Few things are more painful for parents than to have a teen who is troubled by an addiction to pornograpy or problematic sexual behavior. How do you respond? What can you do to help? And what about you – how do you get through this challenging time? The Teen workshop is a safe place for your daughter or son to get informed help in a non-shaming environment. It’s also a safe place for you to process what’s happening in your family as a result of your teen’s porn addiction and get specific resources that help all of you heal.
3-Day Faith-Based Recovery Program for Teens & Families
TEENS & PARENTS ATTEND
These clinical intensive offerings are family-based, rather than a program just for the adolescent guy or girl themselves. Whoever is identified as the teen’s parents (whether parents or step-parents – those who have primary residential and legal responsibility for the teen) are REQUIRED to attend.
To accommodate the needs of students during the school year, a WEEKEND offering has been developed to reduce the time a teen might be out of school.
- Convenient Friday-Sunday schedule
- Behavioral focus on problem and solution
- Individualized recovery plan for teens
- Positive, practical tools for parents
- Community development for teens and parents
TOPICS INCLUDE
- Breaking denial about problematic sexual
behavior and pornography addiction - Influence of culture and social media
- Pornography’s impact on the brain
- Cycle of problematic sexual behavior
- Identification of triggers and rituals
- Development of boundaries
- Stages of development for teens
- Effective responses for parents
- Healthy family communication
- Spirituality
- Impact of personal woundedness (Workshop)
- Stress on parental / marital system (Workshop)
Upcoming Workshop Dates & Times
Space is available for the dates shown unless the workshop is indicated as waitlist.
COST
The fee includes attendance for the teen, parents, and step-parents if applicable. The fee includes one double queen bed room at the hotel each night of the workshop and meals for all attendees during the workshop. If you need an extra room during the workshop or before and after the workshop, you are responsible to make those accommodations. The teen must stay in a hotel room with their legal guardian.
Weekend:
Fee: $4,780
Deposit: $1,195 (non-refundable)
See Financial Information for details.
About the Program
PROVEN PROGRAM TO HELP TEENS OVERCOME PORN ADDICTION
We’ve helped people find freedom from addiction for more that 25 years through our short-term workshop, led by master’s level or above Certified Sex Addiction Therapists (CSAT). Experienced and empathic therapists help guide your teen through a comprehensive program that leads to lasting recovery and providing peace for your whole family.
FAMILY-BASED HEALING
For an adolescent to heal and that healing to last, parents must be part of the process. Struggling teens are much more likely to change in the context of family-based healing. That environment takes some of the pressure off, as they realize the treatment focus isn’t solely on them as the “problem.” It’s vital that the whole family be involved in a coordinated process of understanding, growth, and change.
GROUP PROCESS
The program is a group process where multiple families attend at the same time (normally four to six families). The participants move between brief educational segments, activities, and group settings. Some of the groups are separate gatherings of the
teens and the parents, where each population has a safe space to share their challenges as a family. Other groups are family therapy (with the teen and parents together) in a multifamily group setting, meaning one or two other families will be part of the group. The intensive is active, experiential, and engaging for both the teen and the parents.
DEDICATED ATTENTION
Participation is limited to six families. Individual counseling is not part of the program, but each family gets significant dedicated attention within the group setting. A family greatly benefits from observing other families’ work, as well as from doing their own.
AFTERCARE
Research and experience shows that families with a struggling teen benefit from family therapy as well as help for the teen individually and for the parents. We strongly recommend that a family continues their healing process with appropriate therapeutic
help after the workshop.
Note: If the teen is not currently in counseling, teen and the parents they may have to separately complete an intake phone session with one of our clinicians to be sure the Workshop is an appropriate fit for your situation.
Important Workshop Information
The format is intense and specifically
designed to maximize a family’s time and investment. Full-day sessions begin first thing in the morning and continue until mid-evening.
Activities include a combination
of teaching, exercises, small groups, and experiential activities. The format is designed to be non-judgmental, non-adversarial, and engaging for all involved. The small number of families accepted at one time ensures that each teen and family has extensive time to share and receives dedicated attention.
The workshop is a technology-free setting that we call the “Bethesda Bubble.” Participants take a total time-out from contact with the outside world, including family and friends, by turning in all electronic devices – cell phones, laptops, smart watches, tablets, iPads, etc. – for the duration of the workshop. Participants refrain from watching tv in their hotel rooms and are not allowed to make or receive calls or use the business center at the hotel.
The workshops & weekends are held in Nashville, Tennessee.
It’s critically important that you be present for the entire workshop. As a group intensive, everyone needs to begin and end together. You WILL NOT be admitted to the workshop if you plan your travel in such a way that you arrive late or leave early, even if that means you get to Nashville the day before the workshop starts or leave the day after it ends. You shortchange yourself and disrupt the workshop process if you arrive late or leave early.
The Teens & Parents Program is staffed by at least master’s level clinicians who specialize in working with adolescents and their parents. Each teen group is led by the same gender therapist. Male and female therapists are present at most weekends and workshops.
Bring clothes for four days, personal toiletries, medicine, and any other essentials you’ll need. Plan to dress in layers and bring a light jacket or sweater even during warm weather, because some find the meeting rooms cold. If you like, feel free to bring a Bible, a journal, recovery related reading or personal devotional materials. It’s helpful to bring a watch since you won’t have your cell phone. We’ll provide everything you’ll need during the workshop itself, including a workbook, paper and pen.
Participants are not permitted to use cell phones, laptops, tablets and similar items at the workshop. Please do travel with a cell phone so you can communicate with us in case there are travel difficulties. Staff will collect all cell phones and other electronics and keep them until the workshop ends. No weapons are allowed at the workshop site, at the conference hotel, or in participant vehicles.
Attending a Bethesda Healing Workshop is best viewed as a huge jumpstart for recovery. A specific aftercare plan is crucial. The intensive workshop often identifies core family and trauma issues which need further healing. Each participant – whether an individual, couple, or family – is helped to outline a personalized aftercare program before leaving the workshop. In general, a recommended aftercare plan consists of four main components: