SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Victorious Living Foundation (VLF) is drawing the attention of counsellors, therapists, social workers, educators and youth workers across St. Maarten and the wider Caribbean to the 2026 Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conference: Cutting-Edge Interventions for Healing Today’s Youth, a two-day live online training taking place 5–6 August 2026 and now featured on the Foundation’s Professional Development page.
The conference brings together eleven leading clinicians for focused, evidence-based instruction on the issues young people face most — from trauma and attachment to anxiety, autism, generational wounds and the pressures of growing up in a digital world.
Conference Focus Areas
- Trauma & Attachment — relational repair for children carrying early wounds
- Anxiety & ACT — acceptance and commitment approaches for anxious youth
- Level 1 Autism — recognising and supporting subtler presentations
- Generational Trauma — patterns carried across families and communities
- Digital-Era Stress — screens, social comparison and always-on pressure
- School-Based Care — practical support within the classroom setting
- Expressive Therapies — creative modalities for young clients who struggle to talk
What Registrants Receive
Registration carries up to 18 continuing education hours and includes, at no additional cost, the Certified Youth Mental Health Specialist (CYMHS) credential awarded through Evergreen Certifications, subject to the certifying body’s professional standards.
Participants also receive 30-day replay access to the full conference, allowing those balancing caseloads and classrooms to complete the training at their own pace.
Practitioners licensed outside the United States are encouraged to confirm continuing education recognition with their own regulatory or professional body before registering.
Why It Matters Here
“Our young people are carrying more than most adults realise — grief, disrupted attachment, inherited pain and the relentless pressure of a digital world that never switches off,” said Dr. N. Erna Mae Francis Cotton, Founder and President of Victorious Living Foundation.
“Training of this calibre is rarely within reach of Caribbean practitioners. Because it is delivered live online with a full month of replay, it is genuinely accessible to those doing this work here at home, and every hour of it strengthens the care our children receive.”
Registration
Full conference details and registration are available at www.victoriouslivingfoundation.com/pro-dev. The live online sessions run 5–6 August 2026.
