How to Navigate Complex Systems in Teen & YA Therapy: Practical Tools - Workshop with Helen Gifford

For counsellors and therapeutic practitioners working with teenagers and young adults.

Adolescence is complex, and so are the systems that shape it.

In this 90-minute live online training, we’ll explore a young person’s inner and outer world using a starting framework of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, taking a practical look at how environment, culture, policy, family, school and societal expectations interact – and sometimes collide – in therapeutic work.

Using a case study, we’ll examine the layers of influence impacting a young client’s life. From peer dynamics and social media to family pressures, identity, generational and cultural expectations, we’ll explore how intersectionality and context shape their world and the impact in therapy.

But it doesn’t stop there.

We’ll also turn the lens inward: exploring your role as a practitioner within this ecosystem. What systems influence your capacity to support young people, from safeguarding guidance and organisational policy to supervision structures, self-care and burnout?

Expect a thoughtful, reflective space with a mix of:

• Insightful case study exploration
• Interactive discussion and shared practitioner perspectives
• Opportunities to reflect on your own practice, boundaries and support systems
• This session is grounded in clinical experience and systemic understanding, offering both theory and practice in a digestible and engaging format.

This training also includes a gentle nod to my book

‘A Practical Guide to Working Therapeutically with Teenagers and Young Adults’ which offers further tools, scripts, and frameworks for supporting this age group with confidence and compassion.

Who it’s for:

Counsellors, therapists, support workers, educational staff and mental health professionals working with teenagers and young adults in one-to-one or group settings.

You’ll leave the workshop with:

A richer understanding of the ecological pressures facing young clients

Practical insights into how you can adapt and respond therapeutically

Tools to reflect on your own practice within a systemic context