2016 Georgia Home Visiting Institute

Making Every Connection Count 

THE HOME VISITING INSTITUTE IS CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY.  PLEASE EMAIL MICHELLE LANIER AT MLANIER@UGA.EDU  TO BE ADDED TO OUR WAITING LIST.   PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR TOP THREE WORKSHOP TRACK SELECTIONS IN YOUR EMAIL(SEE OPTIONS BELOW). 

THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!

Please join us for a special day designed specifically for home visitors, to provide opportunities to learn, grow, practice and develop skills. Home visitors from all over Georgia will network together as they enhance their abilities to serve parents and children.   

 Attendees may choose one of the following day-long workshop tracks:

Improving Communication and Relationships with Families Facing Poverty

Donna Beegle, Ed.D., President, Communication Across Barriers

Dr. Donna Beegle will follow up on her plenary presentation with an interactive workshop that will offer participants concrete tools for building stronger relationships and communicating more effectively with families who live in the crisis of poverty. In the morning, Dr. Beegle will put new ideas and understanding into action with families by explaining her unique background. Dr. Beegle grew up not knowing the words that her teachers would use. She not only did not know the words, but did not understand the examples that were provided to explain the words. She said, “ain't” and did not know when to say, “gone” or “went,” or “seen” or “saw.” She knew she communicated differently, but it was not until she studied communication and social class and learned about the differences in communication across social class, that she realized she needed a second language. In the afternoon, Dr. Beegle will provide activities to allow participants to practice more effective communication strategies with families in crisis. After this workshop, you will: 1) understand the many different types of poverty and how to best reach and assist people from generational, working class, immigrant and situational poverty experiences;  2) self-reflect on attitudes and beliefs about poverty and those who live in it;  3) motivate and provide meaningful incentives to assist people in stepping outside their comfort zones; and 4) communicate in ways that remove shame, rebuild hope and create a shared way for moving forward to overcome poverty obstacles. 

Strengthening Connections with Mothers with Depression

Darius Tandon, Ph.D., Associate Director, Center for Community Health, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Dr. Darius Tandon uses the Mothers and Babies intervention to support mothers struggling with depression and has adapted it specifically for use within home visiting. This workshop will focus on how home visitors can support mothers with depressive symptoms using tools designed for the Mothers and Babies intervention, a program that promotes healthy mood management and maternal self-efficacy by teaching participants how to effectively respond to stress in their lives through increasing the frequency of thoughts and behaviors that lead to positive mood states.  In the morning, participants will discuss maternal depression definitions, symptoms, and consequences for both mother and child. Dr. Tandon will focus on depression screening tools and their usage before moving into strategies for supporting mothers struggling with depression.  The afternoon workshop will be devoted to practicing the discussions and activities that are part of the Mothers and Babies curriculum.   After participation in this workshop, you will: 1) have more confidence in your understanding of maternal depression and how to recognize it;  2) be ready to implement some strategies for working with moms who may be depressed; and 3) understand creative ways to support mothers in seeking professional help in addressing their depression.    

Self-Care: How to Thrive, Not Just Survive, as a Home Visitor

Josh Spitalnick, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Josh Spitalnick is a Clinical Psychologist with a private practice in Dunwoody, GA, specializing in anxiety, depression, and stress reduction.  This workshop will start by addressing the various factors that can potentially result in burn-out for home visitors.   Next, there will be an exploration of the warning signs of burnout, e.g., ambivalence,  fatigue, irritability, which will be followed by a discussion of the positive actions, e.g., self-care,  supervision, limit setting, effective  communication that  are essential to staying physically and emotionally healthy. During the afternoon workshop, participants will practice simple self-assessment and self-care activities that offer the necessary insight, resilience, and empowerment that can shift a Home Visitor’s mindset from surviving to thriving.  After participating in this workshop, you will: 1) breathe easier -- knowing that you aren’t alone in feeling overwhelmed at times; 2) understand that self-care is as important to being an effective home visitor as any of the other home visiting competencies; 3) know how to recognize signs of burnout before they get the best of you; and 4) and how to bring some self-care into your life so that you can bring your best self into the important work of home visiting.

Strengthening Connections with Fathers in Home Visiting

Shannon Self-Brown, Ph.D., Professor, School of Public Health, Georgia State University

Dr. Self-Brown focuses her research on developing strategies to increase engaging fathers in home visiting and keeping them engaged with their children. In the morning, Dr. Self-Brown and her three co-presenters (one of whom is a father and a former home visitor) will engage in an open and interactive dialogue about what it means to not only “identify” fathers but how to engage and involve them in a partnership by helping them firmly establish relationships with their children.  In the afternoon, Dr.  Self-Brown will share strategies for getting fathers involved in home visiting and keeping them engaged and allowing participants to practice strategies to allow home visitors to engage and empower fathers in their children’s growth and development.  Dr Self-Brown will introduce elements from DAD2K, a curriculum with video- based instruction focused specifically on working with at-risk fathers, to allow participants to explore how they think about the role that fathers play in their children’s lives. After participating in this workshop, you will: (1) be ready to engage the “ambivalent” father, who seems interested but non-committal, (2) be ready to engage the resistant father who thinks home visiting is “mom stuff”; and 3) feel enthusiastic about how the power of home visiting can be strengthened through the participation of fathers.

Reaching and Teaching: Establishing Relationships with Teen Parents

Molly Casey, Administrator, Teen Parent Connection

Molly Casey oversees the Teen Parent Connection, the system of care serving teen parents who are in state custody throughout the state of Georgia.  In this workshop, you will learn about what is needed to develop trust and rapport with teen parents.  The morning session will cover the emerging research on the teenage brain and implications for parenting as well as practical strategies for connecting and supporting a teen’s relationship with her child. In addition, Molly will debunk many myths about teens, their decision making skills, maturity levels and other stereotypes typically applied to them.  The afternoon session will allow practice of “life coaching” strategies with teen parents which has been identified as a positive, strength-based strategy for working with teens.   After this workshop, you will: 1) look forward to your next home visit with a teen mom; 2) learn about teen behavior and developing the trust which leads to a working relationship with the young parent and child; 3) understand the value of short term goals and remembering that teens are children themselves; and 4) understand ways to engage teens that bring out the best in you and the best in them.

Motivational Interviewing: Skills to Support Behavior Change

Ellen Augspurger, Acting Director, Ohio Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment Project

Ellen Augspurger is an expert trainer in motivational interviewing, an approach to communication that facilitates positive change.  The morning workshop will cover the basic philosophy and ideas of Motivational Interviewing, namely that people are able to find solutions themselves if approached with respect and positive regard and that everyone has the capacity to make healthy changes.  In the afternoon, participants will practice motivational interviewing via a series of role plays and add strategies to their toolkit in their efforts to engage families.   After this workshop, you will: 1) understand the “buzz” about motivational interviewing and why it is seen as an essential in home visiting; and 2) be ready to put the philosophy and skills of motivational interviewing in home visiting as you develop long-term relationships with families.