Presenter(s)

Deborah Stuckey Mulhern, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience. She brings warmth, passion and energy to her work as a therapist and workshop presenter. She was trained at Wesleyan, Harvard and Boston Universities. She completed her internship at the Wellesley College Stone Center, where she specialized in the treatment of eating disorders. She has been an Adjunct Professor at both the University of Maryland and American University, teaching both undergraduate and graduate level courses in psychotherapy and in eating disorders. She is a Board Member of the Washington Study Group on Eating Disorders and Obesity.

Seminar Information

THE DEVELOPING BRAIN OF THE ADOLESCENT & ATTACHMENT THEORY:
Tools for Dealing with Teenagers and Their Parents

8:30 - 9 a.m.	Check-In, Networking and Continental Breakfast
9 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.	Program Presentation

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The training will include lecture, experiential grounding, case descriptions and group work.

OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

• Understand the distinction between adolescent separation vs. differentiation and the ways in which parents can support healthy differentiation
• Understand the developmental changes that occur in the brain during the adolescent years and how they compromise self-regulation and decision making
• Understand the role of secure vs. insecure attachment in the emergence of risky and self-defeating behaviors during adolescence
• Compare and contrast two families, identifying the factors which contribute to secure adolescent differentiation vs. insecure separation or prolonged dependence


• Identify 3 tools parents can use to promote secure differentiation