In many clinical settings, the work is organised around the child—while parents are seen briefly, or not at all. Funding structures and service models often reinforce this, even when the broader family system is clearly part of the picture.
As a result, clinicians are left trying to create change in the child without meaningfully engaging the context they are part of.
This course offers a different starting point.
It introduces a family systems–informed approach that supports you to engage parents as active participants in change—even within one or two sessions. The focus is not on doing more, but on working more thoughtfully with the system that already exists around the child.
How to engage parents as partners, rather than focusing solely on the child
How to shift conversations from symptoms to patterns and interactions
Practical ways to use one or two sessions to open meaningful change
How to reduce intensity and avoid over-functioning as a clinician
A clear framework for navigating common challenges in parent engagement
The course moves from theory into application, with opportunities to reflect throughout:
Clinicians and practitioners working with children, adolescents, and families—particularly where:
This course is a starting point.
It introduces the thinking that underpins our manualised clinical intervention (MCI)—a structured 6–8 session approach to working with parents over time.
For clinicians wanting to go further, this provides a foundation for progressing into Level 1 training.
Engaging parents in this way is not about adding another task. It is about shifting how you think about the work—so that even brief contact can support meaningful, lasting change.
