Navigating Choppy Waters

1. Navigating Choppy Waters Jennifer Case, LCSW Christine Camper Facilitating Difficult Conversations in Home Visits

2. Naming the Choppy Waters What are some of the difficult conversations you navigate in home visiting? • Hot Topics (Sleep practices, Discipline, Immunizations, etc.) • Family is in crisis (past due bills, potential eviction, etc) • Mental Health and IPV (family wants to use you as a counselor)

3. What Kind of Boat Are You?

4. What boat do you want to be?

5. Handling Crisis Situations • Address the crisis • Use reflective questions to help the parent problem solve • Use visualization or solution-focused techniques • Share resources as appropriate • Transition the visit to a positive parent-child interaction.

6. Handling Crisis Situations It is challenging to navigate visit back to parent-child interaction when families are in crisis. Why? Why is this an important step in the process? Does it feel like this?

7. Handling Crisis Situations • Reflective Supervision • Develop a Mantra • “Families play” • “Play is necessary” • “Interaction matters”

8. How to Navigate the Counselor Challenge • Address the issue at hand as appropriate by your role • Use reflective questions and MI techniques to raise awareness & identify ambivalence • Use visualization or solution-focused techniques • Share resources as appropriate • Transition the visit to a positive parent-child interaction.

9. Bridge Statement or Paragraph A transition phrase that validates the parents’ feelings/experience(s) and connects to one of the family’s goals. All families want the best for their children.

10. Role Play • Partner up at your seats • Take turns practicing how you would respond to the scenarios in the handout • De-brief

11. Handling Hot Topic Conversations Safe Sleep Discipline Immunizations What can make these “hot topics” for some families? What might some responses be when a parent says “our family co-sleeps”?

12. Handling Hot Topic Conversations • Ask open-ended prompts or questions to find out more information. The intention is to open parent’s thinking and seeking to understand parent’s view, not to be interrogative. Some examples: • Tell me more about that. • What does that look like in your family? • What are some reasons for ________? • What might be some of your thoughts about ________? • What are some possibilities?

13. Handling Hot Topic Conversations • Identify and state the value or belief • When we make decisions in our lives, family traditions and values are important. • Connect relevant safety information • What have you heard about safe sleep and the risk of SIDS? • Ask if you can leave information for consideration • Would you be open to reading some information I have?

14. Hot Topic Role Play With your same partner Kiesha shares with you that the children are not immunized and she’s not planning to immunize them. What might you do to discuss immunizations? You’ve noticed how often Tina “popped” Kia. What might be some ways to address/discuss positive discipline?

15. From the Field: Jolee Crawford, RN with CHIP of the New River Valley

16. Your Coaching makes you a Life Saver

18. Jennifer Case, MSW, LCSW Program Manager | Early Impact Virginia PAT National Trainer Christine Camper Parents As Teachers Training & TA Specialist Families Forward Virginia PAT National Trainer Jolee Crawford, RN CHIP of the New River Valley