The Brief Family Mirror Seminar with an Emphasis on Family Relationships and Trauma: A Six Session Seminar

Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW

*This is a six-week training and attendance is required for all six sessions. The sessions will be held on the following Thursdays 10/6/22, 10/13/22, 10/27/22, 11/3/22, 11/10/22, and 11/17/22 from 4-7pm.

Training Description

This training teaches how to understand family dynamics from a relational perspective that will allow us to develop case plans for our system-involved youth using a strength-based lens with the Pain in the Heart Healing (PITH) Questions. These questions were developed specifically to utilize evidence-based elements from structural and attachment-based family theories in an applied way for kids in our continuum of care who have experienced multiple serious trauma and attachment ruptures in their lives. We will explore the link between past trauma, current feelings about the past trauma, and the fear of what might happen in the future. Since our kids are acting out these traumas in their behavioral symptoms, it is important to be able to understand these from their perspective so that we can more easily respond to the healing necessary to increase positive outcomes using evidence-informed principles. This training is for anyone who is working with our youth in ANY capacity.

Learning Objective

• List the PITH questions and how they reflect systemic concepts including emotional boundaries, attachment and, of course, trauma.
• Be able to answer the PITH questions as a means of developing case plans for youth in our systems of care from a strength-based perspective.
• Discuss specific scenarios via case discussion utilizing timelines with which to better understand the ineffective family relational patterns, attachment ruptures, and the interaction of stressors in a family’s life on these patterns.
• Develop at least 2 ways that we can help to facilitate the improvement of these family relational traumas.

Agenda 

Week One:

4:00PM – 4:10PM   Sign In and welcome

4:10PM – 5:00PM   Review of what mirror work looks like and remote implications.

5:00PM – 5:15PM Review of the benefits of live mirror observation and research on in-vivo

training with coaching

5:15PM – 5:30PM   BREAK (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)

5:30PM – 6:00PM   Small group work to Identify the 4 PITH Questions and the family systems

concepts to which they are related.

6:00PM – 7:00PM  Paired practice on how to invite the family to participate in a “live” Zoom

session.

Week Two:

4:00PM – 4:10PM   Sign In and welcome

4:10PM – 4:30PM   Follow-up questions regarding structure of the training.

4:30PM – 5:30PM Case presentation and application of the PITH Questions.

5:30PM – 5:45PM   BREAK (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)

5:45PM – 6:50PM Walk through of Zoom techniques as we role play the case presentation

family

6:50PM – 7:00 PM End and check out

Weeks 3 –6 (CE Hours will not be offered on these dates):

4:00PM – 4:30PM Sign-in and brief family tree/timeline presentation of the family

who is coming in for the strength-based mirror consultation today.

4:30PM – 5:30PM   Observation via the Zoom remote one-way mirror of the family meeting

that is occurring.

5:30PM – 6:00PM  Strength-based reflection team feedback for the family while they get

to “watch us” through the Zoom one-way mirror.

6:00PM – 6:30PM Family response to the feedback and suggested “tasks” for the family to

try over the next week if they are willing to.

6:30PM – 7:00PM   Family leaves and team debriefs the dynamics of what occurred and

why and next steps to help the family continue their progress!

Meet Our Trainer

Pamela Parkinson, PhD, LCSW, is a clinical psychologist and clinical social worker, whose specialty area is working with youth and their families being served by our continuums of care with an emphasis on the importance of family engagement and the healing of traumatic attachment ruptures. Dr. Parkinson is also a certified Partners for Change Outcome Management Systems (PCOMS) evidence-based practice trainer. She currently works as a child/family consultant to Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) in the Bay Area and Pamela has worked in level 14 residential, Non-Public Schools (NPS), hospitals, and a variety of community-based settings including outpatient clinics, schools, diversion, kinship, etc.

This course meets the qualifications for (5.5) CE Hours BBS CEUs 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.