human sexual arousal and adolescents thomas graves, ph.d ...drtomgraves.com/index_htm_files/human...

Human Sexual Arousal and Adolescents Thomas Graves, Ph.D. 315 W. James St. Lancaster, PA 17603 gravestom@comcast.net

OVERVIEWPIECES

child developmenthealthy sexualitypreconditions for arousalsexual scriptsarousal, anxiety, and offendingscreen culture

THE MODELInterventions and discussion

CRITICAL BRAIN PERIOD

• Just before adolescence, the brain grows millions of synapses in the frontal lobe.

• After that, the brain prunes and organizesthem

• LEARNING =creating and strengthening connections through learning and practice

• Brain keeps only the most efficient and “strong” synapses

PROGRAMMING ISSUES

• Brain development is not complete

• Operate from the emotional/impulsive/reward (Homer) part of the brain

• Disparities between knowing/feeling and understanding/behaving

NEUROSCIENCE OF SKILL BUILDING

• Skill building: developing connections between portions of the brain that have difficulty communicating

• Successful interventions activate those parts of the brain that adolescents can access in moments of decision making

ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE PREVENTION INTERACTIONS

ROLE PLAYING, MUSIC, IMMEDIATE REWARDS, AND ROLE MODELS

activate several areas of the mid-brain (Homer), as well as the frontal cortex (Spock)

• Correct thinking errors: – correct false assumptions – reframe thinking – not bad or stupid or “too impulsive”

• Structure: – safe, predictable, consistent environment

to reduce anxiety• Practice:

– provide experiences to practice the skills

• Information– Brain development – Brain function’s impact on behavior– Process for re-wiring brain

• Spock & Homer– Problem solving difficult during stress– need practice, concrete ways to access

information and skills

Documents