PURPOSE OF THE MODULE

• To introduce parents to and familiarise them with the course contents and philosophy.

• To enable parents to get to know each other.

• To offer parents the opportunity to talk about their current circumstances and offload some of their most pressing concerns.

• To help parents to understand the psychological transitions that they will face.

• To orientate parents towards the key purpose of the course which is to focus upon the rebuilding of their parenting relationship in order to bring better outcomes for their children.

THEORY BEHIND THE MODULE

Reducing high levels of emotion

Separated parents are often coping with high levels of distress and unfamiliar feelings and it is useful to offer an opportunity at the beginning of the course for each to offload some of this. When parents are able to share their concerns with other people who are experiencing similar things, distress is relieved and a process of normalising takes place.

Setting expectations

However the course is delivered, it must offer parents a safe place in which to share their experiences and learn new ways of behaving. In order for this to happen, it is essential to set guidelines for acceptable behaviour. This can be done simply by working through the list shown in the delivery plan. However, it must be done early and expectations must be clearly established to avoid difficulties later in the programme.

Describing psychological transitions

Many parents experience separation as a bewildering cocktail of emotions. Particularly in the early stages of separation, they may ricochet from one feeling to another without understanding why. This module helps parents begin to understand the psychological transitions that they will encounter in order to normalise their experiences and to lay the foundations for change.

Preparing parents for personal change

For a co-operative relationship to work, some negotiation and some compromise will be necessary on the part of each parent. This module offers the opportunity to establish the expectation that each participant will concentrate upon their own personal change rather than blaming or expecting their partner to change.

Module Two: Your relationship with your child’s other parent >>