Strength-Based Family Engagement with System-Involved Youth: The Most Important Aspect of our Work!
Fri, Jun 09
|Online Event
Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW


Time & Location
Jun 09, 2023, 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM PDT
Online Event
About the Event
Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW
Training Description
We have been told to be “strength-based” and “person-centered”, however, we have not typically been told exactly what this means. We will closely examine and define what it means in our work to be “strength-based” and what strategies we might use to effectively "engage" with system-involved youth and their families in a "person-centered" way. Since the evidence clearly indicates that the alliance with the youth/family is the number one ingredient to successful outcomes, we need to focus on how to better do this.
When providing support for system involved youth, we are often pathology-focused on the negative behaviors and on the use of labels that we often have to apply for access to support to be possible. Thus, it is easy to forget, in the midst of the family challenges, that everyonehas strengths and abilities and good intentions. This training focuses on understanding the importance of joining/engaging with system-involved youth and their family members from the beginning and being able to identify what kinds of strategies might create a “family friendly” process of engagement especially with system-involved mandated families who might not be too excited about working with us!
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
1. Explain what strength-based does and does NOT mean and be able to articulate at least 3 principles of strength-based work with system-involved youth.
2. Identify at least 2 ways of removing barriers to our engagement process!
3. Apply ways in which we can utilize 2 concepts from the evidenced based practice of Partners for Change Outcome Management systems and 2 concepts from PITH Theory to keep us focused on strength-based work and on how to continually sustain our engagement with our system-involved youth and their families.
Agenda
10:00 – 10:15 AM Sign In and Introductions
10:15 – 10:45 AM Defining and understanding what strength-based engagement and
person-centered work “look like” with system involved youth.
10:45 - 11:15 PM Review and introduction of what the 3 primary aspects are of
engagement.
11:15 – 11:45 AM Identification of the 3 Phases of the Engagement Process.
11:45 – 12:00 PM BREAK (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)
12:00 – 1:15 PM Group Work for identifying and discussing the barriers to engagement in
all 3 of the Phases of Engagement.
1:15 – 1:45 PM LUNCH (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)
1:45 – 2:15 PM Introducing the EBP of PCOMS and what the key elements are of a
therapeutic alliance.
2:15 – 2:45 PM Review of the PCOMS scales that measure outcomes and alliance.
2:45 – 3:00 PM BREAK (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)
3:00 – 3:30 PM Cultural discussion of the barriers that are likely culture influenced (all of
them)!
3:30 – 4:00 PM PITH and the importance of empathy to engagement with system-involved caregivers! Especially those who are not happy about being required to work with us.
4:00 – 4:15 PM Group work to identify a specific barrier, and the strategy for minimizing it,
that each participant will be able to personally apply next week!
4:15 – 4:30 PM ADJOURNMENT
Meet Our Trainer
Insert trainer's bio from the training summary
This course meets the qualifications for (5.5) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.