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Effective family

Training and consultancy

The Effective Family training package includes:

  • A regional opening seminar
  • A 'Let's Talk about Children' training package
  • A clinician training programme
  • A trainer programme

To facilitate the planning and implementation of preventive work and the use of the Effective Family working methods, a training and consultancy package is provided for regions, organisations, units and individual practitioners to enable them to improve their work and professional skills. The practicalities and costs concerning the training are agreed on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the training packages, the trainers provide consultancy to service systems in the introduction of the working methods, and offer on-the-job training in the methods.

A regional opening seminar

The regional seminar is intended for all practitioners who naturally network and work with families with children in social and health care units and third-sector organisations, as well as for their immediate superiors. Local actors can invite representatives of the media to attend the seminar.

Aim

The opening seminar aims to create a common knowledge base for local actors as to what the implications are for the family and particularly for the child's development and parenthood when a parent suffers from a mental disorder or when there are other such factors that make it more difficult to cope with parenthood. During the opening seminar the participants develop an awareness of the ways to support parenthood and protect the child's development. Further, a greater awareness of the possibilities to protect the child's development and prevent mental disorders is developed among the local population.

Content

During the seminar day the intergenerational transmission of mental disorders is dealt with as a process leading to the onset of illness, describing both risk factors for children and factors that protect their development. In addition, the seminar deals with children's way of understanding their parents' problems and the development, meaning and overcoming of taciturnity often associated with mental disorders. Helping children is approached through the general principles of mental disorder prevention. The seminar also presents tools for helping children, including participatory family networking and the Effective Family methods and related training.

A 'Let's Talk about Children' training package


Target group

All health and social care practitioners working with children with families, as well as practitioners working for parishes and third-sector organisations. The training can also be implemented as part of vocational studies or as professional further education in vocational institutions, polytechnics and universities.

Aim

After the first training day, the participants will have the knowledge to implement the "Let's Talk about Children" intervention with the parents of their patient/client families. The second training day aims to ensure that the local introduction of the working method takes place appropriately.

Content

The training takes two days. The first day focuses on the presentation of the principles of the Effective Family intervention and provides guidance on keeping a Let's Talk about Children diary. It also includes role playing exercises. In addition to on-the-job training in the methods, the second day, which takes place about one month after the first training day, focuses on bringing together experiences that participants have gained from the method in their daily work.

Effective Family training for clinicians

Target group

People who work with families with children and who have attended a regional opening seminar or have an equivalent knowledge. The group size is 10 to 20 persons. The training can also be implemented as part of vocational studies or as professional further education in vocational institutions, polytechnics and universities.

Aim

The training enables the participants to independently apply the Effective Family methods and to act as experts on child-oriented preventive work in their own work unit.

Content

The training programme consists of methodology training and on-the-job-training sessions. It usually takes two terms to complete. The first term covers theoretical questions and contains exercises related to the sessions while the second half-year focuses on on-the-job training concerning the method. Eleven days in total are spent in face-to-face teaching. A regional seminar can be organised to conclude the clinician training. This provides local actors with an opportunity to bring together experiences gained during the training and the introduction of the method and build up an operational and organisational model in support of future preventive work.

Training for Effective Family trainers

Target group

People who work with families with children and who have completed the clinician training and are proficient in the Effective Family method, as well as those who provide training to these workers. The training can also be implemented as part of vocational studies or as professional further education in vocational institutions, polytechnics and universities.

Aim

The training qualifies the participants to act independently as trainers in Effective Family methods and to provide on-the-job training, in addition to which they are able to act as experts on family-oriented preventive work in their own work units.

Content

The training includes six face-to-face teaching days, in addition to methodology work and training in methods. The participants independently gather theoretical training material and plan the theory part of the face-to-face teaching days. They also act as methodology work supervisors for other members of the training group. The trainers guide the participants in the theoretical issues, in on-the-job training in methodology and in the training sessions organised during the trainer training course.

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Published 16.10.2006, Updated 20.3.2008

Last updated 20.3.2008
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