Spring 2026 Offerings

As adults, our ability to support young people in identifying and managing their emotions starts with our ability to do the same. In this experiential workshop, participants will deepen their understanding of how people interpret and feel emotions; how they personally experience hot buttons and emotional activation; as well as explore self-regulation. Time will be spent considering the ways our own emotional self-awareness can influence our work with young people, and identifying techniques for modeling empathy and emotion management in programming. This workshop is a pre-requisite for taking the Cultivating Empathy and Emotion Coaching workshops.

This sessions is facilitated by Debralyn Woodberry-Shaw.

This workshop introduces methods for building supportive, youth-centered relationships and prepares participants to ask effective questions, listen actively to youth, and encourage young people by tapping their intrinsic motivation.

Do you communicate with youth in a way that makes them feel supported and heard? This interactive workshop introduces various communication techniques that help you build more supportive, youth-centered relationships. Participants will learn how to ask more effective questions, to listen actively to youth, and offer youth encouragement rather than praise.

This workshop helps staff establish appropriate structure (routines and rituals) and clear limits (norms and behavior guidelines), fostering a feeling of fairness and predictability that supports young people to explore and express themselves in a conducive learning environment.

Conflict Resolution & Wellness Workshops for OST Leadership Teams

This two-part workshop series is designed exclusively for OST program directors, managers and supervisors. The series will provide training in conflict resolution, while integrating mental health and wellness practices such as mindfulness, breath work, meditation and somatic regulation.

Facilitator: Julius Boatwright, Founder and Managing Director, Steel Smiling

Group Size: 25 participants

Participants will register for and should plan to attend both workshops.

APOST will provide coffee, tea, and lunch during these workshops.

Workshop 1: Leading Through Conflict: Restorative Strategies for Supporting Overall Team Well-Being

This first session will increase participants' understanding of how conflict impacts their psychological safety and morale; provide the opportunity to practice applying conflict resolution models; explore how trauma and stress responses show up in teams during conflict; and use mindfulness and somatic tools for emotional regulation during conflict cycles.

This workshop gives strategies for successfully incorporating interactive, interdependent, goal-oriented group work into youth programs. Working in pairs or groups supports young people in being active, self-directing, and expressive.

By incorporating and modeling empathy, youth workers can add value to their programs and promote positive skill building for young people. In this session, participants will practice strategies for supporting empathy building, including active listening skills that model empathy and encourage young people to express their emotions in a healthy way. Participants will also explore best practices for supporting empathy building in programming and plan next steps for incorporating these concepts into their work with young people. This workshop requires you take FASA of Emotional Development first.

Conflict Resolution & Wellness Workshops for OST Leadership Teams

This two-part workshop series is designed exclusively for OST program directors, managers and supervisors. The series will provide training in conflict resolution, while integrating mental health and wellness practices such as mindfulness, breath work, meditation and somatic regulation.

Facilitator: Julius Boatwright, Founder and Managing Director, Steel Smiling

Group Size: 25 participants

Participants will register for and should plan to attend both workshops.

APOST will provide lunch during these workshops.

Workshop 2: Coaching Through Conflict: Building Emotionally Resilient and Supported OST Teams

This second session participants will explore how to supportively coach staff through interpersonal conflict and challenges; facilitate restorative conversations that result in increased awareness and understanding; promote wellness-informed team structures; and address conflict with empathy.

By building knowledge of emotion coaching, and developing skills that teach young poeple to identify and safely manage their emotional experiences, youth workers can deepen the meaning of their work and promote positive skill building with them. In this interactive session, participants explore the ways our culture and personal histories can influence our understanding and interpretation of emotions; identify best practices for facilitating effective emotion coaching; and practice skills that support young people to accurately name and navigate their emotions. Additionally, participants will plan next steps for incorporating these concepts into their work with young people. This workshop requires you take FASA of Emotional Development first.

This workshop provides a six-step, youth-centered, nonthreatening way of resolving conflicts that occur in youth settings. It is a problem-solving approach that seeks to turn conflicts into learning opportunities.