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

Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW

*This is a (4)-week training and attendance is required for all four sessions. The sessions will be held from 2:00-5:00PM on 5/23/24, 5/30/24, 6/6/24, and 6/13/24.

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

Participants will be able to:

· Explain how PITH questions reflect systemic concepts including emotional boundaries, attachment and, of course, trauma.

· Apply at least two concepts learned to better understand the ineffective family relational patterns, attachment ruptures, and the interaction of stressors in a family’s life on these patterns.

· Identify at least 2 ways that we can help to facilitate the improvement of outcomes despite these family relational traumas.

Agenda

Week 1:

2:00PM – 2:15PM  Sign In and welcome

2:15PM – 2:45 PM  What youth/families can we consider for this seminar. What, if any, are the exclusionary criteria.

2:45PM – 3:00PM  What mirror work looks like and the remote implications.

3:00PM – 3:15PM  Review of the benefits of live mirror observation and research on in-vivo training with coaching

3:15PM – 3:30PM  BREAK (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)

3:30PM – 4:00PM  Small group work: Identify the 4 PITH Questions, and the family systems concepts to which they are related.

4:00PM – 4:30PM  Paired practice on how to invite the family to participate in a “live” Zoom Session. Debrief of how it went and questions.

4:30PM – 5:00PM  PITH theory review. Identifying the 4 core areas of family relational pain.

Week 2:

2:00PM – 2:15PM  Sign In and welcome

2:15PM – 2:30PM  Follow-up questions regarding structure of the training.

2:30PM – 3:00PM  Case presentation. Discussion of trauma and attachment.

3:00 PM – 3:15PM  The difference between specific and developmental trauma.

3:15 PM – 3:30PM  How traumatic attachment ruptures interfere with a secure attachment of the SIY.

3:30PM – 3:45PM  BREAK (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)

3:45PM – 4:15PM  Application of the PITH Questions. How answering them helps us understand why the youth is exhibiting symptoms/negative 

behaviors that we want to address.

4:15PM – 4:45PM  Walk through of Zoom techniques and then application of them in a role play of the family that we learned about in the case presentation.

4:45PM – 5:00PM  End and check out

Weeks 3 & 4 (CE Hours will not be offered on these dates):

2:00PM – 2:30PM  Sign-in and brief family tree/timeline presentation of the family who is coming in for the strength-based mirror consultation today.

2:30PM – 3:30PM  Observation via the Zoom remote one-way mirror of the family meeting that is occurring.

3:30PM – 4:00PM  Strength-based reflection team feedback for the family while they get to “watch us” through the Zoom one-way mirror.

4:00PM – 4:30PM  Family response to the feedback and suggested “tasks” for the family to try over the next week if they are willing to.

4:30PM – 5:00PM  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. Dr. Parkinson has spent most of her career working with system involved youth in our Continuum of Care (foster care, juvenile justice, mental health and the kids struggling in our school systems). She is a certified PCOMS evidence-based practice trainer. Pamela currently works as a child/family consultant to CBO’s in the Bay Area and has worked in level 14 residential, NPS, hospitals, and a variety of community-based settings including outpatient clinics, schools, diversion, kinship, etc.

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.