Roy Petitfils has worked with youth and young adults for more than 20 years as minister, a teacher, school administrator, school counselor and now as a counselor in private practice. Roy regularly consults with churches, publishers and organizations helping them more effectively reach and minister to youth and young adults.
Speaker
Roy has traveled internationally to speak to adults to better connect with teens. With every speaking engagement, Roy brings several aspects to ensure attendees leave confident to take on any situation when parenting teens. Using his professional counseling background, life experience, humor and passion Roy helps bridge the connection between adults and today’s teenagers to help them get through the difficulties that exist growing up in the world today. Roy’s ability to provide solutions for parents, educators and ministers concerning teen issues like life changes, depression, suicide, anxiety, eating disorders, self harm, LGBTQ issues and more has made him an internationally sought after presenter. Roy’s TEDx talk “What Teenagers Want You to Know” currently has over 400,000 views.
Award Winning Author
Roy has written four books, including his award winning book What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About the First Five Years of Marriage and most recently What Teens Want You to Know (But Don’t Tell You). Roy has also authored, A Practical Guide to High School Campus Ministry (St. Mary’s Press, 2007), and God Wears Running Shoes: Spiritual Reflections for Those Ministering to Young People (2009). His column for adults about youth and young adults, is read across the English speaking world.
Professional Counseling Background
An internationally recognized expert in understanding and raising teenagers, Roy earned his Masters Degree in Community and School Counseling from the University of Louisiana Lafayette. He received his BA in Liberal Arts from St. Joseph Seminary College and studied spirituality, theology and ministry at the graduate level at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as the president of the Louisiana Association for Spiritual and Ethical Values in Counseling (LASERVIC).
Personal Life
Roy lives with his wife Mindi and their two sons Max and Benjamin in Youngsville, Louisiana.
Categories: Children's Issues, Christianity, Generational Differences, Health Care, Health Care - Children and Health, Health Care - Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery, Teamwork, TED Talk
