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Tele-Therapy with Children and Teens: Yes, It Really Works! Best Practices and Strategies for Effective Virtual Therapy with Young Clients

Rabbi Chaim Ellis, LCSW
$39.99 USD

As tele-health continues to expand within child and adolescent mental health services, clinicians are increasingly challenged to create meaningful therapeutic engagement through virtual platforms. This workshop will explore evidence-informed and practical strategies for conducting effective tele-therapy with children across developmental stages.

Topics will include building rapport remotely, adapting play-based and behavioral interventions for virtual settings, collaborating with parents, maintaining attention and participation online, and addressing common challenges such as avoidance, dysregulation, and screen fatigue. Participants will leave with clinically grounded tools and best practices to enhance therapeutic connection, flexibility, and outcomes in remote care with children and families.

About the Presenter

Bio: Rabbi Chaim Ellis, MSW, LCSW, is an alumnus of Yeshivas Mir in Yerushalayim. With over fifteen years of classroom experience, he currently serves as the school social worker at Yeshiva Ktana of Passaic. Rabbi Ellis earned his Master’s in Social Work from Cleveland State University and holds licenses to practice in both New Jersey and Ohio. Chaim's clinical expertise focuses on supporting children and adolescents facing ADHD, anxiety, OCD, grief, behavioral challenges, and school refusal. In addition to his clinical and school-based roles, Rabbi Ellis writes a bi-weekly advice column for teens in Mishpacha Magazine. He is also an adjunct professor at Sara Schenirer–Wurzweiler School of Social Work and provides training and consultation to schools, organizations, and mental health agencies.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Identify developmentally informed strategies for building engagement, rapport, and therapeutic connection with children in virtual therapy settings.
  2. Apply practical tele-health adaptations of play-based, behavioral, and cognitive interventions to improve participation and clinical effectiveness.
  3. Develop approaches for managing common challenges in remote therapy, including avoidance, distraction, parent involvement, and screen fatigue.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of tele-therapy engagement skills through simulated role-play.

Agenda:

90-Minute Conference Session Agenda

0:00–0:10 | Introduction & Current Landscape of Tele-Therapy

  • Growth of tele-health in child mental health
  • Benefits, limitations, and clinical considerations
  • Setting developmentally appropriate expectations online

0:10–0:25 | Building Therapeutic Connection Through a Screen

  • Strategies for engagement and rapport-building
  • Maintaining presence, warmth, and attunement virtually
  • Adapting communication for different developmental levels

0:25–0:45 | Practical Interventions for Virtual Sessions

  • Modifying play-based, CBT, and behavioral interventions
  • Interactive tools and activities that increase participation
  • Structuring sessions to improve focus and reduce fatigue

0:45–1:00 | Partnering with Parents in Tele-Health

  • Clarifying the parent’s role during sessions
  • Coaching parents and children together
  • Managing accommodations, transitions, and home dynamics

1:00–1:15 | Addressing Common Clinical Challenges

  • Avoidance and disengagement online
  • Dysregulation, distraction, and screen fatigue
  • Ethical and logistical considerations in remote care

1:15–1:25 | Case Examples & Clinical Applications

  • Brief case discussions
  • Applying strategies across ages and presentations

1:25–1:30 | Q&A and Closing Discussion

  • Audience questions
  • Key takeaways and clinical reflections
This presentation is open to:
  • Social Workers
  • Professional Counselors
  • Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
  • Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
  • Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
Course Level: intermediate
Level of Clinician: intermediate
  • New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
  • Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
  • Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
  • Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives

Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification. Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling. The grievance policy for trainings provided by NEFESH INTERNATIONAL is available here Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid the tuition fee, logged in and out each day, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate (If this is a pre-recorded program, a post-test with a passing grade of 80% to receive a certificate.) Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion by clicking here.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
Refund Policy:
Full Refund until 48 hours before scheduled date.
48 hours before: full refund less $5.00 processing fee. After event no refund will be given.
*exclusions apply for reasonable need and cause.