Day 2 :
- Workshop
Session Introduction
Kasia Wereszczynska
University of St Francis, USA
Title: Nature, nurture and their influence over children with suicidal and/or homicidal thoughts
Biography:
Kasia Wereszczynska, MA, LCPC, RYT has an extensive training and 15+ years’ experience in crisis intervention, cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive psychology. She has provided counseling to a culturally diverse population serving the South Side of Chicago and the North Shore area. She has a history of working in various settings including the mental health court system, hospital emergency rooms, community mental health agencies, schools and both inpatient/outpatient psychiatric hospital settings. She is currently working in private practice with counseling speaks and has hospital privileges at Chicago Behavioral Hospital. She is the Past President of the Chicago Counseling Association (CCA), and the current President of Illinois Association of Multicultural Counseling (IAMC). She is the Founder of In Her Shoes Foundation a 501c(3) organization that brings together women of all ages and backgrounds to inspire, connect, educate and support the development and maintenance of a healthy and positive lifestyle. In addition, she teaches Psychology classes at Oakton Community College and Crisis Intervention at the University of St Francis.
Abstract:
Though childhood suicide and homicide rates have fluctuated historically, trends have noted a steady continual increase. A study published in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (2014) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report revealed that childhood suicide rates fluctuated between 1999 and 2007 but increased significantly from 2007 through 2014 with the number doubling from 0.9 per 100,000 to 2.1, totaling 425 deaths. Further, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2014) revealed that “Between 1980 and 2014, the estimated proportion of murders involving a juvenile offender acting alone gradually declined, from 66% in the 1980s, to 59% in the 1990s, to 50% in the last 10 years. Comparatively, the proportion of murders committed by juveniles and adults increased from 25% in the 1980s to 41% in the last 10 years”. And the debate continues. Does nature or nurture more significantly influence childhood? Although there are arguments that may lean in greater favor toward one direction or the other, recent research has demonstrated relative equivalence—particularly alongside the occurrence of more severe distress leading toward homicidal or suicidal ideation and follow-through. As explained by the National Academic Press (2002), “Since the heritability of liability to suicidal behaviors appears to be on the order of 30-50 percent, family-environmental causes for suicidal behavior, such as abuse, must also be considered, as both independent factors and those that may interact with genetic vulnerability”. Factors leading toward homicidal and suicidal behavior are highly individualized and diverse. All things being equal, nature or nurture may persevere in influence upon the child; however, influential genetic factors in combination with adverse familial environments pose significant risk. Therefore, to be most effective, counselors must be aware of these conditions and how to most appropriately treat the child client across both conditions.
- Video Presentation
Session Introduction
Steffenie Susanto
Mills College, Singapore
Title: Title:Pain management: Child life specialists’ perspectives
Biography:
Steffenie Susanto is working at Mills College, USA. She also has international experience (Singapore, Australia, Myanmar and the United States) working with children in various settings including hospitals with pediatrics care and academia settings. She is currently working towards being certified as a Child Life Specialist.
Abstract:
During procedures like venipuncture, child life specialists are able to incorporate non-pharmacological measures when most medical staff focus on pharmacological measures. There is little research about what types of interventions child life specialists believe are effective at minimizing children’s pain and increasing coping skills during venipuncture. The purpose of the current study was to examine child life specialists’ perspectives on the different techniques available in the hospital setting. An online survey of 75 certified child life specialists asked about the types of techniques that child life specialists use during venipuncture. Further, questions were asked on how child life specialists felt about the efficacy of pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques with a variety of different ages. Results revealed that child life specialists felt that combining two techniques helps to minimize pain during venipuncture for pediatric patients more than the use of a single technique. These results applied to preschoolers, school-aged children and adolescents.
Wijntje van der Ende,
Stenden University, Netherlands
Title: Affect Regulating Arts Therapy as child approach for developmental psychopathology
Biography:
Wijntje van der Ende is registered Art- and Music Therapist in The Netherlands. She integrates the concept of mentalization and affect regulation into art- and music therapy in child psychiatry. She is chairing an international Special Interest Group about Nonverbal Communication at ICAPT, the International Centre for Arts in Psychotherapy, London. Together with other therapists she is Founder of the consensus based model of Affect Regulating Arts Therapy for children with developmental disorders and attachment problems. She advises in Postdoctoral research about Arts Therapy Theory and Practice at Stenden University.
Abstract:
Affect dysregulation is known as an important trigger for psychopathology. Affect Regulating Arts Therapy diminishes emotional and behavioural problems along the pathway of improving the child’s affect regulation. The aim of this transdiagnostic treatment model is a healthy affect regulation for children with emotional and behavioural problems caused by developmental disorders (ADHD, ASS, LVB, attachment). The model was presented on the First International Mentalizing in Arts Therapies Conference, organized by ICAPT London and PRATT Institute Brooklyn, NY 2016. It is in alignment with the upcoming mentalizing approach that is already evidence based for BPS. It is now developed by The Dutch Knowledge Network, a cooperative effort of Dutch arts therapists, as ‘Affect Regulating Arts Therapy’. Results are positive in ROM Measuring (CBCL). The affect regulating therapy process can be monitored by the IFP test measuring affect interpretation as part of emotion regulation. Arousal regulation, attention regulation and affect regulation are combined with nonverbal coregulation as marked mirroring, matching and dialoguing in art and music improvisation. This gives the child physical and repetitive affective experiences, while training subsequent interactive communication patterns of mutual attention, mutual engagement and reciprocity. In relatively short time the improvement of the child’s affect regulation creates a fundamental base for mentalizing skills, like awareness of feeling intentions of the self, learning to take other’s perspective. Transfer to daily life is managed by means of parent participation and by integrating home and school situations in the process.
Naomi Vandamme,
Trauma Therapy Centre, Belgium
Title: The QCC resilience model: Strength--based model to foster resilience in children and their families
Biography:
Naomi Vandamme is a Clinical Psychologist and Trauma Therapist. She is currently pursuing research within the field of Trauma and Resilience (PhD) and holds a function as Team Coordinator within a youth care organization and child psychiatric setting that focuses on treating children victim of domestic violence and sexual abuse. She has worked in different child psychiatric settings. She is a Board Member in different national and international trauma related institutes and networks. In 2012 she has found the organization, Child-Flower and in 2017 she found a Trauma Therapy Centre in Belgium. She has a great passion for enhancing the wellbeing of orphan children and abandoned children in developmental countries.
Abstract:
Every year many children are being exposed to traumatic events. Some of these children develop PTSD and/or other mental health issues. Others seem resilient in dealing with the event at hand. Research seems to emphasize the importance of resilience as a protective factor. More recently, studies have been able to identify some of the factors or domains underlying resilience, allowing more targeted interventions (insert references). Nevertheless resilience remains a dynamic process. The QCC (quality care in connection) resilience model is a strength-based model that provides a psychological and pedagogical framework which therapists can use to strengthen resilience in children and their families. The QCC resilience model was developed by the author, a Belgium clinical Psychologist and Psychotrauma Therapist who developed the model during her developmental work with Haitian orphans and abandoned children. The model was developed after experiencing increased limitations of the more trauma-focused treatment methods in working with children who were often permanently dealing with acute and chronic forms of trauma exposure, due to their living conditions. The model is based upon recent research concerning resilience and posttraumatic growth. It integrates several resilience-related child and environmental factors divided into several child-related and environmental-related domains and subdomains. The model is easy to implement and provides the therapist with concrete tools to strengthen resilience in children and families. The model provides room for cultural differences and can be applied within a wide age range. In my talk, I will provide an overview of the evidence on which the model is based, the structure of the model and discuss concrete tools to implement the model in the workplace.
Rohini Kesavan Rajeev
Healtheminds Pvt. Ltd., India
Title: The metamorphosis of parenting in urban India and the significance of a father’s role in child psycho-social development
Biography:
Rohini Kesavan Rajeev is Psychotherapist with almost 15 years of clinical & corporate counseling experience. She is Resource Person of Anti-Sexual Harassment
Committee. She has pursued MSW in Medicine and Psychiatry from Bishop Heber College, Trichy, India and is PhD Scholar of Social Sciences from Tata Institute
of Social Sciences, India. She specializes in couples therapy, women’s mental health, combating and overcoming sexual abuse, building resilience, confidence and
self-image strengthening as well as parenting. Her areas of expertise also include psychotherapy for different levels of distress across age groups, clinical work with
persons struggling with acute psychosis and neurosis, corporate counseling (organizational & individual work related issues), handling change and management
transition, rebuilding confidence & trust, conflict management, grief counseling, and prevention of sexual harassment at work and school.
Abstract:
Parenting roles in the past were clearly carved out and rigid; while nurturing, caring-for and conscientious upbringing was
primarily the Mother’s responsibility; providing for, disciplining and protecting was the Father’s. The overlap was minimal
and also dependant on the social organization of the family, which in most cases leaned towards Patriarchy, especially in
India. Parenting in India is transitioning. While traditional notions endorsed the father’s role as a provider, protector, teacher,
and moral guardian to children (Kane, 1974; Krishnan, 1998), with more middle-class women entering the workforce and
gender equality taking centre-stage in India, the demand for a man who has the knowledge, attitude, and skills to share coparenting
responsibilities is growing (Bharat, 2002; Datta & Maheshwari, 1997; Rajadhyaksha & Smita, 2004). Urban Indians
are becoming conscious of their individual parenting roles to ensure the best for their children (Datta, 2007; Gore, 2003; Sinha,
2003; Sriram, 2003). This makes the constructive participation of the father inevitable in the overall development of the child.
Research on Father Involvement in children’s psycho-social development although sporadic, presents a positive correlation
between highly involved fathers and a child’s cognitive functioning, emotional and educational development, overall wellbeing
and even occupational competency(Allen & Daly, 2007). According to a summary of evidence published by the Father
Involvement Research Alliance, Canada, children who grow up with extra care from the father are said to be more attached to
them, more resilient in the face of stress, happier during adolescence and even less depressed (Allen & Daly, 2007). This study
aims to understand the involvement of Indian Fathers in their children’s upbringing and the resulting effects using participant
narratives, specific literature and learnings from clinical work.
Biography:
Kankana De completed her studies from Vidyasagar University. She has completed her PhD (VU), MSc (VU), MSW (NSOU), and MBA (IGNOU).
Abstract:
Background: Menarche is defined as the first menstrual period. It is considered to be the most obvious sign of puberty in
girls. It has been regarded in many cultures as a transitional step to womanhood. Nutrients are needed in varying amounts
depending on one's stage of growth.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to study relation between anthropometric index and mean age at menarche.
Study design: This study is done on adolescent counseling center named Anwesha Clinic. Anthrometric measurements are
taken for this study.
Method: Adolescent school girls aged 10 -19 years of Salboni Block of Paschim Medinipur were considered. The study area of
Salboni block is 25 km away from Medinipur town. Subjects are 10-19 years adolescent girl the studies were done on 1009 girls.
Age at menarche of each girl was obtained by status-quo method; with this method it is possible to collect menarche data for
large representative samples of girls within a comparatively short period,
Result: The mean height of the adolescents who experience early menarche is 151.20 (4.65), weight 45.32 (4.21) but who
experience late menarche their height is154.87 (3.87) and weight is 48.72 (4.08).
Conclusion: Under nutrition girls experienced late menarche, girls whose anthropometric indexes are high experience their
menarche earlier, anemic girls experience heavy bleeding, having iron supplement girls experience regular menstruation.