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Workshops and Training
A PARTIAL LIST OF
WORKSHOPS GIVEN BY THOMAS F. CARR & ASSOCIATES
Organizations are sometimes faced with crises involving clients or employees
that reach media attention. For example, the sexual abuse of a child by a
staff member. These crises often cause chaos within the institution or
organization.
The Chinese symbols for the word “crisis” overlay two other Chinese symbols;
“danger” and “opportunity”. During most crises the danger is readily
apparent, while the opportunity is missed.
A crisis in any institution is painful to an organization and their members,
but can also be an opportunity to create teamwork, educate the public , and
involve new people or develop partnerships in the community, to actually
enhance the organization and its’ image.
We consider methods for dealing with a crisis, involving the development,
utilization, and managing of a “multidisciplinary team”, and how to function
cooperatively with outside agencies and organizations , while developing
long lasting partnerships even after the crisis is over.
We consider the effects people within the organization, some who take
opposing sides to the same crisis, or demand “closure” and “healing” before
the crisis is even over.
We consider the long term effects of crisis and the need for “debriefing” at
various points in institutional crisis. We will also explore culture as a
factor.
We explore the presence of the media, and suggest ways that their
involvement can be used to enhance or repair the damaged image that may have
been created to an organization at the time the crisis arose , and educate
the public about the individual organization and issues that developed from
the crisis.
Ethnic & Cultural Considerations in Mental Health & Court Settings
How much do we need to know or consider about ethnic origins or cultural
Issues in Parent and Sibling Visitation in Residential and Foster Care
Settings
Many residential facilities and foster care settings are perceived by Courts
and child advocates as (at best) non supportive of parent or sibling
visitation, or actually interfering with the process. Whether it is
appropriate or not, or successful or not, many programs use visitation as a
behavior modification tool, sometimes seeing it as the “only incentive we
have”. Some programs curtail or stop visitation between children and their
family as a result of the perceived effect that the visits have on the
child, but they are unable to satisfactorily articulate the causal effect,
when it comes time to present the issue before a Judge.
Looking from the “outside- in”, we consider what Courts and professionals
working with families are looking for from foster parents and residential
programs around visitation. We will consider and evaluate; (a) the kinds of
visitation individuals and programs are asked to do (b) the appropriateness
and circumstances of contact with parents and siblings who may also be
perpetrators of past abuse (c) safety planning as a concept in visitation
(d) specific issues that come up in visitation, for example, the
reintroduction of child into a family following lengthy separation (e) off
site visit visitation, {i} in the family home, or {ii} in a neutral site (f)
development and implementation of plans for increased and less structured
visitation (g) cultural issues (h) problems where existing policies and
procedures can not be utilized because of the nature of the cases;
visitation in cases of Munchausen by Proxy for example.
We will also examine some of the attitude that are expressed about
visitation and the effect of those attitude on treatment and planning.
Munchausen (Syndrome) by Proxy
Understanding the basics of Factitious Disorders by Proxy or MBP and why it
appears that an inordinate amount of time and services must be employed to
analyze and uncover the syndrome. Issues concerning parental contact and
permanent plans.
Non-Traditional Family? OK Placement?
With changing times, Courts are increasing being asked to consider and
approve plans that previously they would not have even considered.
Today, we are increasingly being asked more difficult questions. Should a
child remain placed with an elderly great-grandmother, be placed with a
transsexual uncle or a same sex couple, or remain with terminally ill
caretaker?
More and more we also consider people who may not be legally related to a
specific child; a ”god-parent”, an “ex-boyfriend”, a step parent, the
“half-brother’s paternal grandmother”, and others.
When faced with whether a child should return or remain with a mentally ill
or cognitively limited parent, we ask; “are they good enough”.
Even foster placements for children are less traditional. Growing numbers of
states encourage single parents and approve same sex couples fostering
children , and also encourage multi-ethnic or “blended families” to emerge.
In this interactive workshop, we consider some of these situations and the
questions that arise. We will also begin to look at how the needs of the
individual child will help formulate some of the questions that need to me
asked and answer in ultimately determining whether a placement really is ok…
Safety Plans are formal arrangements, most often drafted for the Court,
which will enable contact (or perhaps even placement) of a child with a
parent who may have been found (or suspected) to have perpetrated some form
of abuse to the child, or may pose a risk to the child for some other
reason(s).
In the time allowed for this workshop, we will begin to help identify some
of the safety issues and, using a multi disciplinary approach, how to employ
and implement plans for contact between children and non custodial parent(s).
We will try to consider a variety of circumstances cases where the violence
or trauma is of known or unknown origin; including sexual abuse, shaken baby
syndrome and Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Using a multi disciplinary approach, we identify what the safety issues are
in various kinds of cases; primarily domestic violence cases, but also
sexual abuse, shaken baby syndrome and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
We examine and discuss cases where the violence or trauma is of known and
unknown origin, or merely suspected.
There will be discussion on developing a formula to assess the risk to the
child as well as arrangements and plans that can be put in place to minimize
or negate that risk. There will also be discussion about levels of
visitation and supervision needed.
Primary to any safety plan is making sure that a child is viable to a
community and employing open communication which may be done in a variety of
ways )
Visitation in Dependency Cases
Looking from the “outside- in”, we consider what Courts and forensic
professionals working with families are looking for from social service
agencies, foster parents and residential programs around visitation. We will
consider and evaluate; (a) the kinds of visitation individuals and programs
are asked to do (b) the appropriateness and circumstances of contact with
parents and siblings who may also be perpetrators of past abuse (c) safety
planning as a concept in visitation (d) specific issues that come up in
visitation, for example, the reintroduction of child into a family following
lengthy separation (e) off site visit visitation, {i} in the family home, or
{ii} in a neutral site (f) development and implementation of plans for
increased and less structured visitation (g) cultural issues (h) problems
where existing policies and procedures can not be utilized because of the
nature of the cases; visitation in cases of Munchausen by Proxy for example.
We will also examine some of the attitude that are expressed about
visitation and the effect of those attitude on treatment and planning. |