Family Circles

Click to read more about this training, in which we demonstrate a live problem solving approach which is based on the active participation of family members.

Course Category

Inclusion

Parents and Carers

Behaviour and relationships

Problem Solving

Description

In this training we demonstrate a live problem solving approach which is based on the active participation of family members.

‘Family Circles’ is an evolving new approach to problem solving with families and is based on our years of family work and the development and use of the Circle of Adults process.

Inspired by our own Parent Solutions work and the Circle of Adults process as well as Family Group Conferencing and other Restorative Interventions we bring you Family Circles.

Essentially the approach involves gathering a family together for a process that is facilitated but majors on the family members offering each other their wisdom and ideas.

The approach is capacity focused, person centred approach to working with families rather than the dominant deficit oriented and ‘medical model’ of viewing and planning for or doing things to families.

This training can be modelled with a group of professionals or better still with a family.

In our work with families we develop the importance of naming stories or theories and seeking linkages and synthesis between what is found out and explored about the family situation and its history. We like participants to sit with the uncertainty, to reflect on the question ‘why’ but without judgement of each other. Deeper reflections may span a whole range of perspectives from ‘within person’ considerations, to situational or systemic possibilities. Health or emotional issues can be reflected on alongside organisational or transactional aspects of what is going on for the family.

The better the shared understanding the better the strategy or actions which emerge from these meetings. Quality hypotheses with a close fit to reality lead to more effective implementation in the real world.

We encourage ‘loose’ thinking, a search for connections, deeper listening, an ‘open mind’, speculation and exploration without moral judgements. From this stance self-reflection as well as reflection on the situation can produce remarkable insights. The quality of theories or new stories generated is directly influenced by family members’ experiences and the models of learning, behaviour and emotion, systems, educational development, change and so on that they have been exposed to.

Learning Objectives

To provide opportunities for:

• Shared problem solving in a safe exploratory climate in which the family will find its own solutions.
• Individuals to reflect on their own actions and strategies
• An exploration of whole-family processes and their impact
• Emotional support and shared understandings of issues at a child, parent, family, school and community level.
• Feed back to each other on issues, ideas and strategies that are agreed to be worth sharing with them.

Course Content

• True family empowerment
• Deepening shared stories and understandings
• Facilitating groups
• Problem solving process
• Handling family group communication
• Allowing direct feedback and challenge between participants in a safe way
• Building relationships

• Anyone interested in working with families in a way that builds and makes use of their capacities rather than focus on their challenges and difficulties.
• Social Care teams
• School staff
• Community organisers
• Educational Psychologists

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