OFFICE:
74075 El Paseo A12
Palm Desert,Calif. 92260
760-346-4606

Creative Change Conference
The seventeenth annual
It Happens to Boys Conference
for men and women, Therapists, Social Workers, Teachers, Counselors, Law Enforcement, D.A.s, Recovery Centers, and
Open to the General Public
$100.00 includes lunch
February27,2026
Continuing education for LMFT, LCSWs
Karn's Hall,Saint Margarets Church in Palm Desert
Speakers so far:

Sonny Von Cleveland

Sonny Von Cleveland | Survivor, Author, Speaker, Advocate

Sonny Von Cleveland is a nationally recognized speaker, trauma recovery advocate, and the author of the transformative memoir Hey White Boy – Conversations of Redemption. A survivor of severe childhood sexual abuse and a former victim of the foster care-to-prison pipeline, Sonny was convicted of a felony at age 7 and spent 18 years in prison. His journey from trauma to transformation is a powerful testament to resilience, healing, and the power of choice.

Today, Sonny uses his voice to give pain a purpose. Through keynote speaking, viral storytelling, and his national Conversations of Redemption podcast tour, he creates brave spaces for survivors to reclaim their narratives and begin the healing process. He has emerged as a leading voice for male survivors of sexual abuse, challenging stigma and opening doors for others to speak their truth.

Sonny is the founder of The Von Cleveland Foundation, which partners with organizations serving abused and traumatized populations by providing empowering personal development books that support healing and growth. His advocacy has earned recognition from both the United States Senate and Congress for its impact on communities and second chances.

Sonny’s message is raw, real, and deeply human: You are not what happened to you—you are what you choose to become.

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Highlights

"[It] was truly exceptional. I applaud Carol and her staff for sponsoring such an important conference on a very sensitive topic with such compassion and professionalism. The choice of speakers as well as the topics filled the two days with great clinical techniques for helping victims...Their appreciation for the quality and genuineness of the conference was obvious to everyone."

Robert J. Ackerman

DAVE PELZER

Free male survivor group Tuesday nights 7pm
Email me for the link
catbaum@earthlink.net

"The urgency of our work is felt more now than any other time in America," says Carol Teitelbaum, LMFT and co-founder of the It Happens to Boys Conference. "With the lightning-fast movement and sharing of information combined with a rampant abuse of power, there's simply no place for perpetrators to hide anymore."

Carol Teitelbaum, LMFT

private practice

760-346-4606

Consequences of childhood sexual abuse exhibited in adulthood

Some people who were sexually abused during childhood have few sequelae once they reach adulthood. However, many studies have shown that childhood sexual abuse can have a wide range of consequences that carry into adulthood and across multiple spheres of functioning.
Not only can childhood sexual abuse have lasting effects throughout adulthood, but the effects can take new forms in the majority, affecting marital and parental life as well.

POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE EXHIBITED IN ADULTHOOD

SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

Somatic problems
Risky lifestyles (e.g. smoking, alcohol, and drug use)
Poorer physical health
Poorer perception of physical health
More frequent visits to the physician
Occupational disability
Chronic diseases
Chronic pain
High-risk sexual behavior (unprotected sex, multiple partners, etc.)
Gynecological and perinatal complications
Sexual problems (e.g. painful intercourse, vaginismus in women)
Greater risk of contracting HIV and STBBIs

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Mental health problems (depression, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, panic disorder, etc.)
Psychological distress
Dissociation
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Anxiety
Self-mutilation
Suicidal thoughts attempted or completed suicide
Drug and alcohol abuse

RELATIONAL AND MARITAL

Less trust in others
Commitment issues
More excellent family and personal conflict
Isolation
Fear of intimacy
Marital dissatisfaction
Less stable relationships with partners
Marital conflict
Spousal violence

PARENTAL

Permissive parenting practices
Parenting stress
Parentification of children
Troubled parent-child relationships

PERINATAL PERIOD

Early motherhood
Renewed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (during pregnancy, delivery, nursing)
Premature births
Post-partum depression

Due to the inherent secrecy and sensitive nature of childhood sexual trauma, many victims won't share their stories and those who could help often don't ask the right questions. The effectiveness of the " It Happens to Boys" Conference comes from the mental health and recovery professionals creating an environment that is safe enough to encourage sharing and learning together. It is designed to be a compassionate, quality experience, both for those attending as survivors and those who support them in our community. It is also about a simple awareness and letting people know help and support like this exists. Untreated boys and men commonly have issues with rage, domestic violence, child abuse, drug and alcohol dependencies, arrests, and suicide attempts. As an organization, we understand that these situations and their solutions are complex and varied.

Our Work

OUR WORK

There is Hope

For fifteen years now, Creative Change Conferences has brought together some of the brightest names in mental health and recovery to explore the links between child abuse and addiction, depression, low self-esteem, relationship and intimacy challenges, sexual dysfunction and compulsion, pornography use and more.

Rancho Mirage

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John Lee

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Sexual abuse is an acute societal problem masked by a long entrenched cultural habit of denial. People don't talk about it and that very secrecy contributes to perpetrators believing they can get away with it. We need your help to give courageous healers a voice and combat this epidemic.

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