Continuing Education on Working with Children and Adolescents

Do you ever feel unsure or underprepared when navigating the unique complexities of working with children and adolescents?

  • Are you looking for ways to make sessions more interactive, effective, and developmentally appropriate?

  • Are you unsure how to balance the child’s voice with the expectations of parents, schools, or other professionals?

  • Do you wonder how to tailor interventions to meet a child exactly where they are developmentally?

  • Do you want to feel more equipped to support diverse children and families with unique cultural, emotional, and behavioral needs?

  • Are you struggling to manage challenging behaviors in session without losing connection?

  • Do you wish you had more tools to keep young clients focused, regulated, and engaged?

Working with children and adolescents can bring unique challenges that require specialized tools and without the right training, even experienced providers can feel stuck. Maybe you’ve noticed that traditional therapeutic strategies fall flat with younger clients, or you’re unsure how to adapt interventions for different developmental stages. Perhaps you struggle to manage parent involvement, behavioral symptoms, or the emotional intensity teens often bring into the room. These are common challenges, and they require a specialized, research-informed skill set. Our continuing education courses are designed to help you meet these demands with confidence, competence, and compassion.

Working with children and adolescents can be daunting at times

Many clinicians receive only one or two graduate-level courses focused on working with children and adolescents. While helpful, these classes are rarely enough to build true confidence or competence in child-focused clinical work. As a result, many therapists feel underprepared or unsure of their qualifications when it comes to treating younger clients. Although the DSM-5-TR helps us efficiently diagnose and conceptualize children’s presenting concerns, translating that knowledge into effective, developmentally attuned treatment requires additional specialized training.

Therapy with children involves multiple layers—engaging parents, collaborating with teachers or school counselors when appropriate, and adapting interventions to each child’s developmental stage. Even for seasoned clinicians, this can feel daunting. A key component of effective child therapy is normalizing the challenges many children face so both the child and their caregivers understand they are not alone. Issues such as anxiety, emotional dysregulation, behavioral outbursts, and attention difficulties are incredibly common in childhood. Our training equips you with child-centered treatment strategies, in-session therapeutic techniques, and practical examples designed to strengthen your confidence and enhance your effectiveness in every aspect of working with children.

Reach out to learn more about our CEU in working with children and adolescents!

Our Continuing Education Unit training on working with children and adolescents.

At FTC Learning, our trainings are designed to build foundational knowledge, strengthen practical skills, and support real-life application. Our Child and Adolescent Therapy Training is led by seasoned licensed clinical professional counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists who bring experience from schools, private practice, and group practice settings. Each training is grounded in evidence-based research and tailored for a wide range of professionals, including clinicians, business professionals, and school officials.

Some of the key topics addressed in our training include:

  • Culturally responsive approaches to child therapy

  • Building collaborative relationships with caregivers

  • Integrating systemic context into clinical case conceptualization

  • Play therapy fundamentals

  • Family engagement and communication strategies

  • Building rapport with children

  • Parent coaching and supporting caregivers under stress

  • Collaboration between mental-health and school professionals

  • Impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences

Our trainings combine clinical experience with evidence-based methods to deliver high-quality, practical learning. Sessions include slideshow presentations, role plays, take-home resources, and opportunities for discussion, reflection, and case consultation. Trainings are offered in a hybrid format—virtually or in person—based on individual or organizational preference, and all sessions are conducted in small, interactive groups that encourage collaboration and community building.

Learning outcomes include: Describe how family, school, and community systems impact a child's emotional, behavioral, and relational development. Apply a systemic lens to case conceptualization and treatment planning when working with children. Utilize collaborative strategies for engaging caregivers, educators, and other key system partners in the therapeutic process. Navigate common challenges such as caregiver conflict, school communication barriers, and differing cultural values across systems.

  • Yes. Our child and adolescent CEU courses include a variety of interactive elements designed to deepen learning and support real-world application. Most trainings feature case studies that reflect common clinical and classroom scenarios, engaging video demonstrations, and hands-on activities or reflection exercises that help you practice new skills. These interactive components make the material more engaging and ensure you can confidently apply what you learn in your work with youth.

  • Yes. Our courses include core ethical considerations specific to working with minors, such as confidentiality, informed consent and assent, mandated reporting, and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. While these trainings provide practical guidance on navigating common ethical situations with children and adolescents, we also encourage learners to explore our dedicated Ethics CEU offerings for a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of professional ethics across practice settings.

  • Yes. This CEU incorporates both trauma-informed and evidence-based practices throughout the training to ensure professionals are equipped with strategies that are effective, developmentally sound, and grounded in current research. A key learning outcome of the course is the ability to integrate culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed practices into child and family work. Participants will learn practical approaches they can immediately apply in supporting children and adolescents across diverse settings.

Register Today!