Working with Adolescents: Conversion Course

Course Outcomes

'Working with Adolescents: Conversion' is worth 30 CPD points to Thrive Licensed Practitioners.

Having successfully completed this course, you will now be able to support the emotional and social development of children and young people up to the age of 18 at both a right-time and reparative level.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for Thrive Licensed Practitioners who have completed the childhood course, and who are now working with adolescents either in secondary schools or in Years 5/6 in primary schools.

Please note prices are for courses starting on or after 1 September 2024. For settings that would like to commission a face-to-face training session, there is a flat rate charge of £470 per trainer per day (or part thereof) plus VAT.

What you'll learn

This course will build on the knowledge you gained during your Thrive Licensed Practitioner training for childhood, moving onto the changes to the brain and body that happen during adolescence.

Adolescence is a time of significant brain reshaping providing an amazing opportunity to support young people and address their earlier learning gaps, exploring the implications this has for schools and settings.

You will also explore why teenagers are more likely to show more troubling behaviour, such as self-harming, risk-taking and low-esteem; why their peer group becomes so important in determining their sense of identity; and how to identify the behaviour resulting from underlying developmental interruptions.

This course will also demonstrate how Thrive-Online, our profiling, measuring and monitoring tool, can be used to support you work with adolescents, and the range of strategies available to work with this age group.

Course structure

The course is offered as six 3-hour live webinars, covering:

Sessions 1 & 2 – The Adolescent Brain
These sessions consider what happens in the brain during adolescence and you will be introduced to the particular developmental challenges that adolescents face. It is a time of significant brain reshaping which provides an opportunity to address earlier learning gaps. You will explore the implications of these changes for practice in education and social care settings. You will also consider the challenge for adults when the peer group has become the most important place of reference for a sense of identity.

Sessions 3 & 4 – Understanding Adolescent Behaviour
During these sessions, you will learn to work effectively with adolescents and especially those vulnerable young people with disruptive or challenging behaviour. You will learn why adolescents behave the way they do and better understand some of the troubling behaviours seen in this age group such as self-harming, substance abuse and low self-esteem. You will learn how to use young peoples' behaviour as a clue to their underlying developmental interruptions. You will learn how to support young people by using Thrive-Online and you will be introduced to the adolescent strategies offered on the programme. You will feel more confident to deal with disruptive and troubling behaviour in this age group.

Sessions 5 & 6 – Mentoring, Assessment and Closure
These sessions provide an opportunity for delegates to consolidate their learning and share practice with colleagues. Delegates will present case studies focusing on work with individuals and showcase the progress they have made in implementing Thrive within their setting. Personalised feedback and guidance for future practice will be provided. There will also be opportunity for delegates to refresh their knowledge and skills in using Thrive-Online.