working with families - Solution Focused Brief Therapy UK

Our training courses for staff working with children, young people & families

Close of training of the Multi-agency course Working with Families commissioned by Bournemouth Social Services

1 - 3 day Training courses to staff across the Children Young People & Family field:

Our early practice in preventative and crisis intervention work with local authorities (see Prevention & Intervention Programme) alerted us to the changes that could be brought about in a family session by tinkering with the statutory language that can often increase conflict and resistance and therefore can often reduce the likelihood of the family engaging. When parents don't engage - access to listening to the child can be limited. Therefore reducing anxiety and conflict, especially where the family were referred as part of a statutory order, is seen an important start to the work.

Using Brief, strengths-based approaches, when working with families, offers an opportunity to recognise that things have gone wrong, talk about times when they coped and gradually move towards preferred futures, in real and practical steps. Staff are able to implement the approach following a short-term training programme - to date those trained have included Family Intervention Practitioners, Health Visitors and Children Centre Staff and Family Support Workers.

During sessions with families, talking about preferred futures rather than only focusing on the stopping of destructive past or present behaviour can be a watershed, a point of change. The tasks and monitor charts we use are offered to begin the start of new behaviour rather than the stopping of old behaviour.

Needless to say that when working with children and families - the safety of the child is paramount and our training stresses this importance throughout. The Solution Focused Approach is NOT about only looking at strengths - it is about encouraging people to build on any small success. Where there is destructive or damaging behaviour towards children - we believe that the Approach allows children an opportunity to be heard in real and effective ways. The Approach does not supersede any statutory guidelines and practice that is in place but does enhance it.

The worker has a clear structure to sessions and works to bring the family on a different journey, one which highlights existing competencies and harness those, reinforces strengths and resources within their relationship with their child and encourages a move forward rather than an exploration of the "stuckness" that necessitated the referral.

The approach is in keeping with good practice guidelines including the Effective Practice guidelines, Child in Need Assessments and offers evidence-based practice tools in that:

* It is child-focused and allows "listening" to the needs of the child
* The Solution Focused approach works with the whole family and involves examining what the issues are with each family member
* The child's agenda is heard from the child's perspective with the use of drawings (The Change Balloon (EM) and other visuals)
* The approach looks at the child in the context of the family and their wider environment
* Throughout the sessions, the worker works in partnership with the parents and child
* The approach works with the strengths of the family and builds on them
* The cultural needs of the family are met throughout.

As well as equipping staff with the collaborative language of the Brief Therapy model and the visuals and tools of the Examine, Repair & Move On Approach - the training also covers the importance of reducing conflict between worker and client - this is especially relevant when working with families. For further details on this element of the training please see Optima Communications Skills Training page.

We provide 1 - 3 day inhouse training courses across the UK. To book inhouse training please contact us at info@brief-therapy-uk.com or call on Tel 0208 542 9310 or on the office mobile 07779 242 289.