# Workshops

Source: https://spingarncounselingservices.com/workshops/

Workshops & community programs

# Bring the conversation to your congregation or staff.

Workshops and multi-session programs for churches, schools, and community organizations. Delivered by a clinician who has spent a career building exactly these programs from the inside.

## Who this is for

Pastors and ministry leaders planning a series for the congregation. Principals and superintendents arranging staff development. Program directors at community agencies who need a presenter their people will actually listen to.

This is not a stock slide deck. Sessions are built around your community. Its age range, its concerns, and what it is realistically able to act on afterward. That approach comes from years chairing a school district's Parent University, developing conferences and workshops for Head Start educators, and training the home health aides and mentors who did the day-to-day work.

[Request a workshop](https://spingarncounselingservices.com/contact/)

## Workshop topics

Frequently requested subjects, each adaptable to a single session or an extended series. Custom topics are welcome. If it falls within this practice's experience, it can be built.

### Substance use & prevention

Recognizing warning signs, talking to a family member about drinking or drug use, understanding what treatment actually involves, and what recovery asks of the people around it. Informed by long experience in military drug education, continuing under approval from the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).

### Parenting & family support

Practical sessions for parents on discipline, communication with teenagers, school advocacy, screens and social media, and knowing when a difficulty warrants outside help. Delivered in the Parent University format that ran district-wide for years.

### Grief & bereavement

How grief actually behaves, what helps and what quietly makes it harder, and how a congregation or staff can support a bereaved member past the first two weeks. Suitable for support-group leaders and lay ministry teams.

### Trauma & post-traumatic stress

Understanding trauma responses in veterans, immigrant and refugee families, and young people, and the difference between supporting someone and attempting to treat them. Grounded in years directing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) groups at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Northport.

### Youth mentoring programs

How to design a mentoring program that lasts: recruiting the right mentors, training and screening, matching, supervision, and measuring whether it is working. Built from years recruiting and training mentors for a district-wide program.

### Staff development & in-service

Training for teachers, aides, youth workers, and ministry volunteers. Recognizing students and members in distress, mandated reporting responsibilities, boundaries, and referring well without overstepping.

### Supporting seniors & caregivers

For congregations serving older members: isolation, loss, changing independence, and caregiver exhaustion, and how to build a visitation or support ministry that does real good.

### Anger & conflict

Understanding what drives anger, de-escalation in the moment, and handling conflict within families, classrooms, and volunteer teams before it becomes permanent damage.

### College & life transitions

For students and the adults guiding them: managing application pressure, building self-advocacy, and preparing for the independence the first year demands.

Formats

## How programs are delivered

| Format | Typical length | Best suited to |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single presentation | 60 to 90 minutes | Congregational events, parent nights, community forums |
| Workshop series | 3 to 6 weekly sessions | Small groups, support ministries, parent cohorts |
| Staff in-service | Half or full day | Faculty, agency staff, volunteer teams |
| Program consultation | Ongoing engagement | Designing or repairing a mentoring, youth, or support program |

Programs are delivered on site at your church, school, or facility, or online for staff and volunteers in multiple locations. Groups of any size are considered, a room of fifteen often accomplishes more than an auditorium.

Consultation

## Ongoing advisory work

Beyond scheduled workshops, this practice provides consultation to schools, churches, community agencies, and families. The same work carried out today with families and school districts through Access-7 in Commack.

- **Schools & districts**. Student services structure, special education compliance review, intern supervision, and support for building-level coordinators.
- **Churches & ministries**. Building a pastoral care or support ministry, and knowing when and how to refer a member for clinical help.
- **Community agencies**. Program evaluation, staff training, and coordination with county services.
- **Families**, advocacy and guidance in navigating schools, agencies, and county systems on behalf of a family member.

#### Workshop and consultation fees

Fees depend on the length of the program, the size of the group, and how far we travel to you. Tell us what you have in mind and you will be quoted a figure in advance, in writing if you prefer. There is no charge for the conversation itself.

## Planning a program?

Tell us your audience, your date, and what you hope people walk away with. We will propose a format that fits, including what will and won't work in the time available.

[Request a workshop](https://spingarncounselingservices.com/contact/)
[Call (631) 475-7255](tel:+16314757255)