Children And Parenting

Children & Parenting

Children

Working with children affected by substance abuse, mental illness and violence: Effective trauma-informed treatment and service coordination for children whose mothers are affected by co-occurring disorders will be reviewed. This training will provide an overview of the impact of substance abuse, violence and mental illness on children, and address the clinical and system barriers that exist

Promoting resiliency in children: Resiliency was once thought of as a trait someone was born with. Research now demonstrates that all people have the traits to be resilient, but it is how these traits get nurtured that is key. A review of the literature and the implication for treatment will be discussed.

Psycho-educational groups for children whose mothers have co-occurring disorders: An effective resiliency-promoting, trauma-informed group intervention will be presented. Structured activities, books, videos and safety planning will be reviewed. The role of the group facilitators will be considered.

Children who witness domestic violence: This training will consider the symptoms and treatment of children that witness domestic violence.

Treating children and adolescents: Special considerations: Child providers need effective strategies for addressing common barriers in the treatment of children and adolescents. This training presents strategies for engaging parents, school personnel and other providers.

Service coordination and advocacy with children: Frequently child providers see their task as providing psychological treatment for children. In fact, successful treatment for children includes the larger task of helping parents learn how to advocate for their children in a time of diminishing resources for children.

Parenting

Family-focused services/Treatment Planning for Adults with Children: This training is based on the idea that successful substance abuse treatment for adults with children requires us to include planning and services designed to maintain and promote the parent-child relationship, and to address the developmental needs of parents and children as part of treatment.

Effects of substance abuse and violence on parenting and the parent-child relationship: This training provides an overview of the impact of substance abuse and violence on parenting and the parent-child relationship. The application of the relational model to demonstrate nurturing connections between parents and children will be described. Targeted clinical interventions and strategies will be provided focusing primarily on the parent. Information on the importance of fostering hope will be threaded throughout the presentation. The training will teach providers how to promote successful nurturing relationships within families.

Recognizing substance abuse and its effects on families: This training provides basic information about alcoholism and drug addiction, including signs that suggest that a person may be using, common effects of addiction on the family, and phases of recovery from addiction. The training includes watching the video, "Straight from the Heart: Stories of Mothers Recovering from Addiction," a powerful, first-hand look at the effects of addiction on families. Additionally, the training incorporates a discussion about denial and strategies for confronting it, as well as how to talk about suspected substance use with a parent or colleague.

Effects of reunification on parent-child relationships: This training is designed to enhance participants' understanding and ability to support the reunion and reunification of parents, children, and families affected by addiction.

Nurturing families through recovery (Curriculum-based Parenting program, either the Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery or Nurturing Families affected by Substance Abuse, Mental Illness and Trauma): This training addresses the effects of co-occurring disorders and trauma on parenting and the parent-child relationship through description of curricula concepts and activities. Using the "train the trainer" model, the training provides information and skills needed to facilitate the Nurturing Program and/or Nurturing Families parenting curricula.

Difficult moments in facilitating parenting groups: This practical, hands-on workshop will provide an arena for group leaders to explore how to handle difficult moments which may arise during parenting groups as a result of conflicting values and attitudes. We will examine some "do's" and "don'ts" for group leaders as well as practical steps, strategies and group-building techniques. Participants will have the opportunity to experience the impact of multi-sensory, interactive activities, discussion and group building techniques for processing difficult moments.

Integrating parenting services into treatment for co-occurring disorders: This training describes the importance of providing parenting services when treating women with co-occurring disorders and describes systems strategies for implementing parenting services within an existing service system.

Building relationships between parents and professionals: Parents and professionals face particular challenges in establishing and navigating relationships within various communities. This training examines the roles and expectations between home-visiting professionals and parents. In the course of exploring obstacles and identifying skills, we will establish a framework for effective, reciprocal communication and joint collaboration.

The parallel of human growth and development, recovery development and parenting development: This training provides an overview and direct parallels between the developmental stages of human growth and development (birth through old age) and the process of change in recovery; and stages of change in parenthood. This framework helps participants understand their own growth processes in various aspects of their lives; and helps them understand the processes others, particularly their children, are experiencing.

Administration of the Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory: The Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory is a validated instrument that measures change. It is used to evaluate the effectiveness of both the Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery, and Nurturing Families Through Recovery curricula. It is designed to assess the parenting and child rearing attitudes of adult and adolescent parent and pre-parent populations. Responses provide and index of risk for practicing behaviors known to be attributable to child abuse and neglect. The tool provides an index of risk in the following parenting and child rearing behaviors: Inappropriate Expectations of Children, Parental Lack of Empathy Towards Children's Needs, Strong Belief in the Use of Corporal Punishment as a Means of Discipline, Reversing Parent-Child Role Responsibilities, and Oppressing Children's Power and Independence. This training provides facilitators with the information needed to administer this evaluation instrument.