Positive Ways of Working with Challenging Teens 2-days with David Taransaud

Teenagers are often misunderstood and labelled as ‘monsters'. But behind their challenging behaviours lie histories of pain and survival. These young people are not soulless savages - they are emotionally wounded children who have learned to expect pain from relationships. Their so-called 'monstrous’ behaviour is a survival strategy, masking deep shame and hurt. To support them effectively, adults must be willing to look beyond the surface and explore the emotional abyss where these wounds reside.

So, this training day invites participants on a journey into the inner world of emotionally scarred teens. It will empower you to befriend their raw energy and find the beauty within the beast. You’ll learn how to understand and connect with hard-to-reach teenagers, using tools such as pop culture and the superhero myth to access their complex internal narratives.

More than anything, the training encourages self-reflection. It is not just about managing challenging behaviour but about recognising and working through our own hidden fears and emotional triggers. As Bernstein (2001) suggests, "the true challenge lies not in the adolescent's outward defiance, but in how we confront and manage our internal responses.”

Participants will learn and explore:

• The role of pop culture in understanding adolescent psychology
• Techniques for decoding non-verbal communication
• Ways to bypass defensive behaviours and access deeper emotions
• How to balance vulnerability with emotional strength
• How to help them give voice to their unspoken hurt and re-author their painful life experiences into a new narrative that is no longer about shame and hurt, but about self- compassion, hope, and triumph.

UKCP Reg. Psychotherapeutic counsellor for adolescents, consultant, author, and trainer with over 20 years’ experience working with challenging youth in the most deprived boroughs in London. Frequently presents workshops across the UK and abroad on how to connect, empathise and form a genuine working alliance with troubled and troubling children and young people. Works as a foreign consultant in Karachi, Pakistan. Independently set up an Art Therapy service in north Uganda in an orphanage for former child soldiers and young people affected by conflict and trauma. His travel journal is available on YouTube

He is the author of several books on working with traumatised teenagers:

• You Think I’m Evil: Practical strategies for working with aggressive and rebellious adolescents (Worth Publishing - 2011)
• I, Monster: Positive ways of working with challenging teens through understanding the adolescent within us (Routledge - 2016)
• The Rage for Life (IM publishing – 2017)

David currently works with Bryn Tirion Hall School: experts in trauma-informed practice.

1 Danes Yard, the home of the Institute for Arts in Therapy & Education (IATE), is located in the heart of the stunning creative quarter known as Sugar House Island. Offering an inspiring selection of creative event spaces, it has been carefully designed to create a unique and stimulating environment for your event.

Refunds: We regret we cannot offer refunds for non-attendance to our events.

Host or Publisher Centre for Child Mental Health