FAMILIES HELPING FAMILIES

Families Helping Families starts with the recruitment of ‘communities’ of up to eight carers of children with additional needs. We particularly welcome those whose children are presenting challenging behaviour. Each community then meets weekly (normally for six consecutive weeks) for two and a half hours. An experienced psychotherapist acts as the facilitator of each weekly session and, throughout the programme, carers work together to resource each other with new ideas and strategies and to generate insight into what challenging behaviour means.

This intervention is grounded in enhancing the capacity of carers to manage anxiety and in developing an understanding of behaviour through an Attachment lens. Relationships are fostered between community members, building on recognised commonalities in experience. Links between insecurity, anxiety and behaviour are made. The community becomes a safe vehicle in which to explore personal anxieties. The community dynamic is carefully observed and used to offer direct experience of how behaviour and emotion are related. The use of structure and boundaries to hold anxiety is experienced and practical strategies to manage particular behaviours are developed and exchanged within an attachment-based framework.

Families Helping Families is an intervention underpinned by Attachment Theory (Bowlby), developments in neuro-psychology, insights from systemic family therapy and from systemic constellations work. This theoretical framework does not stand as a ‘curriculum’ for community meetings; rather, community members are gradually introduced to theoretical concepts as they become relevant in terms of generating insight into real life experiences. The community comes to understand challenging behaviour as a language and is enabled to ‘read’ the language. The theoretical basis helps behaviour that has previously seemed completely incomprehensible to have a meaning, to be understood. If behaviour can become a communication, rather than an assault on understanding, parents are enabled to respond to the emotional need being expressed.

"I cannot express well enough in words how much good it has done me, sharing wisdom, companionship, experiences, strategies, grief, fears and laughs in such a close, open, honest, nurturing and safe environment"

Parent E