Attachment & Trauma Informed
Programme
The 24 week evidence informed programme includes:
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Group work sessions
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Key work sessions with a therapeutic practitioner
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Representation in professional meetings
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Video Interaction Guidance
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Life Story Work via Digital App
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Continuous Post Programme Support
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Group work sessions include:
Group Work
Each week parents attend a group session which has been designed to help them recognise who they are, understand why they parent in the way that they do and develop new skills which can help them progress and move forwards.
The group work sessions provide a safe and confidential space for parents to meet other parents who are in similar situations so that they can explore their stories together.
Group work is facilitated by qualified and experienced therapeutic social work practitioners who are supported by peer mentors (parents who have been through the programme who want to support others).
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1:1 Key work sessions include:
Attachment and Trauma Informed Work
Each parent is allocated a key worker when they start. The key worker will be an experienced therapeutic social worker and is the parent's first point of contact.
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During key work sessions, they will carry out various activities that will help parents explore their own childhood, family dynamics, the attachment strategies they developed to keep safe and the impact certain significant events have had on them, and their children.
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These sessions are designed to provide parents with the space for reflection on individual everyday life challenges and experiences.
Strengthening relationships between parent and child:
Video Interaction Guidance
Key work sessions will conclude with 3, or more, cycles of video interaction guidance. Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) is used with parents who are struggling to connect with or parent their children. Recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), this valued evidence informed method uses a strengths based approach which we use with our families.
VIG is beneficial for parents as it gives them the opportunity to reflect on their interactions with their children through film. It also enables them to see what already works and what changes they can make to build better relationships with their loved ones.
Parental representation:
Representation in professional meetings
We have learned that parents often find it difficult to navigate the child protection system because, quite simply, it can be very confusing.
Therefore, when parents join New Beginnings their allocated key worker, who will be an experienced social worker and will have first hand knowledge of how the child protection system works, is on hand to attend professional meetings with them so that they can feel supported, get their point across, help them to better understand what is being said, whilst at the same time help other professionals hear the progress they are making on New Beginnings.
The key worker will also support the parent with any other issues they may find challenging.
Attachment and Trauma Informed Workbook:
The 'Story of your Life' Work Book
The programme is accompanied by a digital app and/or paper workbook which has been designed to mirror the content of the group work sessions and the 1:1 key work sessions. Each chapter has been created to help meet parents' individual learning needs, with animated video, interviews with former parents and other audio content. The Story of your Life workbook has been specifically developed for parents to reflect on their own experiences in their own time.
Post Programme Support:
Peer mentoring
When parents complete the programme, they are offered the opportunity to do the peer mentoring training. Once they become peer mentors they are invited to work for New Beginnings facilitating groups for new parents to the project. They are also able to provide 1:1 support to parents who might benefit from advice and support from those who know what they are going through.
Drop In Centre
Every week we have a drop in day at the New Beginnings centre where parents (and their children) can meet other families and peer mentors face to face. The centre is a safe place which provides families with good food; good conversation; support; advice; fun and laughter. Each week we run workshops (Life Laundry and Men's Group) that are designed to support parents with everyday life challenges and help them continue to learn new skills. There are also activities such as: arts and crafts; boxing; yoga and meditation.