Who this is for

Adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies, Local Authorities, and independent social workers), children’s social care services, children and family social workers, foster carers, kinship carers, designated teachers, and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

Violence to parents and siblings is the main reason for adopted children leaving home prematurely. (Selwyn, 2014)  We know that many other families continue to live with CPVA and that this has a significant impact on the wellbeing of all members of the family.

“This was a really useful session with practical techniques provided and some opportunity to network with other agencies regarding their own ways of working.” – Attendee, 2021

During this training, we will aim to explore and reflect on CPVA in adoptive families in an evidence-informed, non-stigmatizing and most importantly child-centred way. We will consider CPVA in a wider context, before considering the complex reasons why it may disproportionately affect children who are adopted and the families they live in.

“The training was engaging, thought provoking, relatable to everyday practice and offered tools to use, sharing knowledge, skills and opportunity to network.” – Attendee, 2022

•  The presentation will include the connection between CPVA and developmental/complex trauma, early losses, difficulties with self-regulation and sensory processing difficulties.
• We will share the support Adoption Matters Centre for Adoption Support offers to families living with CPVA and will introduce you to the Family Safety Plan tool they have used with many families over the years.
• We will explore strategies that have proven helpful for children affected by CPVA and their families, including a range of body based approaches. Specialist Occupational therapist Helen Stringfellow will offer an insight into the link between sensory processing difficulties and violent/aggressive behaviour and will offer a range of practical strategies that for some children may have an almost immediate effect on the frequency and severity of CPVA incidents.
• Finally, we will explore what best practice in working with families affected by CPVA may look like. At Adoption Matters Centre for Adoption Support, they have formulated a Good Practice Manifesto for working with CPVA.

“Excellent training on child’s perspective and how to support families to understand violence in the child and hopefully work together as a unit to put an end to it based on this understanding and the strategies employed.” – Attendee, 2022

The day will have several opportunities to share experiences and have group discussions.

Learning outcomes

• A chance to explore CPVA in an adoption context
• Explore CPVA from a child-centred perspective
• Refresh or enhance knowledge on the possible cusses of CPVA
• Consider possible helpful strategies and tools for working with CPVA, including the Family Safety Plan developed by the Centre for Adoption Support
• Reflect on ‘best practice’ in working with families affected by CPVA

About the trainers

Hedwig Verhagen and Helen Stringfellow

Hetty is a practice manager and therapeutic social worker at the Centre for Adoption Support in Warrington. She decided to train as a social worker after spending several years supporting young people with a diagnosis of ASD to live independently and has spent her entire social work career in adoption support. Hetty’s therapeutic work is informed by DDP/PACE and the Nurtured Heart Approach and a fascination with neuroscience. Her current area of interest is the role of the mind-body connection in memory, trauma processing and trauma recovery.

Helen is an occupational therapist at the Centre for Adoption Support in Warrington. She carries out sensory processing assessments and supports families to introduce or enhance activities that support their children’s sensory needs into their daily routines. Helen is frequently accused of having a ‘magic wand’ by her social work colleagues.

Instructions

A member of staff will be in touch with attendees one week prior to the event to share a pre-event delegate pack.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at info@cvaa.org.uk. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

Who this is for

Adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies, Local Authorities, and independent social workers), children’s social care services, children and family social workers, foster carers, kinship carers, designated teachers, and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) was developed by Dan Hughes as an approach to helping children who have experienced trauma from within the family. This is both a therapy offering therapeutic support to the child, supported by the parent and a model for parenting.  DDP-informed parenting helps parents to emotionally connect with their children in ways which increases feelings of safety and security.

The therapy and parenting model recognises that the children often fear emotional connection. It helps them to overcome these fears and to heal from past trauma. It draws on the therapist and parents’ capacity for emotional regulation and reflection so that they can adopt the attitude of PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) with the children. This attitude helps to increase security and in parenting is combined with behavioural support.

“I found it fascinating, I was able to grasp the concept and have already started to use it in my professional and personal relationships” – Attendee, 2021

The training will give a brief introduction to the DDP model and its application as a therapy and a model informing parenting.

“This was an excellent topic as I am supporting a family who are about to start DDP parenting sessions and it helped me to understand more about what that will look like for them.” – Attendee, 2022

Learning outcomes

• Understand the DDP model and its application as a therapy
• Understand the principles of DDP-informed parenting support
• Understand the usefulness of this model for adoptive parents and their children
• Consider examples of DDP in practice
• Know the evidence base for DDP as therapy and as parenting support

Information about the trainer

Kim Golding

Dr Kim is a Clinical Psychologist living in Worcestershire, UK. Kim worked with children and families within the NHS for thirty years, specialising in working with parents or carers to develop their parenting skills tailored to the particular needs of the children they are caring for. She was involved in the setting up and evaluation of the Integrated Service for Looked After and Adopted Children; providing support for foster, adoptive and residential parents, schools and the range of professionals around the children growing up in care or in adoptive families. Kim now has her own business providing training, consultation and supervision.

Kim currently sits on the board of the DDP institute and is involved in accrediting and training other professionals in this approach. She is also one of the directors of the Community Interest Company: ‘DDP Connects UK’. Amongst her books, Kim co-authored: ‘Healing Relational Trauma with Attachment-Focused Interventions Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy with Children and Families’ with Dan Hughes and Julie Hudson, published January 2019.

Kim has additionally developed two DDP-informed programmes. ‘The Nurturing Attachments Training Resource’; and ‘Foundations for Attachment Training Resource’ Kim’s ‘Everyday Parenting with Love and security’ has been written to accompany Foundations for Attachment.

Instructions

A member of staff will be in touch with attendees one week prior to the event to share a pre-event delegate pack.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at info@cvaa.org.uk. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.

Who this is for

Adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies and Local Authorities) and Independent Professionals.

Details

Violence to parents and siblings is the main reason for adopted children leaving home prematurely. (Selwyn, 2014)  We know that many other families continue to live with CPVA and that this has a significant impact on the wellbeing of all members of the family.

“This was a really useful session with practical techniques provided and some opportunity to network with other agencies regarding their own ways of working.” – Attendee, 2021

During this training, we will aim to explore and reflect on CPVA in adoptive families in an evidence-informed, non-stigmatizing and most importantly child-centred way. We will consider CPVA in a wider context, before considering the complex reasons why it may disproportionately affect children who are adopted and the families they live in.

“The training was engaging, thought provoking, relatable to everyday practice and offered tools to use, sharing knowledge, skills and opportunity to network.” – Attendee, 2022

•  The presentation will include the connection between CPVA and developmental/complex trauma, early losses, difficulties with self-regulation and sensory processing difficulties.
• We will share the support Adoption Matters Centre for Adoption Support offers to families living with CPVA and will introduce you to the Family Safety Plan tool they have used with many families over the years. We will hear from Hedwig Verhagen, an independent therapeutic social worker and Training and Consultancy Manager at CoramBAAF.
• We will explore strategies that have proven helpful for children affected by CPVA and their families, including a range of body based approaches. Specialist Occupational therapist Helen Stringfellow will offer an insight into the link between sensory processing difficulties and violent/aggressive behaviour and will offer a range of practical strategies that for some children may have an almost immediate effect on the frequency and severity of CPVA incidents.
• Finally, we will explore what best practice in working with families affected by CPVA may look like. At Adoption Matters Centre for Adoption Support, they have formulated a Good Practice Manifesto for working with CPVA.

“Excellent training on child’s perspective and how to support families to understand violence in the child and hopefully work together as a unit to put an end to it based on this understanding and the strategies employed.” – Attendee, 2022

The day will have several opportunities to share experiences and have group discussions.

Learning outcomes

• A chance to explore CPVA in an adoption context
• Explore CPVA from a child-centred perspective
• Refresh or enhance knowledge on the possible cusses of CPVA
• Consider possible helpful strategies and tools for working with CPVA, including the Family Safety Plan developed by the Centre for Adoption Support
• Reflect on ‘best practice’ in working with families affected by CPVA

About the trainers

Hedwig Verhagen

Hetty is a practice manager and therapeutic social worker at the Centre for Adoption Support in Warrington. She decided to train as a social worker after spending several years supporting young people with a diagnosis of ASD to live independently and has spent her entire social work career in adoption support. Hetty’s therapeutic work is informed by DDP/PACE and the Nurtured Heart Approach and a fascination with neuroscience. Her current area of interest is the role of the mind-body connection in memory, trauma processing and trauma recovery.

Helen Stringfellow

Helen Stringfellow is an occupational therapist at the Centre for Adoption Support in Warrington. She carries out sensory processing assessments and supports families to introduce or enhance activities that support their children’s sensory needs into their daily routines. Helen is frequently accused of having a ‘magic wand’ by her social work colleagues.

Instructions

A member of staff will be in touch with attendees one week prior to the event to share a pre-event delegate pack.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at info@cvaa.org.uk. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.