WORKSHOPS >>
 
Solution-Oriented Brief Family Therapy
with Challenging Children and Adolescents

Children and adolescents presenting with chronic and severe behavioral difficulties like explosive and violent, substance abuse, self-harming, eating-distressed, delinquent, and school disruptive behaviors can be a nightmare for even the most seasoned of therapists to work with. Often, these children and youths' families are characterized by: loss issues, emotional disconnection or extremes in parental discipline, destructive family interactions, rigid role behaviors, and extensive treatment histories. The clients' difficulties may be further exacerbated by the involved helping professionals unproductive attempted solutions. This can lead to the development of family-helping system knots, which contribute to treatment impasses.

In this "hands-on" practice-oriented workshop, participants will learn a collaborative solution-oriented brief family therapy approach that capitalizes on the strengths and resources of the child or youth, family members, concerned peers and other key members of their social network, and involved helping professionals from larger systems to rapidly co-construct solutions.

As a result of attending this workshop, participants will learn the following:

• A multisystemic family assessment framework that guides therapists in determining at what systems levels to target interventions
• Therapeutic questions for eliciting untold family stories, client expertise, and well-formed behavioral treatment goals
• Talking the Talk to Walk the Walk: Effective engagement strategies with difficult adolescents
• Research-based parenting tools that can empower angry and highly pessimistic parents
• The Solution-Oriented Parenting Group: A treatment alternative to family therapy
• Family play and art therapy strategies with children and adolescents
• Effective goal-maintenance and solution-enhancement strategies
• Keys to establishing successful collaborative relationships with involved helping allies from larger systems
• With a Little Help From My Friends: The adolescent's peers as resources in family therapy
• Celebrating change: Honoring families victories over their oppressive problems