Empowering Resilience within the Family: Building the Parent-Child Relationship

This is a 1.5 hour session.

Although the causes and perpetuation of health disparities involve multiple, systemic factors, the struggle to achieve health equity is a social justice battle that we can fight, not only at the system level, but through work with individual families. Consistent with the conference theme, “Social Work and Human Rights: Empowering Resiliency,” this presentation will provide attendees with a micro-level approach to supporting human rights by reaching out to marginalized families with specific, evidence-based strategies to reduce health risks and bolster resilience. Attendees will learn about the potential of healthy parenting to serve as a buffer against adversity for children and about the link between children’s screen use (e.g., television, video games, mobile phones) and health risks such as obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. Strategies will be offered that reduce problematic screen use in young children, increase positive health behaviors, and build upon the buffering potential of the parent-child relationship.

Presented by:

Dr. Sarah E. Domoff is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Family Health Lab at Central Michigan University. Broadly, Dr. Domoff’s research program seeks to promote the health and well-being of diverse, underserved children and families, with a specific focus on childhood obesity prevention and healthy media use. Dr. Domoff conducts studies using observational methodology, mixed-methods, and novel audio-recording technology to understand the potential impact of new media use on young children’s health and development.

Dr. Ciera E. Schoonover is a postdoctoral fellow in clinical psychology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody. She has Master’s degrees in social work and public health and is a certified PCIT therapist. Dr. Schoonover provides consultation to social workers regarding difficult child welfare cases. Her program focus is the reduction of negative outcomes for young children involved in the child welfare system. Dr. Schoonover has published on foster parent training, parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), and mechanisms of change associated with successful training of parenting skills and clinicians in PCIT.

Dr. Larissa N. Niec is the Director of the Center for Children, Families, and Communities and a Professor of Psychology at Central Michigan University. She is a PCIT Master Trainer and has collaborated with and provided training for social workers nationally and internationally for over twenty years. The overarching goal of Dr. Niec’s work is to reduce mental health disparities for young children from historically underserved backgrounds. Dr. Niec publishes frequently on the parent-child relationship, parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), and barriers to successful clinician training. Her most recent book Handbook of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Innovations & Applications for Research and Practice was released by Springer Nature

1.5 CEU's

NASW Member- $30
Non-Member- $45