Whether an agency trains their staff in the Intensive Parent, Youth, or Child Model, they each provide 3 steps towards trauma-informed care.
Trauma-informed care for children and youth focuses on the understanding that they have experienced trauma. That they had histories of neglect, abuse, and witnessed domestic violence. Had major accidents, deaths in their families, or life-threatening experiences. And when it happens, the trauma doesn’t go away. It stays within the body; the trauma lingers in the right side of the brain, in certain parts of the body, and the emotions of the trauma survivor. Working with youths requires an understanding of their perspective on the trauma.
This goes for parents as well. They also may have experienced their own trauma. They may be biological parents, foster parents, or adoptive parents. And they are on a day-to-day level imparting their views of parenting to the children. But many have not dealt with their own traumas, and then incorporate that perspective through to their children.
It’s seen all the time. Parents on one end of the spectrum are so afraid of their children that they abandon their role as the head of the household. They may work to pay the bills and provide food and clothing, but they can’t parent their children. When Roberta yells at her mom to buy her a cell phone, the mother’s trauma regarding loud noises causes her to withdraw and let her child boss her around. Or on the other end of the spectrum, the parent is so strict their child can’t be a child. If Jimmy laughs when he shouldn’t, the father’s abuse from his parents is repeated on the child. These parents may have grown up in past homes with violence or abuse and keep the pattern in the present.
But our Intensive Models for the Parent, Child, or Youth offer interventions that work with trauma-based behaviors. It’s not meant to be a trauma treatment. But it does take the first move forward in helping parents and children heal.
Here are 3 steps that it takes to accomplish this.
1. Stress Reduction. When parents or children experience trauma, it unsettles their body’s ability to manage stress. For most of us, when we are in a stressful situation, our body activates the sympathetic nervous system to respond to the crisis and then deactivates through the parasympathetic nervous system. But when someone has trauma, their bodies aren’t able to access the latter, leading them to a constant state of hypervigilance. But with the Stress Reduction session, the parent or child learns about how stress affects them. Practices relaxation exercises. Develops skills to circumvent stressful situations. Creates a plan for more exercise, better nutrition, and doing something fun for themselves.
2. Assertive Communication. Parents of children in trauma either overreact (aggression) or underreact (passive). Yet there is some midpoint where they can respect themselves and others through understanding assertive skills. The session teaches them how to stop avoiding conflict and ask for what they want calmly. Learning how to take criticism without withering. Being persistent without being pushy.
3. Family of Origin questions or intergenerational trauma. In each family, a child learns how their parent manages stress. Communicates. Handles discipline. And in families of abuse or violence, when the child becomes a parent, in many instances they repeat the pattern. The child also takes on those behaviors; a dad who was a bully creates a child who wants to be aggressive with others. Taking time to “hit the pause button” and look at their behaviors helps the child or the parent decide what they want to do differently. And how that can happen.
These are some examples of how the Intensive Models for the Parent, Youth, or Child help navigate the trauma-informed care road.
For more information about these training programs, please contact us.
Got questions? We've got answers.
PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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