Protection & Self-esteem Work
In the addition to the assessment of a parent’s ability to meet their children’s various needs, we provide an assessment of parent’s ability to protect and the risk they pose to their child/ren.
Protection work is carried out via both group work (i.e. weekly ‘OK Group’ and Protection Group) and individual sessions. The latter are clearly more individually tailored to the presenting needs of the parent/family, so a more specific plan regarding content is drawn up at the point of the initial assessment. This work will focus on the specific issues of the family, their history, incidents/patterns of failure to protect in the past, their recognition and ‘ownership’ of professionals’ concerns.
Work can involve direct discussion, pictorial materials, rating scales and questionnaires, flow diagrams regarding sequences of events and the range of possible outcomes, role play, scenarios, and the use of stories to illustrate particular points and possible situations.
The combination of sessions may cover:
- Developmental stages that impact upon a child’s physical vulnerability and cognitive awareness.
- How to teach a child about personal boundaries, ‘stranger danger’, the ‘rule of no secrets’, positive touches etc.
- How to listen to children.
- Possible signs and symptoms of an abused child.
- The grooming process, cycles of abuse, who presents a risk – including family members, avoiding stereotypes etc.
- How parents/carers role model messages to children.
- Parents expectations/boundaries within their own relationships with others.
- How a parent needs to show discrimination within their own relationships, and how others may seek access to a child via adult relationships.
- Defining/re-defining their responsibilities as a parent.
- How to make appropriate judgements within a range of situations.
- Assertiveness skills.
- Issues around bullying, domestic violence and other situations where individuals seek to exert control over others.
Self-esteem work
In addition to Protection work we can supplement this with self-esteem work which is also carried out via group work and individual sessions; the latter is individually tailored to meet the needs of the person.
Self-esteem work is carried out on the basis ‘that the way we view and feel about ourselves has a profound effect on how we live our lives, including our ability to parent children’. Self-esteem work may include topics/sessions regarding facing loss, a sense of powerlessness, family violence, reducing stress levels, enjoyment (e.g. giving yourself a treat), and taking care of your physical health (exercise, good food, relaxation and enough sleep) and taking care of your appearance (personal hygiene, presentation).