Applying the Stages of Change Model with Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth

Room: Old Louisville

The Stages of Change model has been identified as a best practice for working with commercially sexually exploited youth and adults; however, many providers have struggled to understand the model and apply it. Providers unintentionally hinder individuals progress by pushing them to make changes before they are ready. To better equip providers to work with commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults, the presenters will provide an overview of commercial sexual exploitation, an over of the Stages of Change Model, and a discussion on how to apply the Stages of Change to commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults. The overview of commercial sexual exploitation portion of the training will provide a brief review of what commercial sexual exploitation is, pathways of entry into the commercial sex industry, and a short video of survivor of commercial sexual exploitation. This portion of the presentation will be brief as the intended audience will already have some knowledge of commercial sexual exploitation.

Next, the Stages of Change Model will be discussed. The presenters will begin by discussing the context of change by looking at the impact of abuse, poverty, stigma of prostitution, etc. With each of the stages, a description will be provided of the respective stage as well as the goal of that particular stage. The presenters will share vignettes of commercially sexually exploited victims and survivors at the various stages to provide participants with tangible examples of what this looks like in practice. The presenters will also discuss the difference between revictimization, relapse, and lapses, and how this applies to commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults.

Lastly, the presenters will also provide a discussion of how providers can apply this model to working with commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults. This discussion will include strategies that providers can utilize to help individuals progress from one stage to another. The presenters will discuss organizational ways the commercially sexually exploited-informed Stages of Change can be applied as well as ways it can be applied to individual treatment plans. Also, the presenters will discuss how to utilize CSE-informed Stage of Changes within the context of existing trauma-informed models or evidenced based practices organizations already have in place.

**CEUs are not offered for this Session**

Presenters

Nicole Klasey, Psy.D.

Consultant , Klasey Consulting

Email: nikkiklasey@gmail.com

Gina Peck-Sobolewski, MA, LMFT

Vice President , Sycamores

Email: gpeck@sycamores.org