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What Parents Should Know About Youth and Substance Use
LIVE Virtual Training via Zoom
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm EST (10-11:00am CT/ 9-10:00am MT / 8-9:00am PST)
1 CEs included for LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, and CMSW through Florida CEBrokers.
The Florida Certification Board recognizes this training in the area of child welfare and mental health.
Cost: FREE
What Parents Need to Know About Youth and Substance Use is a one-hour training by the Florida Center Training Institute featuring Linda Christensen of Suncoast Institute on Chemical Dependency. This educational training equips parents with practical, science-based tools to help prevent youth substance misuse and addiction. Parents will learn what addiction is and is not, how the developing brain works, and why youth are especially vulnerable. The session explores environmental, behavioral, and developmental risk factors, and provides 12 concrete actions parents can take, along with effective communication strategies that build trust, awareness, and healthy decision-making at home.
Learning Objectives:
- Define addiction and distinguish it from common myths.
- Explain how youth brain development increases vulnerability to substance use.
- Identify key risk factors for youth substance misuse.
- Recognize warning signs of substance misuse and addiction.
- Describe evidence-based strategies parents can use to help prevent addiction.
- Apply effective communication strategies when talking with children about substance use
Presenter:
Linda Christensen, BS, MEd, Director of Education Program for Suncoast Institute on Chemical Dependency
With 35 years in urban education, Linda brings deep experience in teaching, mentoring educators, and designing impactful learning programs. Drawing on lived experience of recovery, she now educates communities on substance use disorder, prevention, and pathways to healing—grounded in the belief that education and understanding save lives.