Mini Workshop 4 - Behavioral Parent Training Groups from Young Children to Young Adults: Including Stakeholders Across the Ages

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is an evidenced-based treatment for addressing a range of mental health concerns in infancy through adolescence (Chacko et al., 2017). BPT can result in positive consequences for parents (e.g., decreased stress) and children (e.g., improved sleep, and academics) (Beelmann et al., 2023). Given recent concerning rates and trends associated with mental health disorders, expanding the reach and scope of BPT programs is of critical importance (Reinert et al., 2024). In addition to expanding access to care for those facing extensive waitlists, offering BPT in groups offers several benefits: (1) fostering a sense of community and reducing feelings of isolation by learning from each other's experiences; (2) broadening caregivers' understanding of child development and effective strategies through diverse perspectives; and (3) offering opportunities for group activities including role-playing exercises to practice new skills, receive feedback, and increasing motivation and accountability for implementing strategies.

This workshop will introduce three BPT group programs – each focused on a unique age range (i.e. childhood, adolescence, and a novel program for caregivers of young adults) with shared emphasis utilizing a child’s community and innovative practices to engage caregivers in learning evidence-based parenting skills. Presenters will balance didactic content with interactive activities to describe the development and implementation of BPT groups, cover core components of BPT, and detail specific strategies for tailoring content to various developmental stages, strategies used to engage parents as core collaborators on their child’s treatment, pitfalls, and cultural considerations. Using live role-plays and video examples, teaching strategies that promote experiential learning will be modeled. Moreover, this workshop will engage attendees in considering the populations with whom they work and how they might integrate BPT principles, concepts, and strategies into group treatments for caregivers. Audience members will also have opportunities to practice leading and learning various content areas in small groups and will have many opportunities to ask questions throughout the workshop.

Recommended Reading 1: Bennett, C., Barlow, J., Huband, N., Smailagic, N., & Roloff, V. (2013). Group-based parenting programs for improving parenting and psychosocial functioning: A systematic review. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 4(4), 300-332.

Recommended Reading 2: Chacko, A., Jensen, S. A., Lowry, L. S., Cornwell, M., Chimklis, A., Chan, E., Lee, D., & Pulgarin, B. (2016). Engagement in Behavioral Parent Training: Review of the Literature and Implications for Practice. Clinical child and family psychology review, 19(3), 204–215.

Recommended Reading 3: McKinney, C., Morse, M., & Pastuszak, J. (2016). Effective and ineffective parenting: Associations with psychological adjustment in emerging adults. Journal of Family Issues, 37(9), 1203–1225.