PreVenture Evidence-Based Youth Prevention
FACILITATOR
Mental Health and Early Intervention Youth Program
About the Facilitator Program
The PreVenture Facilitator Program will provide you with the materials and resources and train and certify you to deliver the program within your community(ies).
PreVenture, an evidence-based mental health and early intervention program designed specifically for youth. PreVenture is different from many traditional prevention programs. Rather than focusing only on substances, it focuses on the why - the underlying personality traits that can increase vulnerability to both substance use and mental health challenges.
The program is designed for youth ages 12–18 and helps them build coping skills set meaningful long-term goals, and better understand how their personality influences their choices
Research shows that personality factors can increase one’s vulnerability to substance use and mental health challenges. But importantly, they can also be strengths when understood and managed well.
PreVenture was developed by Dr. Patricia Conrod, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal. Over 25 years of research has contributed to the development of the program. Dr. Conrod's research focuses on understanding why early substance use often overlaps with mental health challenges—and how we can intervene earlier and more effectively.
This program is grounded in that research and has been studied extensively across multiple countries and youth populations.
If you are a teacher, mental health practitioner, counselor, social worker, and/or prevention specialist, you can become a certified PreVenture facilitator and bring this proven, evidence-based intervention to your community.
Download Overview: PreVenture-Evidence-Based-Youth-Program.pdf
What Youth Will Learn
Through the program, youth learn practical, transferable skills. These include:
Implementation
PreVenture is a selected youth prevention program for youth ages 12-18 and can be implemented in school/non-school and online settings.
The intervention requirements easily fit into a school partner’s limited time constraints.
- Consent: Consent forms are sent to the parents.
- Screening: The target youth population completes the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) brief survey which identifies program eligible youth and their unique personality profiles.
- Eligibility: Eligible youth are informed confidentially in person or in writing and invited to participate in workshops.
- Implementation Two, 90-minute (or four 45-minute) workshops are held at least one week apart. They help youth to understand the connection between their personality profile and their behaviors.
About the Programming. Pricing. Facilitator, Training Process.
Personality-Based Intervention
One of the reasons PreVenture is so effective is that it targets personality as a risk factor. Personality can predict future challenges, help us understand motivations for behavior, and guide how we tailor coping strategies - allowing us to intervene early, before problems escalate.
Different personality styles are associated with different reasons for substance use and different coping patterns. Because of that, interventions can be more personalized—and more effective.
Program Design
PreVenture incorporates real-life scenarios, motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help youth better understand and manage the aspects of their personalities associated with risky behaviors and substance use.
To identify which personality profile a youth aligns with, PreVenture uses a screening tool called the SURPS - the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale. A brief, validated survey based on well-established psychological measures used Internationally across diverse populations.
Impulsivity
Acting on the spur of the moment without thinking much about the consequences of an action.
Sensation Seeking
This is all about the need for excitement, even if it means engaging in risky behaviors.
Anxiety Sensitivity
Comes with uncomfortable physical sensations when anxious and worrying about situations that will make these sensations appear.
Negative Thinking
This is about feeling sad and hopeless, with a tendency towards constantly finding the negatives in life’s events.
Facilitator Training Process
Overdose Lifeline offers one or more training sessions available monthly.
PreVenture includes a structured certification pathway—from Level 1 facilitator to advanced roles like supervisor and trainer.
For Level 1 certification, Facilitators will complete prerequisite training and a structured training and certification process that includes a 2-day group training, conducted virtually via zoom.
Following training, facilitators will be certified to deliver the PreVenture program and gain access to the PreVenture platform, including a personalized dashboard with the tools and resources needed for successful implementation.
Level 1 Pricing
Facilitator Level 1 $785 per person
Includes: 2-day Training, Facilitator Manual, Student Workbook - Set of 4, and Technical Support
Overdose Lifeline Offers 15% Multi-Program Discount
15% 6+ Trainers Discount
(discounts cannot be combined)
Facilitator Re-certification:
The facilitator re-certification fee is paid on April 1st following training to PreVenture-CHU Sainte-Justine.
Budget for the student workbook ranges from $12 to $22 per student, depending on the quantity purchased from PreVenture–CHU Sainte-Justine.
Budget for Other Implementation Costs
- $120 annual re-certification fee/facilitator paid April 1st post-training to PreVenture-CHU Saint-Justine.
- Fees for the printed or digital student workbooks.