Parenting Therapeutically

Attachment And Embracing Therapeutic Parenting

In this Attachment and Embracing Therapeutic Parenting course you will reflect on your own childhood attachment experience and also explore how trauma and neglect shape the attachment experience of the children in your care. You will learn about attachment research, childhood attachment experiences using case studies, as well as the impact of an insecure attachment on children’s behaviour. Come along to hear about strategies and ideas for supporting your child in a supportive and welcoming group setting. 

Parenting a Traumatised Child

It can be challenging and emotionally exhausting parenting a traumatised child. The child's behaviour, stemming from the trauma they have experienced, can be difficult to manage, and parents may also struggle with their own feelings and responses to challenging situations. This can lead to secondary trauma and blocked care. As well as looking at relevant theories and considering the evidence base, this course enables participants to develop appropriate practical strategies.

We will discuss the importance of a child’s early experiences and increase your knowledge of the impact of trauma on a child’s development and their wellbeing. The focus of the session is to promote healthy attachments between you and your child and to support you to develop strategies to reduce the impact of trauma.

Participants will be able to explore challenging behaviours and ways to manage these and also discuss additional strategies to assist children and young people who have been traumatised through early life experiences. 

Attachment And Embracing Therapeutic Parenting 

In this Attachment and Embracing Therapeutic Parenting course you will reflect on your own childhood attachment experience and also explore how trauma and neglect shapes the attachment experience of the children in your care. You will learn about attachment research, childhood attachment experiences using case studies, as well as the impact of an insecure attachment on children’s behaviour. Come along to hear about strategies and ideas for supporting your child in a supportive and welcoming group setting.

Parenting Care Experienced Adolescents

This three-part course aims to support participants through the challenging adolescent years​ covering:

• The emotional impact of adolescence​ and the challenging issues arising
• Practical strategies and ideas to support care experienced adolescents
• Carer compassion fatigue and self-care​ 

Participants will have the opportunity to discuss individual challenges with peers. 

The third part is a follow up session allowing participants the time and space for reflection and networking with peers about the impact of this training and to think about how to move forwards.

Caring For Children Who Have Experienced Relational Loss & Trauma

This bespoke course is designed for foster carers, adoptive parents, special guardians, and residential workers, who wish to work more therapeutically with children and young people who have experienced early loss and trauma. This course will support you to develop effective strategies on how best to respond to children on a day-to-day basis.

Using a Trauma Informed Approach to Parenting

This course can be delivered as a half day, full day or eight sessions of 90 mins run over eight consecutive weeks. You will learn about trauma theory and how early trauma specifically impacts the long-term outcomes for children. You will learn practical strategies of how to create an environment for children to heal from their early experiences. The eight-week learning programme combines content and a support group model to learn from others in similar situations as well as from the experienced trainer.

Impacts of Trauma support group

This is a support group for anyone who has attended any of our other courses and would like to reconnect with our trainers and other delegates who can understand the challenges. There will be no formal content delivered in this session, but a place to bring any questions you have or just to chance to see each other again and feel a sense of belonging. This often can help us to go back to our families with added strength.

Compassion Fatigue and Secondary Trauma

Secondary trauma, also known as ‘compassion fatigue’, can lead to an erosion in your ability to feel empathy. This course will help you recover. People who work with or care for people with trauma – such as parents, nurses, social workers and teachers – can begin to experience a lack of empathy for others in both their professional and private lives. This is often seen as ‘burnout’, when in fact the person may be experiencing ‘compassion fatigue’ or ‘secondary trauma’ because of working in such conditions over a long time period (usually years). Even the most experienced professionals and parents can be at risk, and this course will help you place your needs at the core of your work and family life. It will help participants recognise the signs of secondary trauma and to recognise the impact it can have upon their own emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Managing Behaviour

Managing Challenging Behaviour

This course can be delivered as a half day, full day or eight sessions of 90 mins run over eight consecutive weeks. This training session is open to anyone who cares for a child(ren) who wants to learn more about how to understand and manage challenging behaviour in the children they care for. It will cover how to support children if they display complex and/or challenging behaviour – as well as how adversity impacts general behaviour, child development and world interaction. In this workshop, you’ll learn to:

• understand why children’s behaviour may be challenging and/or aggressive
• develop responses to challenging behaviour, keeping in mind how this can impact future behaviour and regulation
• develop effective strategies to reduce and manage aggressive/challenging behaviour
• to create, find and explore further information and support

Child On Parent Violence: Primary Age Children and/or Secondary Age children.

This course is an introduction to Child on Parent Violence. It can be run for primary aged children, secondary aged children or as a generic course, covering all age ranges.

As a participant, you will be supported to develop a greater understanding of child on parent violence and develop practical strategies you will be able to use in your home. 

We will aim to understand how best to meet the needs of your child and also how to meet your own needs. We will discuss creating a strong support network that will help you to move forward.

Non- Violent Resistance (NVR)

NVR is an approach, which has been specifically developed for responding effectively to difficult aggressive, violent, self-destructive and controlling behaviour in children, adolescents and young adults.

 Parents have often made attempts to improve things and may find themselves in the same situation repeatedly. This may lead to a heated argument, with smashed objects in the house, shouting, and maybe even physical violence. Both the parents and  the child/young person may have become locked in this repetitive, unhelpful pattern.

Often parents can feel despairing, powerless and low when experiencing these behaviours. NVR helps parents to respond to challenging behaviour by increasing their "presence" and de-escalating conflict instead of resorting to punishment or control. The training helps parents set firm, consistent boundaries and build stronger relationships through calm, non-aggressive strategies like de-escalation and reconciliation gestures, ultimately empowering parents to create a more peaceful and resilient family environment. Parents learn to acquire a position of strength, not giving in to unreasonable or harmful demands by the child, protecting themselves from aggression and violence, yet avoiding the unnecessary, unhelpful and painful battles of the past. 

Using NVR, you will carefully develop ‘strategies’ to respond to the controlling behaviour that, at first, may appear counterintuitive, but that are very different from the reactions you have shown before. However, this is not “behaviour management” – these are strategies for helping you for making peace in the family and changing relationships.

This course is 8 weeks long (90minseach week) and participants are asked to commit to attending all 8 sessions. 

Neurodiversity

The challenges and joys of Neurodiversity

This is a support group for those parenting/caring for children and young people with neurodiversity. That may be ASD, ADHD, FASD or anything that is considered neurodiverse. This combined with attachment and early trauma can be very challenging at times and having a place to speak to others who understand can be very powerful. Your child does not need to have a diagnosis for you to attend this group, you may just be trying to understand the challenges more and this is the place to consider, with others who can understand.

Sensory Integration

Inside Their Sensory World: Making Sense of Trauma, Regulation & Behaviour

This half-day workshop explores how children experience the world through their senses, and how this shapes the way they behave, relate and regulate. We will look at the links between sensory processing, developmental trauma and attachment so that those supporting children can recognise what is sensory, what is trauma-driven, and where the two overlap.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Disorder, how these difficulties show up in everyday life, and how to work with them rather than against them. We will also look at therapeutic approaches and practical supports that can help children feel safer in their bodies, more regulated, and more able to engage in learning, relationships and play.

Transitions

Tackling Transitions

Many care experienced children experience difficulties during transitions due to their history of trauma, disrupted attachments, and frequent changes in their living situations. These transitions can trigger feelings of anxiety, fear and instability, and can impact their mental health and wellbeing. As well as looking at relevant theories and considering the evidence base, the course will enable participants to develop appropriate practical strategies.

We will discuss the underlying factors around change (and the fear of change) for the traumatised child, explain the impact of trauma on their sense of safety and security and discuss different scenarios in which transition may impact the lives of our children.

Some children will benefit from therapeutic interventions to support them, and we will explore the options that may be available for your family. Participants will share and take away strategies that can support your child(ren) at home and in school during times of transition

Thinking about school and education

Considering Nursery School?

In adoption, fostering or special guardianship it can be confusing to consider nursery settings – how the separation may impact a child, what setting to apply for, when and how to prepare a child for nursery and how to work in partnership with your chosen nursery setting to enable the child in your care to thrive in nursery.

This session will help you to think about all the considerations and to speak to others in similar situations. You will learn how to find the right setting for you and practical tips on collaboration.

Your Guide to Choosing a Primary School

Parents of care experienced children often say that they are unsure what to look for when choosing a school. This training will help parents to find a setting that will best meet the needs of their child. The course will be run by an experienced primary teacher and will give practical tips and advice. It will also look at how to maintain a good relationship with the school staff to enable your child to reach their full potential. 

Building attachment and improving literacy and numeracy skills for children developmentally 3-7 years.

Care-experienced children often face challenges in forming secure attachments due to experiences of trauma, neglect, or separation from primary caregivers. These can impact their ability to trust and form healthy relationships with others. Due to these experiences many children also struggle with literacy and numeracy, and this can lead to an attainment gap compared to their peers.

This course will focus on building attachment whilst improving literacy and numeracy skills to minimise this attainment gap. We will enable our children to have fun, whilst building these skills.

 As well as looking at relevant theories and considering the evidence base, the course will enable participants to develop appropriate practical strategies. We will identify key aspects of literacy and numeracy to use in everyday situations at home and discuss popular children’s activities (backed up by research) that will make a difference.

Helping children in education – Primary

Children who are care experienced struggle to settle and engage in our education system for several reasons. This session will help you to consider your child’s primary school experience and how to collaborate with the school to promote a more settled experience for all involved. We will consider things parents can control and things they can’t, what schools to pick and when you may consider moving school. We will also look at ways to work in partnership with your school and the virtual school system, if needed.

Your Guide to Choosing a Secondary School & Supporting Your Child To Settle Well.

Parents of care experienced children often say that they are unsure what to look for when choosing a school. This training will help parents to find a setting that will best meet the needs of their child. 

Many of our children find transitions difficult and need extra support when moving schools, particularly from primary to secondary school.

You will be able to share ideas and thoughts with other parents as well as gaining   practical tips and advice for choosing a school. This course will also help you to advocate for your child during the crucial primary to secondary transition phase. 

Run by an experienced teacher with extensive experience of working with children and young people with additional needs, this session will give you practical tips and advice to use when navigating your way through the school selection and subsequent settling process. It will also look at how to maintain a good relationship with the school staff to enable your child to reach their full potential. 

Helping children in education – Secondary

Children who are care experienced often struggle to settle and engage in our education system for a number of reasons. This session will help you to consider your young person’s secondary school experience and how to collaborate with the school to promote a positive experience for all involved. We will consider things parents can control and things they can’t, what schools to pick and when you may consider moving your child to an alternative setting. We will also look at ways to work in partnership with your school and the virtual school system, if needed.

Getting ready for Adulthood

Preparing for Adulthood

This session is for parents of 14+ year olds as you consider the challenges ahead for your young person. Post- 18 can be very scary for young people and their parents. Thinking about colleges, work, housing, mental health issues and independence can be overwhelming. This session will help you to think through what you need to know to support your child as they transition to adulthood.