Treating Youth Firesetting Behavior
When: Thursday, November 21 - 12:00 PM
Duration: 2 hours
Location: Zoom
Event Details:
Every year in the United States, hundreds of people die, thousands are injured, and millions of dollars are lost in direct property damage from children’s misuse of fire. Fortunately, many of these children are not seriously injured and are primarily motivated by curiosity. Well-targeted education programs conducted by trained fire prevention personnel are very effective in intervening this dangerous behavior.
However, a significant percentage of young people are driven by motivations other than curiosity and require intervention beyond education. The mental health community plays a critical role in effectively assessing and treating this behavior. And yet, many mental health professionals have not received any formal training or information regarding youth fire setting behavior.
The aim of this training is both to increase awareness about the extent of the problem and identify assessment and treatment protocols that can be helpful in both intervention and prevention.
At the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Recognize typical firesettgin behavior profiles and motivations
- Identify the steps in assessment procedures
- Identify treatment protocols based on the youth’s needs
- Describe the various processes to support youth and their families
About Our Presenter:
Paul Schwartzman, M.S., L.M.H.C., D.A.P.A. is a licensed mental health counselor, providing counseling services to children, adolescents and families in the Rochester (NY) area for more than forty years. His interest in the field of youth firesetting developed while on staff at the University of Rochester where he participated with other researchers in the study of youth fire play and fire setting. Paul was a member of the original research team that
originated the Fire Related Youth Unit for the City of Rochester (NY) Fire Department and the BIC preschool firesafety education curriculum, both award winning programs that address issues of children and fire.
Paul has co-authored books and produced several research articles for professional journals and has written a chapter on treatment of juvenile firesetters in The Handbook of Prescriptive Treatments for Children and Adolescents published by Allyn & Bacon. Paul also authored a chapter on youth firesetting for the revised NFPA Fire Protection Handbook.
Paul is the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Education Section and was the co-chairperson of the NFPA Youth Firesetter Intervention Committee. He was also a member of the NFPA 1035 Professional Public Life and Fire Safety Educator Standards Committee. He worked with the
committee to develop national standards for youth firesetter intervention specialists. Paul is also the Executive Director of the Finger Lake Regional Burn Association.
Paul currently maintains a private consulting and counseling practice in Fairport, New York where he resides with his wife. Paul has two grown children
