| Message from our Executive Director | Early Childhood Behavioral Health Program |
News from The Bridge |
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Early Childhood: Two Years Later By Amy Baur, Clinical Supervisor from our June 2008 newsletter Recently, The Bridge’s Early
Childhood team took a look back at
the first two years of service for
children under six years of age. We
discussed how the program has But mainly, we all observed how grateful we are for the opportunity to intervene so early in our clients’ lives, and how grateful we are to our wonderful supporters for seeing how essential early childhood mental health services really are! We reviewed our services and our
successes. Here are some of the
innovative and well-researched
methods of service delivery we are
using: Play Therapy is used to assist children communicate their thoughts and feelings, and learn to manage behaviors and situations. Family Play Therapy is used as a means to improve communication, parenting skills, and family relationships. Play Therapy
was used effectively with Jeremy.
Jeremy was a 4 year old whom lived
in a home with two alcoholic parents
who recently got sober. While
they loved Jeremy, their caretaking
had been neglectful due to their
frequent intoxication. need for Jeremy to have a safe place to work on his feelings. Jeremy's play focused on animal figures becoming erratic and scary after swimming too long in the sand. The animal babies made attempts to hide the sand or get the big animals out of the sandbox. Through the play, the therapist was able to assist Jeremy in gaining some understanding of his parents confusing behavior and his lack of responsibility for that behavior. Family Play Therapy helped the Richardson* children, ages 3-8, and their mother to address the loss of their father through suicide. Family therapy incorporates games and art projects to help kids to explore feelings in understandable and non-threatening ways. Making memory boxes to hold pictures and stories about their dad and putting good-bye messages in helium-filled balloons helped the family find peace and closure. The Early Childhood team also used Filial Therapy with great success. Filial Therapy is well-researched and found to be very effective. Filial Therapy teaches parents to use Play Therapy skills with their own child. John was the non-custodial parent of three-year-old Sam. Sam struggled with delayed speech. Since John's visits with Sam only occurred twice a week, John had difficulty understanding Sam's speech. John's lack of parenting experience further impeded his ability to understand Sam's cues or set appropriate behavioral limits. Through learning Filial Therapy techniques, John was able to learn new ways of understanding and managing Sam's behavior so Sam was able to feel more comfortable with his dad. John said that the Filial Therapy had helped him to enjoy his time with his son and helped him feel competent in the parenting role. Other techniques are useful for improving parent skills and enhancing attachment. Kendra, an 18-year-old unwed mother struggled to care for her two year old daughter, Anna. Through games and activities designed to enhance the connection between Kendra and Anna, Kendra was able to feel more comfortable with her role as a parent. Anna felt her mother's confidence and responded more readily to her mother's limits and nurturing. Kendra's attachment to her daughter significantly decreased Kendra's tendency to be punitive and harsh when Anna misbehaved. The intervention helped both mother and daughter to demonstrate an increase ability to navigate Anna's development. These are only a few examples of how the Early Childhood Program has been able to help families function better. Ensuring families feel connected and competent early on will keep small problems from becoming bigger as the child grows. Your continued support will allow us to keep expanding our services and continue to help young families thrive! *All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the confidentiality of persons served. |
SAVE THE DATE
The Peter D. Cunneen Golf Classic and Spa Day Monday, August 10, 2009 Additional Information
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