by | October 19, 2012 · 10:36 am

Creating Change in Parent Abuse

People often ask me about what happens in parallel work with parents and young people – how do you get young people engaged and addressing their abusive behaviour. Adam Joolia, from AudioActive, has very generously shared the work they do with Break4Change in Brighton.

One of the things that makes Break4Change unique is its use of the creative process as a way of reflecting on and embedding the work done in the therapeutic and theory based aspect of the programme. This is where AudioActive, a pioneering youth music and arts charity come in. Continue reading →

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by | October 15, 2012 · 7:17 pm

The Adolescent to Parent Violence Practitioner Forum – doing it different in Leeds

Jenny Bright, of Leeds YOS, has sent me the following report of a highly successful forum meeting in Leeds last week.

The second APV practitioner forum was held in Leeds on the 11th October 2012.The forum originated in Wakefield, initiated and led by Sally Fawcett.  Sally developed, coordinated and facilitates the “Do it Different” Teen to Parent Abuse group work programme. In the absence of national direction on the issue of APV, Sally was keen to initiate a “bottom up” approach where practitioners get together to share knowledge and practice. There was an overwhelming consensus from the forum that it should be held regularly and it was agreed that areas would take it in turns to host. Continue reading →

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by | October 3, 2012 · 10:26 am

Understanding Parent Abuse in under 90 minutes?

Writing some training materials recently, I’ve been forced to be more concise than usual about the main issues facing practitioners working in the field of parent abuse at the moment. An hour and a half doesn’t feel very long when there is so much to say!

So far, this is what I’ve come up with. Continue reading →

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by | September 30, 2012 · 8:32 am

“Parent abuse is a domestic violence issue”

Yet another training opportunity, this time in County Wicklow, Ireland, on Thursday 8th November. The day long seminar is amazing value at €35, including a 3 course buffet lunch. Why would you not go!

Participants will hear from academics and practitioners across disciplines, looking at different aspects of support for parents.

The course programme and details for booking are here.

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by | September 28, 2012 · 8:36 am

Book your flights to Australia now!

Jo Howard has sent me details of the first national conference on Adolescent Violence in the Home, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday and Tuesday, 18th and 19th February 2013. Details as below, including a link to register. Further information on the conference, including the programme, and more information about the training being delivered by Lily Anderson on 21st February is also available. Continue reading →

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by | September 27, 2012 · 9:45 am

Free training on child to parent violence

Adfam and AVA have recently announced FREE training for practitioners working with parents abused by substance using children. Training details are available here.

The courses will be held across England, starting in October, with some dates still to be confirmed.

The course follows the release of their report Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

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by | September 20, 2012 · 8:24 am

News of Break4Change

The Brighton and Hove Argus recently published an article about the Break4Change project as part of a domestic violence feature.

Break4Change, addressing parent abuse, has now run 6 successful courses, with the 7th due to start in October in Brighton.  The model, which includes work with parents and young people separately, and places high value on restorative features, is the subject of an ongoing evaluation by researchers at Brighton University, and interest has been sparked around the world, in countries as diverse as Sweden and Bulgaria, Spain and Ireland. Continue reading →

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by | September 19, 2012 · 8:48 am

Widening of domestic violence definition offers hope in parent abuse

A lot of coverage in England and Wales this morning as the Home Office announced the widening of the definition of domestic violence. From March 2013 this will include “coercive control” and lowers the age to include 16 and 17 year olds.  While the government’s intention was to make support more readily available to younger victims, the hope is that youngsters abusing their parents will also be covered by this change as the definition seems to make this possible. Changing the definition is of course only the first step. The way that the police respond to calls will be vital to any progress on this front, so a need for training still; and of course without the availability of resources and the setting up of local protocols the changes remain meaningless.  I am hopeful though!

For a useful discussion about what the changes will mean, see this article from Jo Sharpen in the Guardian.

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by | September 13, 2012 · 4:04 pm

House of Commons Launch of Parent Abuse Report

The Adfam / AVA report into how parents deal with children who use substances and perpetrate abuse, “Between a rock and a hard place”, launched yesterday at the House of Commons, catalogues the shocking experiences of parents and their attempts to access support. Continue reading →

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by | September 12, 2012 · 11:00 am

Respect in Cardiff

Just received details of the speakers for the National Practitioners’ Network seminar in Cardiff on October 16th. A very full programme around young people’s use of violence in close relationships. Details and booking form available here or from the Respect website.

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