning.

Each workshop participant will leave with their own deck of Mindful Yoga Breaks® Cards.

Brainstorm and the Yes Brain: Cultivating Resilience in Adolescents from the Inside Out with Dan Siegel, MD, Expert Trainer

Wed., February 21, 2018, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Trainer: Daniel Siegel, M.D.
Between the ages of 12 and 24, the brain changes in important and oftentimes maddening ways. Daniel Siegel will explore the nature of the changes in the teenage brain and how they set the stage for changes in adolescent mental, physical, and interpersonal well-being. This presentation will explore the increased risk-taking and statistically demonstrated heightened chances of harm during this period of life. But these negative aspects of adolescence are only one side of the coin of this period of life.

Seen from an inside view, adolescence is an essential part of our development and our evolution. This “inside-out approach” to this second dozen years of life, gives us an exciting new perspective on the essence of adolescence. Emotional intensity, social engagement, novelty-seeking, and creative explorations are not aspects of an “immature” stage of development, but actually can be seen as a necessary set of characteristics that are essential for both the individual’s development and for the health and adaptation of our species. Further, these features of the teenage brain set the stage for changes that not only shape our life as adolescents, but can surprisingly be seen as essential to thriving in adulthood. How we approach adolescence as a period and adolescents as individuals can make all the difference in how these important years are navigated.

For more information about CTI trainings, call 415-359-2484 or email [email protected].