Pornography Therapeutic Interventions

This program takes an intervention orientation to an emerging epidemic of internet pornography which threatens communities in which youth, adults and marital spouses who have become addicted compulsive pornography users. There is a need to train mental health professionals in specific treatments strategies on how to assist youth, adults and spouses who are dealing with the grips of compulsive pornography use in their lives Therapists need to use tools which are easily accessible to develop their intervention strategies. Also, therapists need to learn how to conduct community wide education programming to awaken citizens to this crisis and to help them develop strategies on how to deal with it in their communities. Helping all community members to grapple with this new challenge to their mental health and happiness can result in renewed commitment and conviction to fight this issue so that the community can support those addicted to compulsive pornography use gain complete recovery and wellness in their lives. Therapists need help on what to say, how to say it and how not to use shame, guilting and outing to get the compulsive pornography users to come to grips with this issue in their lives.

Learning Objectives:

1. To learn about the impact of Compulsive pornography use on Youth, Adults and Married Couples in America today with an exploration of what types of pornography are out there and on what platforms they are present.
2. To learn about the neuroscience of watching pornography by Youth and Adults which leads to the compulsive need for more pornography to satisfy the mesolimbic reward centers of the brain.
3. To learn therapeutic techniques which clients can use to lessen the impact of compulsive pornography in their lives and to help them learn how to grow stronger committed to strengthened personal growth and recovery despite what challenges that come their way.
4. To learn about the resources to supplement the treatment of youth, adults and couples coping with compulsive pornography use, which can be incorporated and used in to all types of institutions in the community, churches, civic organizations and social media.

About the Presenter:

Jim Messina, Ph.D., CCMHC, NCC, DCMHS-T is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor and licensed psychologist in Florida. He has been Treasurer for FMHCA from 2015-2017. He is a fulltime Instructor in the CACREP approved Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Troy University Tampa Bay Site in Tampa, Florida. He has been a presenter at both the FMHCA and AMHCA Annual conferences since 2011. He has done a number of webinars for AMHCA and FMHCA. His areas of specialty are Pornography Prevention and Intervention, Suicide Prevention and Intervention, The Opioid and Heroin Epidemic, Motivational Interviewing, Integrated Primary Medicine, DSM-5, TBI and PTSD, and Ethics. He was the Treasurer of the Suncoast Mental Health Counselors’ Association in 2012-2013. He has his own website: www.coping.us on which he had placed all of the books he has written including: the 15 books in the Tools for Coping Series, Marriage Work-Out, Pathfinder Parenting and Balanced Lifestyle. On his website he also has a rich source of materials on a variety of current issues facing mental health counselors including: an online book on Evidence Based Practices and an online monograph on The Professionalization of the Mental Health Counseling Profession. He is the co-founder and past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) and past chairman of the National Academy of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NACCMHC). He is also a past board member of both the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). He is the past recipient of the AMHCA Counselor of the Year, the ACA Professional Development Award and the 2017 FMHCA Counselor Educator of the Year.

CEU Information:

This event is sponsored by FMHCA, an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider. FMHCA NBCC Provider# 2058. This course is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, LMHC, LMFT, LCSW – FMHCA CE Broker #: 50-748; CE Broker Course Tracking #  20-601743. Exp. 3/31/18