IOTI - Positive Behavioral Supports for Families; From Hope to Recovery

Project Details

Project Context:
Recognizing that when one family member has a disability, the whole family is directly impacted, peer and sibling relationships play a significant part in a child's social and emotional development.

Project Focus:
The From Hope to Recovery training is a joint project between Allies with Families in collaboration with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Utah and the Sibling Support project to provide an 8-week training course for parents, caregivers and siblings of children with serious mental health illness.

The objectives of this training are:
1.) To provide family members a better understanding of how the brain works and what is thought to be the causes of mental health challenges.
2.) To teach parents how to face the challenges of having a child with mental health needs.
3.) To help parents better understand what their child is experiencing and to learn how to better deal with him/her.
4.) To help parents learn how to better support their child in school.

Products/Services:
Parents and caregivers will receive training on the following topics:
1. Peer support and education through structured curriculum and informal interaction.
2. Effective communication skills through guided practice in empathy.
3. Direct listening and reflective listening activities.
4. Advocacy and management skills which allow them to communicate and negotiate effectively with mental health professionals and other service providers.

Sibshops offer support and help to siblings in understanding their sibling's disability, increasing positive family interaction, and promoting emotional well-being. Sibshops provide siblings opportunities to:
1. Meet other siblings in a relaxed recreational setting,
2. Discuss common joys and concerns with other siblings in a supportive environment,
3. Learn how others handle situations commonly experienced by siblings of children with serious mental illness,
4. Learn more about the implications of their sibling's special needs,
5. Learn more about the concerns and opportunities frequently experienced by siblings of children with serious mental illness.

The From Hope to Recovery training will provide both parents, caregivers, and siblings with the advocacy skills needed to advocate for themselves and for the child with a serious mental illness. These skills will be strengthened through direct instruction, modeling, guided practice and discussions of practical use.