The Illinois Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers is the Illinois Chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, which is an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse. Through research, education, and shared learning ATSA promotes evidence based practice, public policy and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse.
ATSA is an association of individuals from around the world committed to achieving a high level of professional excellence. ATSA promotes the philosophy that empirically based assessment, practice, management, and policy strategies will: enhance community safety, reduce sexual recidivism, protect victims and vulnerable populations, transform the lives of those caught in the web of sexual violence, and illuminate paths to prevent sexual abuse.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By President Jeff Reynolds, Ph.D., LCPC
I hope everyone is shaking off the winter and starting to enjoy the spring, wet as it is. The board of directors was thrilled to be able to present the first ILATSA conference in several years this past March. As much as I would like to take credit for the success of the conference, the truth is, I walked in as president after all of the hard work had been done. The success of the conference depended almost exclusively on the efforts of the conference planning committee. Michelle Evans, Guy Groot, Rhonda Meacham, and Tracy Tholin are the board members responsible for all of the planning and hard work that went into getting this event ready to go. We also had a great group of volunteers who were with us during the conference and helped ensure things ran smoothly. For nothing more than a great big thank you and an extra ribbon for their name badges, Jamie Oliphant, Glen Ensinger, Chris Blakley and Shannon Chrismore arrived at the conference site early and stayed late both days. Special thanks go out to these folks for all of their hard work. Of course the event would not have been nearly as successful as it was without the incredible presentations that were given by several dedicated individuals in the field. Dr. Michael Caldwell and Dr. Robin Wilson lead the conference off with their key note presentations. The rest of the field had a tough act to follow, and they did not disappoint. With presentations ranging from the effective use of the polygraph, to motivational interviewing, to treating the victimized sexual offender, the presentations were all outstanding and very well received. If you go to the ILATSA website (www.ilatsa.org) you will find links to the presentations’ printed material or the emails of presenters who would be happy to send you their information. We have gone through all of the evaluations for the conference and the presenters, and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive. There were also a few much appreciated suggestions as to what we might do better next time. We hope to incorporate these suggestions into next year’s conference. Speaking of next year’s conference, we ask that everyone mark their calendars for March 15 & 16, 2018. We will be back in Sugar Grove at Waubonsee College with a conference that promises to be even bigger and better! Watch the newsletter and other announcements concerning a “call for presentations” late this summer or early fall. We hope that we can encourage some attendees of this year’s conference to be presenters at next year’s event. We are always looking for ILATSA members who are interested in serving on the board, or if you think you’d like to present or volunteer at next year’s conference, please contact me at jreynolds@4crcc.org. Thanks and enjoy the spring!
CURRENT REQUEST FOR NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS!
ILATSA is currently seeking newsletter submissions! If you have a story about how you implemented something that you learned from the webinars, or an interesting resource that you would like to review, we would love to hear about it. Please submit to: Illinois-atsa@mediacombb.net
2017 Newsletters
Previous Newsletters:
December 2016 Newsletter December 2015 Newsletter July 2014 Newsletter December 2013 Newsletter
July 2016 Newsletter August 2015 Newsletter April 2014 Newsletter July 2013 Newsletter
March 2016 Newsletter February 2015 Newsletter February 2013 Newsletter