A lot more bits and pieces from around the world in the last weeks…..
Good to see the Daphne RCPV website is now up and running. You will find it here, with information about the project and research as a whole, conferences and training events linked to the programme, ways to get involved and a link to the RCPV blog. Recent posts cover the progress of the research in the different participating countries: Sweden, Spain, Bulgaria and Ireland. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, projects, publications, Research, Training opportunities
Please take the time to look at and support the work of Homer Hartage and colleagues, through the Hartage Youth Enrichment Foundation, in Florida, USA.
The Parent Abuse Action Coalition mission is the creation of a coordinated response from federal, state or local government to Parent Abuse similar to what currently exist for Elder Abuse regulations, to get legislation submitted in all 50 states and create responsive services for parents.
Hartage was very moved by the death of Rosemary Pate at the hands of her 19 year old son after years of abuse (more here and here) and is working to create support systems so that this need not happen again.
Filed under news reports, projects
More used to the offer of craft, drama or DJing as an activity to engage young people in work addressing parent abuse, I was intrigued to hear about the use of horses in therapy, specifically as an aid to understanding emotions and relationships.
HorseHeard is a not-for-profit social enterprise company with the tag line, “Experiential learning through interaction with horses”. For those not so used to being around these beasts, horses are apparently very sensitive to non-verbal communication, mood or intention and provide instant feedback to those working with them. As such they have been useful in enabling people to explore and understand feelings of self-awareness, communication or, of particular interest here, issues around parenting or challenging behaviour. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, projects
I have written in the past about the Peninsula Health ‘Adolescent Violence in the Home’ project in Victoria, Australia, which has been running for the last two years.
This week I was sent details of the website which has been developed as part of the work, and which gives a link to an animation which clearly and succinctly lays out what is understood about adolescent violence in the home. The film is Australia-specific in that it refers to particular services, but could otherwise be used very successfully as an introduction to the issue for professionals or families.
A final research report should be available in February 2014.
I am grateful to the Peninsula Health team for making the material available and for permission to link to it here.
This post updated 18th January 2017 with new website link
Filed under projects, TV and video
I have just spent an exciting and inspiring morning with representatives of the Youth Offending Service across the East Midlands at their first Regional Practitioners Peer Learning Event in Nottingham. Around 50 – 60 had gathered to learn more about responses to adolescent violence to parents, and – importantly – to formulate action plans for their own areas before they left.
I was privileged to open the session, setting the scene with an overview of parent abuse, before Anne-Marie Harris from the Youth Justice Board spoke about upcoming developments at a national level. The feasibility study on the introduction of special domestic violence courts within the youth court system is not due to report until December, but Anne-Marie indicated that a number of practical and ethical difficulties have been identified around this direction of travel. Nevertheless, opportunities remain for creative thinking around service delivery, including programmes similar to the Step Up model. Continue reading
Filed under conference report, projects
Today we have a guest post from LynetteRobinson, of Alternative Restoratives. Lynette is thrilled to have had her work in the field of parent abuse recognised by the Youth Justice Board, who have adopted her programme based on the American Step Up model.
Three years ago, I visited Youth Justice Teams in Seattle and Toledo (America) to observe their ‘Step Up – Building Respectful Family Relationships’ programmes, as part of my Winston Churchill Fellowship research ‘Interventions and restorative responses to address teen violence against parents’.
The parents and teens who attended these joint group work sessions seemed as interested in me (a UK visitor) as I was in them and their programme! During that first coffee break, one mother came over to me (with a puzzled look on her face) and asked “Do parents in England have this problem too?” Continue reading
Filed under projects, Training opportunities
This video of the official launch of the research project based at Brighton University was posted on YouTube on May 9th this year. It’s an hour and a quarter long but worth watching, or dipping into, for a flavour of the project’s aims, the current situation in the partner countries and more detail about the two intervention methods being assessed: Non-violent Resistance and the Break4Change model. The title of the post comes from a parent interviewed for a short film, shown within the video, and certainly the theme of hope is one which comes through strongly throughout. Continue reading
Filed under projects, TV and video
A year ago I spotted a piece in the Hertfordshire local press about a big lottery grant awarded to a new project working with families experiencing child to parent violence. Last week Hertfordshire Practical Parenting Programme celebrated a successful year, and invited me to join them for a reception.
Sandra Ashley, Director (second left), Carole Hassell (right), Geoff Ogden from the Management Team and Carol Lewis (left ), pictured above, were joined by local councilors, Chris Mitchell, Paul Seeby, John Barfoot , the Broxbourne MP Charles Walker. Dunston Patterson from the Youth Justice Board, and representatives from the local Parks Department and police were also present. Continue reading
Filed under projects
When we think about work with child to parent violence, the agencies which typically come to mind, and indeed the ones that have attracted the most debate in terms of service provision, would be the police, domestic violence bodies, children’s services, youth offending, health or perhaps schools. While the work of academics such as Judy Nixon, examining the impact of intensive family support, drew attention to parent abuse as part of the bigger picture of disruptive and dysfunctional family life, there has not been the focus on housing support that might have been warranted. So it was very interesting to make contact with the Family Support Project workers from Wolverhampton Homes Housing Inclusion Team, as a result of the recent conference in Nottingham, and to explore with them the work that they do in this field. Continue reading
Filed under projects
HOLES IN THE WALL 