Teaching Healthy Relationships
The Ins and Outs of Talking about Relationships with Adolescents
Young people are constantly told what NOT to do when it comes to dating and relationships, but rarely hear what healthy relationships actually look like or how to have one! This interactive workshop moves beyond risk-focused messaging to equip youth-serving professionals with practical tools and the confidence to engage teens in meaningful conversations about love, jealousy, consent, and boundaries for both in-person and online interactions.Through a strengths-based lens, participants will explore how to recognize warning signs while also affirming what's going right in young people's relationships (whether those connections happen face-to-face, through texting, or on social media). You'll walk away with conversation starters, engaging activities, and approaches that honor teens' experiences while supporting them in building the skills for healthy connections. Whether you work with teens in schools, clinical settings, or community programs, this workshop will help you become a trusted voice in one of the most important areas of adolescent development.
Learning Objectives
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Explain why engaging in open, proactive conversations with youth about dating and relationships supports healthy adolescent development
Identify characteristics of healthy, unhealthy, and abusive adolescent relationships and describe strategies for addressing warning signs with youth for both in-person and digital settings
Apply a strengths-based approach that affirms healthy behaviors in adolescent relationships while building skills for future connections
Use at least three conversation starters and activities to engage adolescents in discussions about love, jealousy, consent, and boundaries
