Module 5Talking About Family Experiences and Psychoeducation (Caregiver)

Clinical Components

5.5. Psychoeducation on Use and Impact of Family Conflict

Father and teen son speak earnestly during session as clinician listens Next, we offer psychoeducation about the importance of addressing words and actions that hurt.

We try to provide some information and support to show how and why we target words and actions that hurt, because many of these can be considered and/or experienced as harsh or abusive. There are two options that are outlined in the session guide – one for families referred by child protective services and one for families who are attending due to family conflict or child aggression.

Consider discussing these points to help the caregiver understand possible responses to aggression, anger, and abuse and how AF-CBT will be helpful.

Begin by putting the family aggression or conflict in perspective and gaining their perspective. While some information may be known, it’s always good to hear from the caregiver themselves.

Conflicts involving adults and their children can be fairly common and result in several understandable reactions in adults, including feeling angry, frustrated, disrespected, anxious, and worried.

Young girl and mother grab at cell phone during argument Children also show reactions to conflict, which can include being aggressive, argumentative, hard to manage, anxious and/or withdrawn. The child’s reactions are important to recognize and are understandable when taking into consideration what they’ve experienced.

Participating in AF-CBT is a step forward in finding different ways for families to handle stress, improve discipline, and manage hard emotions. AF-CBT is designed to help families build on their strengths and accomplish their therapy goals.

We can often provide hope to families by letting them know that coming to services and working together is one way to make things better. We can help the family to communicate and solve problems in ways that are more likely to work and less likely to hurt someone. Many caregivers have been helped by AF-CBT. No matter how challenging a child’s behavior has been or how much a caregiver may regret some of the things they have done to manage those behaviors, AF-CBT has something to offer both children and caregivers.

Take time to ask the caregiver whether there is anything else about this process that they would like to better understand and discuss their concerns with them.

Materials

Slides: 5.5. Psychoeducation on Use and Impact of Family Conflict