Assisting Families Through Life Transitions

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Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LMHC Executive Director, AllCEUs.com Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox and Case Management Toolbox Flower Empower • A comprehensive approach • The core of the flower is the clinician-family partnership • Assess need • Sustain a caring environment • Educate • Identify and link to resources • The stem symbolizes advocacy activities • The leaves symbolize vision, values and principles • The roots feed the flower (partnership): • Responsibility and accountability • Recognition of the value of the partnership • Respect uniqueness • Resource identification for emerging needs • Results monitoring Clinician - Family Partnership • Recognize family assessment of the situation as essential • Respect the important role of family • Determine the desired degree of family involvement • Negotiate the roles of clinician and family within the partnership • Listen • Engage in participatory dialog • Recognize patterns • Highlight family strengths Assessment • Within the context of the family • Identify if assistance is required to strengthen the family • Information • Family structure and composition • Culture • Power and Role Structures • Communication • Access to Resources • Environmental characteristics • Family strengths • Family supports • Family perception of events • Degree of involvement desired by family

Sample Questions • Who would you like us to share information with and who not? • How can we be most helpful to you and your family or friends during this transition? (Clarifies expectations, increased collaboration) • What has been most/least helpful to you in past times of crisis? (Identifies past strengths, problems to avoid and successes to repeat) • What is the greatest challenge facing your family right now? (Indicates actual/potential suffering, roles, and beliefs) • What do you need to best prepare you/your family member for dealing with this issue?(Assists with early discharge planning) • Who do you believe is suffering the most in your family at this time? (Identifies which family member requires the greatest support and intervention) • What is the one question you would most like to have answered right now? (Explores the most pressing issue or concern) • How have I been most helpful to you? How could I improve? (Demonstrates a willingness to learn and work collaboratively)

Support • Sources of Resources and Support • Intrafamilial (within) • Extrafamilial (outside) such as community services, training programs • Interfamilial (between) like support groups Values and Principles • Recognize personal assumptions and values about families and cultural beliefs and to adjust their care accordingly. • Families are unique, diverse, and change over time • Families in transition can make informed decisions • Families have expert knowledge and skills that help them determine their own needs and respond to expected and unexpected life events. • Partnerships with families are built upon mutual trust, honesty, and collaboration • Partnerships support and strengthen families • Families should be supported in their choices • Family members and the client may have different and conflicting needs Outreach • Target groups • Clinicians • Families • Policymakers • The public • Provide pre-emptive information to assist families in managing expected or unexpected life events Workplace environment • Ensure staff is oriented to family-centered care • Ensure clinicians can effectively access resources • Provide ongoing opportunities for professional development Implementation • Ensure appropriate staffing levels and placement • Implement family-centered practices and policies • Create work environment conducive to promoting family involvement • Develop employee assistance programs promoting family health • Ensure policies promote work-life balance Advocacy • Lobbying • Family care giving • Public education about the legitimacy of family caregivers • Consistency in funding for respite care and research • Mechanisms within organizations for family Question to Ponder • Think of your collective experience from supporting families during life transitions. • If you could change one aspect of the care and support they received, what would it be? • What would you make different for them?

Implementation • Assessment of organizational readiness • Involvement of direct and indirect members • Dedication • Ongoing opportunities for collaboration • Opportunities for personal reflection Summary • The Flower Empower model provides a simple but comprehensive framework for developing a working partnership.