Complex trauma significantly affects brain development, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. Prolonged exposure to stress can impair the brain’s ability to manage emotions, build relationships, and cope with adversity. These challenges can hinder youths’ ability to thrive and achieve their full potential. This training explores the transformative power of radical acceptance as a tool to support positive youth development for adolescents who are impacted by complex trauma. Rooted in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), radical acceptance offers a trauma-informed framework to address challenges by helping youth acknowledge difficult experiences without judgment. Radical acceptance empowers youth to reframe their experiences, develop adaptive coping strategies, and build a sense of agency in their lives. Through this training, participants will gain insight into the intersection of trauma, brain development, and well-being, while learning practical strategies to foster resilience and promote positive outcomes for youth navigating complex life circumstances.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this training, participants will be able to:
- Understand normal adolescent development and analyze the effects of complex trauma on brain development and overall wellbeing.
- Explain the core principles of radical acceptance and how it supports healing and growth.
- Demonstrate practical strategies to apply radical acceptance in youth-focused interventions.
- Develop trauma-informed approaches to foster resilience and positive youth development.
Target Audience: Social Workers, Educators, Case Managers, Caregivers, Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychologists, Therapists, Licensed Mental Health Practitioners, Medical Doctors, Case Workers, and Community Based Program Professionals
Content Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Kameko Johnson-Styles, LCSW-C, LICSW, currently serves as the Director of Youth, Birth Family, & Community Engagement at the National Center for Children and Families and as the Training and Instructional Development Fellow at the Institute for Mastery and Integration. A child welfare professional, Ms. Johnson-Styles has an extensive background working with underserved youth and families and first-hand experience with vulnerable youth populations in both residential and foster care settings. For the last 10 years, Ms. Johnson-Styles has taught in academia as an adjunct professor and research assistant, presented as a trainer at conferences and co-authored a publication on executive functioning and academic success. Ms. Johnson-Styles demonstrates competencies in case planning and management, group facilitation, socioemotional development, social science research, crisis interventions and trauma-based therapies. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Howard University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Bowie State University and is currently a second-year doctoral student in the School of Social Work at Morgan State University.
Agenda:
10:00am – 10:05am
- Welcome & Introductions
- Overview of Learning Objectives
10:05am – 10:15am
- Icebreaker Activity
10:15am – 10:45am
- Adolescent Development and the Impact of Complex Trauma
10:45am – 11:15am
- Core Principles of Radical Acceptance
11:15am – 11:25am
- Break
11:25am – 12:55pm
- Practical Strategies for Youth-Focused Interventions
12:55pm – 12:30pm
- Trauma-Informed Approaches to Resilience and Healing
12:30pm – 12:40pm
- Summary, Reflection, and Q & A
Continuing Education:
The Institute for Mastery and Integration, Provider #1920, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The Institute for Mastery and Integration maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 9/23/24 – 9/23/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 2.5 general continuing education credits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Visit our General Policies & FAQs Page for additional information regarding IMI workshops, accommodations for disabilities, refund and cancellation information.
