The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Substance Abuse Treatment (Adult), but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

The Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery focuses on the effects of substance abuse on families, parenting, and the parent-child relationship. Combining experiential and didactic exercises, the approach is designed to enhance parents' self-awareness and thereby increase their capacity to understand their children. Parents may experience loss of self-image as being capable, effective parents. They may have a diminished capacity for empathy. In addition, the parent-child bond may be weakened by periods of physical and/or emotional unavailability of parents; thus resulting in gaps in parents' knowledge of the experiences, milestones and growth of their children. This program is designed to assist parents in re-establishing the strength of their connections with their children.

Target Population: Parents who are in substance abuse treatment and recovery; and may have current or past mental health issues and/or trauma.

For children/adolescents ages: 0 – 17

For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 – 17

• Parents and group facilitators participating in this program are collaborators in the process; the model is both interactive and instructional.
• The focus throughout the program is on nurturing the parent, while expanding the parents' ability to transmit this nurturance to their children.
• Parents practice parenting skills in sessions, and then with their child(ren). There is a Family Activities Manual, published by Family Development Resources, Inc., which was designed to provide activities for parents and children to do together, and to be used as a complement to the Nurturing Program. In addition, one adaptation of the curriculum includes a curriculum designed for children's groups, covering similar topics as the parenting curriculum, to be completed at the same time as the parenting groups.
• Parents learn to see addiction as a disease affecting all family members, across generations, and that recovery is also a process, which affects all family members, across generations.
• The learning involved in this program, like the experience of recovery, involves re-working of tasks and stages of life, and re-evaluation and re-patterning of principles and actions.
• There are 3 sessions specifically designed for work with men/fathers, to address specific concerns that men have related to substance use and parenting. These sessions may be used in addition to the 17 basic topic areas, or substituted for other topics (suggested topics for substitution provided). These sessions allow men to examine what it means to be a man, what place men have in the lives of their children, and the challenges that exist as they struggle to balance parenting and recovery.
• The Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery: Guide for Individual Use, is available for use with individuals and families who may not be ready for a group experience. It is geared for individual/family work in a variety of home and program settings, including in home visiting programs.
  

Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery was designed with a child/adolescent component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms for children/adolescents ages 0 – 17:

• Child of a parent with a substance use disorder, mental health issues, and/or trauma.

Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms for parents/caregivers of children ages 0 – 17:

• Substance use disorders, mental health issues, and/or trauma.

Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery was designed with an adult component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Substance use disorders, mental health issues, and/or trauma.

Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery was designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended group size:

8-12

Testing References:

Camp, J. M., & Finkelstein, N. (1997). Parenting training for women in residential substance abuse treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 14(5), 411-422.

Moore, J., & Finkelstein, N. (2001). Parenting services for families affected by substance abuse. Child Welfare, 80(2), 221-238.

Recommended Intensity:

One contact per week.

Recommended Duration:

Each contact session is 90 minutes in length. The treatment spans 17 weeks, but curricula can be adapted for 11 weekly sessions, or 60-minute sessions.

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community Agency
• Outpatient Clinic
• Residential Care Facility
• School

Nurturing Program for Families in Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• Tables and chairs that can be moved around for small group activities
• TV/DVD player
  
• Some art and crafts supplies

Experience with substance abuse treatment/recovery and parenting/child development strongly recommended; plus group facilitation experience.

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Terri Bogage, Director of Family and Children’s Services
  terribogage@healthrecovery.org
  phone: (617) 661-3991

Training is obtained:

Training is provided in Massachusetts 2x/year. Training is also provided nationally.

Number of days/hours:

2 days of training/7 hours each day.

This program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 – 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Not Specified