Children And Parenting

Children & Parenting

CHILDREN

Working with Children Affected by Substance Use, Mental Illness and Violence – Effective trauma-informed treatment and service coordination for children whose mothers are affected by co-occurring disorders are reviewed. This training provides an overview of the impact of substance use, violence and mental illness on children, and addresses existing clinical and systemic barriers.
Promoting Resiliency in Children – Resiliency was once regarded as a trait present from birth. Research indicates that all people have capacity for resiliency if they are properly nurtured as children. A review of literature and the implications for treatment are discussed.
Psycho-Educational Groups for Children Whose Mothers have Co-occurring Disorders – An effective resiliency-promoting, trauma-informed group intervention is presented. Structured activities, books, videos and safety planning are reviewed. The role of the group facilitators is considered.
Treating Children and Adolescents: Special Considerations – Child providers need creative 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.

PARENTING

Family-Focused Services/Treatment Planning for Adults with Children – Successful substance use 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 Use, Mental Illness and Violence on Parenting and the Parent-Child Relationship – This training provides an overview of the impact of substance use and violence on parenting and the parent-child relationship. The application of the relational model to demonstrate nurturing connections between parents and children is described. Targeted clinical interventions and strategies are provided. Information on the importance of fostering hope is threaded throughout the presentation. The training teaches providers how to promote successful nurturing relationships within families.
Recognizing Substance Use and its Effect on Families – This training provides basic information about substance use, including signs that suggest that a person may be using, common effects of substance use on the family, and phases of recovery. The video, “Straight from the Heart: Stories of Mothers Recovering from Addiction,” a powerful first-hand look at the effects of addiction on families, is reviewed. A discussion about denial and strategies for confronting it, as well as how to talk about suspected substance use with a parent or colleague, is included.
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 substance use.
Nurturing Families through Recovery– 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. This training provides information and skills needed to facilitate the curriculum-based Parenting Programs, the Nurturing Families affected by Substance Abuse, Mental Illness and Trauma or the Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery (now featured in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidenced-based Programs and Practices).
Difficult Moments in Facilitating Parenting Groups – This practical, hands-on workshop provides 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 examine some “Dos” and “Don'ts” for group leaders as well as practical steps, strategies and group-building techniques. Participants 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 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 an 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.
Addressing Secondhand Smoke with Families – This training is designed to help human service professionals, particularly home visitors, and address secondhand smoke in their work with families. Topics covered include the risks of secondhand smoke exposure, information about free resources on quitting smoking and secondhand smoke, and specific tips and techniques for speaking with families about secondhand smoke.