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Digital Seminar

Kids in the Crossfire of Divorced and Blended Families: Interventions for Anxious, Depressed and Oppositional Children


Speaker:
Steven O'Brien, PsyD
Duration:
6 Hours 06 Minutes
Language:
Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
Format:
Audio and Video
Copyright:
Nov 06, 2019
Product Code:
POS055205


Description

Children caught in the crossfire of divorce and those struggling with a new blended family frequently exhibit emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Children’s challenges may become exponential when divorce-related conflict is chronic and/or when parents’ new relationships lead to cohabitation or remarriage.

Kids end up stuck in the middle, taking on the role of fixer or therapist. Negative talk about each parent fuels blame games and regression while reunion fantasies persist.

Watch child-family psychologist, Dr. Steve O’Brien, who will provide you with a practical treatment approach for children struggling with anxiety, depression, and oppositional behavior secondary to divorced and blended family stressors.

Treatment techniques will include:

  • Rapport-building and interview methods for children in divorce and blended family environments
  • Distress-management skills for children facing the stress of family conflict and transition
  • Strategies to improve co-parenting and to help blended families better integrate
  • Family-focused art, play, and game therapy techniques
  • Developmentally-tailored cognitive-behavioral interventions
  • Effective treatments for family-related anxiety, depression, and oppositional behavior
  • Practical tactics for teachers to assist distressed children in the classroom

Upon watching this recording, you will walk away with multiple clinical tools and leave feeling empowered to take on the challenges of helping children struggling with highly stressful family transitions.

Credit


Canada Credit - *

NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.

Continuing Education Information:  Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval. 
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.

Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession.  As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.  

For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

 


Canada Credit - ---

Earn up to 6.0 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession. 


Canada Credit - Social Workers - National ASWB ACE

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2023 - January 27, 2026. Social workers completing this course receive 6.0 Clinical continuing education credits.

 

Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.

 

Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities approved by the ASWB for ongoing professional development.


Canada Credit - Canadian Psychologists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 6.0 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement


Canada Credit - Other Professions

This self-study activity qualifies for 6.0 continuing education clock hours as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.



Handouts

Speaker

Steven O'Brien, PsyD's Profile

Steven O'Brien, PsyD Related seminars and products


Dr. Steve O’Brien, is a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience treating children with a variety of anxiety disorders, including separation anxiety, generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He specializes in treating children with co-occurring disorders, especially those who struggle with both anxiety and ADHD or Autism. Dr. O’ Brien’s expertise also includes treatments for childhood depression, oppositional behavior, and divorced/blended family adjustment.

Dr. O’Brien utilizes an eclectic approach which tailors treatment to the developmental level of both children and parents. His approach integrates individual child therapy with intensive parental and familial interventions. Dr. O’Brien has worked in a variety of clinical settings including community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals and medical clinics. He earned his PsyD at Nova Southeastern University and received specialized training applied developmental psychology. Dr. O’Brien incorporates pediatric and child psychiatric consultation into his therapeutic work. He served as associate professor at the Florida School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University from 2000 to 2016. While at the University, Dr. O’Brien developed a unique doctoral level course, ‘Parent Consultation’, designed for graduate students specializing in child/family therapy. In 2015, he developed Life@Home by Psychtouch.com, an innovative clinical tool/app for obtaining a child’s perception of family life. Dr. O’Brien also serves as a media consultant for Bay News 9, Tampa Bay’s 24-hour news source.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Steven O'Brien maintains a private practice. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Steven O’Brien is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Florida Psychological Association.


Additional Info

Program Information

Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.


Questions?

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.com/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.com/contact-us


Objectives

  1. Identify developmental manifestations of childhood distress secondary to divorced/blended family stressors.
  2. Discover effective methods of rapport-building with children and parents/step parents to enhance treatment outcomes for anxious, depressed and oppositional children.
  3. Utilize semi-structured interview and observational formats for obtaining developmental, emotional and behavioral information about distressed children in divorced/blended families.
  4. Recognize five typical emotional/behavioral responses in children coping with stressful divorced/blended family dynamics.
  5. Implement developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioral techniques with anxious/depressed children facing family transitions.
  6. Apply individualized behavior management and communication techniques for reducing oppositional behavior in children seeking control.
  7. Develop family-focused therapy techniques to reduce distress and disruptive behavior in children.
  8. Recommend classroom management strategies teachers can utilize for responding to children’s highly emotional or disruptive behavior at school.

Outline

CHALLENGES FOR CHILDREN FACING DIVORCE & FAMILY TRANSITION

Multiple Losses, Multiple Reactions

  • Divorce Do’s and Don’ts: How Kids Cope with Parental Missteps
  • Reduce Children’s Distress due to Dysfunctional Co-Parenting
  • Helping Kids Cope with Parents’ New Relationships
  • Divorce-related Grief and Loss
Blended Families: In Reality, “Semi-Integrated if You’re Lucky”
  • ”Blood is Thicker than Water”
  • Through Children’s Eyes: Residential Invaders and Parent Stealers
  • Healthier Family Functioning via Management rather than Resolution
  • Guidelines for Smoother Stepparent-Child Relationships
  • Strategies for Relationship Protection and Semi-Integration

TREATMENT TECHNIQUES FOR KIDS IN THE CROSSFIRE

Intervention Strategies for Anxious Children

  • The 3-R Approach to Anxiety Management
  • Daily Relaxation Rituals
  • Child-Friendly CBT (No Homework!)
  • Family-Focused Play/Art Therapy
  • Transition-Management Skills for Dual Households
Intervention Strategies for Oppositional Children
  • Root Causes of Oppositional/Defiant Behavior
  • Defiance as expression of Anxiety and Depression
  • Social-Emotional Behavioral Assessment
  • Cooperation and Consequences vs. Compliance and Punishment
  • Creative Alternatives to Traditional Behavior Modification
Intervention Strategies for Depressed Children
  • Effective Rapport Building and Interpersonal Approaches
  • Child-Friendly Mood Management Skills
  • Game Play Therapy for Family Dynamic
  • Therapeutic Technologies
  • Emotive Communication Skill-Building
Interventions for High-Risk Children
  • Vindictive/Revengeful Behavior
  • Physically Destructive Behavior
  • Aggressive/Violent Behavior
  • Suicidal/Self-Harming Behavior
  • Non-Suicidal Self Injury
  • Repetitive Substance Abuse
  • Socially Rejected/Excluded Children
Assisting Distressed Children at School: Tactics for Educators
  • ”BASE” Method for Assessing Childhood Functioning
  • Family-Related Stress and Academic/Learning Problems
  • How Family Conflict Leads to Defiance at School
  • Classroom Management for Disruptive Behaviors
  • Special Accommodations for Highly Sensitive Children
  • Feedback/Discussion Guidelines with Challenging Parents
  • School-Wide Solutions for High-Risk Students

Target Audience

  • Social Workers
  • Psychologists
  • Counselors
  • Teachers
  • School Administrators
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Speech-Language Pathologists
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children

Reviews

5
4
3
2
1

Overall:      5

Total Reviews: 2

Comments

Carolyn S

"Wonderful course! Extremely helpful and engaging."

Sarah C

"This was one of the best trainings I have attended. "

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