Who Decides? Using Shared Decision Making to Effectively Engage Adolescents and Young Adults in Treatment Services and Supports

Description: Shared decision making (SDM) is an evidence-based approach for partnering with clients with mental health and substance use conditions to support genuine engagement. It offers a structured collaborative process for exploring treatment options and important life choices in the context of individual values and preferences, to help arrive at sound decisions and plans. Shared decision making strengthens therapeutic relationships by inviting adolescents, young adults, and their families into meaningful dialogue about choices for how they would like to participate, as well as the types of services and supports they opt to use.

Through lecture, case examples, and participatory exercises, workshop attendees will learn about the origins of and research supporting shared decision making and how it is applied in behavioral health care; how SDM has been used with adolescents and young adults; the intersection of SDM with Motivational Interviewing and person-centered planning; and sample tools and applications for using SDM in different clinical settings.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

• Identify the core elements of Shared Decision Making and its application in behavioral health, including with people with substance use disorders
• Describe how Shared Decision Making approaches have been integrated into evidence-based programs to enhance engagement for youth and young adults;
• Demonstrate how to use readily accessible decision aids and other tools that support Shared Decision Making in treatment relationships
• Create plans for incorporating Shared Decision Making into their practice.

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