Working with Families Using Evidence-Informed Principles: An Overview

Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW 

Training Description

This training is targeted to staff who work with youth and their families in our continuum of care within community settings such as in the schools and homes.  We will focus on understanding how to diagnose ineffective family relationship patterns and traumatic attachment ruptures via the use of Pain in the Heart Theory (PITH). Once we are able to diagnose the pain, we will be ready to know where the healing needs to occur so that our youth can start experiencing positive outcomes in all of their settings including more likelihood of not being removed from the home, successful reunifications and more sustainable permanent placements!

Learning Objectives

• Identify the top primary family systems concepts that create the basis for Pain in the Heart Theory. 
• List the 4 Diagnostic Pain Questions that underlie Pain in the Heart (PITH) Theory and which concepts each one addresses.
• Develop sample interventions that address and heal the relational pain our youth are experiencing so that we are healing traumatic attachment ruptures and supporting successful outcomes.

Agenda

9:45      Sign In  

10:00     Overview of the Evidence Based Movement:  where we have been and where we are headed. 

11:00     Brainstorming and discussion of reasons to work with families and reasons that you might be hesitant!

11:45    BREAK (CEUs will not be issued at this time) 

12:00     Enactment, Positive Reframes, and the most important clinical systemic concepts in doing family work.

1:00      LUNCH (CEUs will not be issued for this time)

1:30      Introduction to PITH:  Pain in the Heart Theory

2:30       Review of video clips of a real family and practice identifying process and positive intent.

3:00       BREAK (CEUs will not be issued for this time)

3:15       Small group work to diagnose the pain from a PITH perspective and to come up with one intervention that you might try with the family to begin the healing process.

4:15      Large group sharing of what you came up with and ending check out. 

4:30      ADJOURNMENT

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 with an emphasis on the importance of family engagement and healing traumatic attachment ruptures in work with youth, especially youth who we serve in our continuum of care:  child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health and the school systems.  Dr. Parkinson is also a certified PCOMS evidence-based practice trainer.  She currently works as a child/family trainer and consultant to CBO’s in the Bay Area and Pamela 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 CEUs for LCSWs and MFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.