Judith is an educator, trainer, coach, and clinical supervisor.  She is a co-founder and the lead trainer at the Synergetic Education® Institute. She is licensed as both a Professional and a School Counselor and has worked at the intersection of education and mental health for over 20 years. Judith trains clinical and school-based mental health professionals and speaks and consults internationally on creating trauma- informed schools. As a District-Wide Social Emotional Learning Coach Judith led her school district in implementing a Kaiser Permanente “Thriving Schools Grant,” aimed at advancing social-emotional wellness and behavioral health in school districts Judith is a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and is a Certified Synergetic Play Therapy® Supervisor and Teacher. She is a Parent Educator, Certified in EMDR Therapy, and is trained in Mindfulness in Education. She has been utilizing the tenets of Synergetic Play Therapy® in educational settings for the past 10 years. Her experience has led to the development of social-emotional, trauma-informed programming to support students and educators in schools. Judith Founded the Braindrops Play Therapy Wellness Center where she synthesized trauma-informed practices with child clients, family education and support, along with Rhythmic Movement Training. In her words, “Co-Founding the Synergetic Education Institute is a coalescence of all that feels purposeful to me, I’m inspired to have the opportunity to share what I love.”

SDMHCA Preconference Workshop 

Clinical Issues in Human Sexuality in Professional Counseling

Specifically, counselors rate low levels of self-efficacy to perform counseling with sexual dysfunction, sexual paraphilia, and sex offenders. The goals of the program will be to a) identify and discuss counselor self-efficacy to counsel specific client populations, b) discuss counseling clients with sexual dysfunction issues, c) discuss counseling clients with sexual paraphilia issues, and d) discuss counseling clients with convicted sex offenses. CACREP and ACA Code of Ethics standards are weak in terms of mandating training on these subjects. Those who attend will gain increased knowledge in areas critical to address in continued education. The presentation will include the following objectives:

-        Learning objective one: Participants will be able to identify and discuss barriers to high levels of counselor self-efficacy while counseling issues related to sexuality

-        Learning objective two: Participants will be able to articulate common therapeutic issues specific to working with clients who present with sexual dysfunction, sexual paraphilia, and criminal sex offenses.

-        Learning Objective three: Participants will be able to identify typical and atypical human sexual behaviors across the lifespan

-        Learning Objective four: Participants will practice assertive communication styles while discussing issues related to human sexuality

 

 

Speaker Information:
Dr. Adam Hardy works as a full-time Assistant Professor with the University of South Dakota. Additionally, he is the owner of Sunstone Counseling, a mental health counseling private practice in Yankton, SD. He earned his Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of South Dakota in August 2017. He has worked as a licensed professional counselor since 2012, specializing in the domains of sexual assault, domestic violence, criminal rehabilitation, and substance use disorders. Dr. Hardy's teaching interests include diagnosis/treatment, traumatic stress and crisis counseling, group counseling, and clinical practicum supervision. Dr. Hardy's research interests include the following areas: human sexuality, substance use disorder treatment, traumatic stress, ethical practice in the field of counseling, and implementation of theory in counseling.

 

    The South Dakota Counseling Association has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 2042. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The South Dakota Counseling Association is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.