This resource contains a programme of ten sessions for people working with parents and carers of children and young people with violent, destructive behaviours and harmful behaviours. It uses the principles of non-violent resistance (NVR) to help carers to resist violent or out of control behaviours and to establish a warm, loving and containing parental presence with their children. The programme is designed to be used with groups of parents, but the concepts and activities can be used with individuals.
Key features:
Based on a evidence-based model of good practice; provides a tried and tested programme which brings about positive change; powerful video role plays to illustrate principles in practice; engaging materials and activities for parents and carers.
About the resource:
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2006) recommends group-based parent training/education programmes in the management of children under 12 with conduct disorders. GPs, social workers, children’s mental health services and voluntary organisations receive many requests for help from parents and carers who are concerned about extreme behaviours in their children (violence, school refusal, drug taking, social withdrawal, criminal behaviour). Many of these young people have other difficulties, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or have experienced family breakdown or domestic violence.
NVR is a new type of intervention derived from the work of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King and developed in the last 10 years for children and young people with extreme anti-social behaviours. Rather than focusing on modifying behaviour, the aim is to bring about changes in the parent-child relationship and to help parents, grandparents, foster carers and informal carers to create positive relationships with their children in the long term.
This NVR programme teaches parents essential skills that help them resist out-of-control and violent behaviours and develop a collaborative, solution-focused approach to problems (for example, de-escalating conflicts, increasing parental presence, announcing their decision to make a stand, sit-ins, developing support networks). They learn to counter giving into their child’s demands or responding in a reactive way which can lead to even more violence.
The programme consists of 10 1 ½ hour sessions which include mini presentations, outcome-focused activities, discussion and video role plays. Structured homework tasks help reinforce the ideas from the session and make an active connection to situations with their children. Facilitators should have some experience of group work and training, ideally in a therapeutic environment.
Contents include:
- · Introduction and how to run the programme
- · Background information for facilitators, including the principles of NVR
- · The programme, including 10 sessions covering:
- · Understanding escalation
- · Parental presence in the home
- · Prioritising difficulties
- · Supporters and support systems
- · Parental values, making announcements and reconciliation gestures
- · Active resistance
- · Sit-ins
- · Parental presence outside the home
- · 7 role plays on DVD to illustrate the principles and practice
- · Parent workbook and parent booklet
- · Administrative resources for setting up and running the programme
- · Further reading
This pack contains:
A rich collection of visual and print material including CD-Rom with parent workbook, parent booklet ‘Guidelines for parents of children or adolescents with violent or destructive behaviours’, handouts, administrative resources and further reading; DVD containing 7 role plays; ringbound resource with colour dividers containing print materials to run the programme.
Vital information for:
People working with parents and carers including social workers, child and adolescent mental health workers, workers in youth offending services, looked-after children’s services, fostering agencies, faith organisations, and comunity and voluntary organisations.
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