16-224b How Understanding the Teenage Brain can Improve your Clinical Work with
Adolescents and their Families – 6 Hour Seminar
Sharon Saline Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist
Friday, June 24, 2016 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Course Description
This course will examine the biology of the adolescent brain as it relates to teen behavior, emotion and
socialization. There has been a recent explosion in neurological research about the changing teenage brain that
directly affects clinical work with adolescents and their families. Starting with an examination of this
information, we will then look at how biology interfaces with developmental psychology and social and
emotional intelligence. We will then review the growth of executive functioning skills and look at how these
skills can be taught to teens within the context of psychotherapy. We will examine how to work with individual
adolescents more effectively in clinics, private practice or school settings using these findings. We will also
review significant, relevant treatment modalities based on this information as well as how to apply these ideas
to direct clinical work within a family context. In addition, we will explore how to assist parents of varying
socioeconomic backgrounds to understand and guide their children with less stress and more success. Methods
of teaching include didactic seminar, case examples and small and large group discussions. Participants are
strongly encouraged to come to the seminar with a clinical dilemma related to their work.
Faculty: Sharon Saline, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Northampton, MA
where she works primarily with children, adolescents and families. Dr. Saline has extensive experience
consulting with the City of Northampton School District, the Montessori School of Northampton and the
Williston-Northampton Middle School on mental health issues in the classroom and improving teacher/parent
communication. She is the co-founder and co-director of the yearly "Got kids? Let's Talk" parenting series at
Northampton Area Pediatrics. Dr. Saline’s clinical expertise include the diagnosis, treatment and intervention of
ADHD/ADD, learning disabilities and mental health issues for children, adolescents and their families. She has
conducted numerous trainings around the country and internationally for teachers, psychologists, adjustment
counselors, ESP’s, parents and students on a variety of topics. Dr. Saline graduated Magna Cum Laude from
Brown University, received her master’s degree in psychology from New College of California and obtained
her doctorate in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.
Learning Objectives
1. Participants will learn about the neurobiology and development of the adolescent brain.
2. Participants will gain an understanding about the ways that physiological changes in adolescents interact with and
affect their emotional and social development.
3. Participants will learn to define executive functioning, identify skill strengths and deficits in their clients and
understand how to address them within a therapeutic context.
4. Participants will obtain practical and useful therapeutic interventions for individual and family clinical work with
adolescents based on this information.
Bibliography

Brizendine, L. (2006). The female brain. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Brizendine, L. (2011). The male brain. New York: Random House.

Cooper-Kahn, J. & Dietzel, L. (2008). Late, lost and unprepared: A parents’ guide to helping children with
executive functioning. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

Dawson, P. & Guare, R. (2010). Executive skills in children and adolescents: A practical guide to assessment
and intervention (second edition). New York: Guilford.

Dawson, P. & Guare, R. (2009). Smart but scattered: The revolutionary executive skills” approach to helping
kids reach their potential. New York: Guilford.

Miller, P. H. (2011). Theories of developmental psychology. Fifth edition. New York: Worth.

Perl, E. (2008). Psycholtherapy with adolescent girls and young women: Fostering autonomy through
attachment. New York: Guilford.

Sax, L. (2007). Boys adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and
underachieving young men. New York: Basic Books.

Strauch, B. (2003). The primal brain: What new discoveries about the teenage brain tell us about our kids.
New York: Doubleday.

Straus, M. (2007). Adolescent girls in crisis: Intervention and hope. New York: W. W. Norton.

Taffel, R. (2009). Childhood unbound: The powerful new parenting approach that gives our 21st century kids
the authority, love and listening they need to thrive. New York: Free Press.

Wolf, A.E. (2011). I’d listen to my parents if they’d just shut up: What to say and not say when parenting
teens. New York: Harper.