Conference is designated to psychologists, therapists, teachers, social workers, organisations that accompany foster families and other experts that work with children and their families in the context of substitute family care.
The plenary sessions and the workshops in the course of the conference will cover important expert topics, in particular in the areas of diagnostics, therapy and upbringing of a child with trauma in substitute family care. I believe, that during those two days we will also find a time and a space for informal friendly debates on those topics, that we were not able to incorporate into the formal part of the programme, although we experience them in our daily lives as we continue to help children at risk and their substitute families.
We look forward to meeting you at the conference.
For the Association of Foster Families
Daily schedule to download. The conference is moderated by Mgr. Jarmila Balážová.
Conference moderator
special pedagogue, specialist at the J&T Foundation
She studied special pedagogy at Charles University, works as a specialist at the J&T Foundation, where she is in charge of Initiative 8000 reasons. In his publishing activities he focuses mainly on the issue of parenting people with disabilities. She is the author of professional articles in both Czech and foreign scientific journals and is also a co-author of the publication „Women with mental disabilities in the role of mothers“.
Contribution: Initiative 8000reasons
Psychologist and psychotherapist
She works in a private institute ALMA Centrum for Healthy Development in Bratislava. She has completed a long term training in psychodynamic therapy, training in psychotherapy of children and adolescent relationships (MUDr. Petr Poethe), training in playtherapy. Also, she is a holder of European certificate „EMDR Child Therapist“. Within the scope of her practice she also works with children in substitute family care.
Home: Mgr. Jana Ashford – ALMA Centrum
Contribution: Using EMDR to deal with trauma in children
Special needs educationalist, therapist, supervisor and lecturer
She specialises in work with children of substitute care families, children with attachment issues and children with complex trauma. For 14 years she was working as a special needs educationalist in school environment. At that time she was fully commited to counselling and working with substitute care children and educationally challenged children. Together with her colleague she founded in Slovakia The Institute of Family Therapy and Relations Therapy five years ago. They focus on educating experts in the field of play therapy and family therapy directed at attachment.
Home – Inštitút Rodinnej Terapie (rodinnaterapia.sk)
Contribution: How to be able to help the children with traumatic past in a school environment.
Psychologist, psychotherapist, crisis intervention specialist, director of the Center for Trauma Pedagogy
Psychologist, psychotherapist, crisis intervention worker, training lecturer, expert in the field of working with family and alternative forms of substitute care for endangered children. She has worked in the field of social and legal child protection since 2003. Since 2016 she has worked for the Children social rehabilitation centre The Sunshine (Ukraine), she is also director of the Center of pedagogics of trauma. In the centre she ensures facilitation of the team of carers, leading the trainings, consultations, individual as well as group supervisions of experts and foster parents. She is a co-author of practical manual „Pedagogics of trauma“. When working with children as well as adults, she utilises approaches such as problem solving oriented therapies, psychotraumatology, pedagogics of trauma, short term psychodynamic therapies and integrative psychotherapy.
Topic of contribution (shared with Mark Wnuk): Ark is not enough: communities that heal
Children with trauma who were subject to mental and physical abuse, neglect, children with early developemental trauma require a special attention. When relocated to institution or a foster family, they need to be given not only secure environement and comfort, but it is neseccary to adhere to a number of principles when dealing with them – the so called trauma – pedagogical approach. Taking into account that the stressors triggering trauma happen to occur mostly in everyday life situations it is crucial that the therapeutic and healing changes take place in the same common environment.
In this contribution we will concentrate on the consequences of traumatisation of children and on their specific needs.
Based on the experience of small educational institutions and foster families we will point out the most important principles of creating community for a child with great therapeutic potential.
Topic of the workshop: How to assist foster parents to bring up a child with trauma
Foster parents undertake a complicated task to bring up children traumatised in close relationships, to create a secure and healing environment for them a to continually develop their skills. To fulfill this task they undoubtedly need help and support of social workers, psychologists, therapists, teachers and other experts.
In the course of the workshop we will offer the participants:
Lecturer, methodology specialist in short term foster care
She works for the association Dobrá rodina (Good family) as a methodology specialist in short term foster care. In the nineties she (together with her husband) were helping children leaving children homes or dysfunctional families to start independent life. As for short term care her family has cared for 18 babies. She is also caring for two adopted children. Originally she has worked as a rehabilitation nurse, in the 2014 she complemented her education with social and legal child protection. In 2018 she obtained Harvard University certificates in two online courses – Early Childhood Development and Fundamentals of Neurobiology. In the 2020 she completed course to become a family mediator. Together with her husband they are developing a project of family redesign. In its framework they help parents to set up a family time management, personal boundaries, partner communication, division of competencies, delegation of responsibilities to children, etc.
Topic of contribution: Family in the center: Enhancing intrinsic resources of a substitute family
Each substitute family has to have sufficient resources, material as well as those of physical and mental assistance, so that burn out of substitute parents is prevented. Coping with arrival of a new child, behavioral specifics of the children in substitute family care, changes related to pubescence and adolescence, relationship crisis or death in a family bring to substitute families a significant burden in the context of society development. To prevent family breakdown, it is necessary to set up a responsive and conscious family redesign, so that everybody can feel safe and happy there. Lets have a look how to handle it. .
Clinical psychologist, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, Palacký University Olomouc
In the long term she specialises in the field of trauma and attachment, she is a holder of the EASE Certificate (certificate in Somatic Experiencing method). Currently she works for the Palacký University, the Department of Psychology, as an expert assistant in the field of clinical psychology. She is a co-author of many expert publications, such as Trauma in children, Child traumatized in close relationships, Emotionally hurt child and intervention options, Crisis situations in upbringing and education.
Home: PhDr. Leona Jochmannová, Ph.D. (Němcová) – Klinický psycholog (wz.cz)
Contribution: Specific questions of childhood trauma – clasification, symptoms, therapy
Education trainer, researcher, supervisor
She has long been involved in research, publishing and teaching activities in the field of child sexual abuse (CSA) and domestic violence. She lectures on these challenging topics to helping professionals, for whom it is important not only to better understand these socio-pathological phenomena, but also to reveal how they can be potentially secondarily traumatized by them. She also works as an external expert in several national projects and as a certified supervisor in the field of social protection of children. Her more detailed professional profile is available at http://www.sexualne-zneuzivanie.sk/
Contribution: Secondary trauma of helping professionals
Annotation: In this contribution we will lay out different ways to demonstrate how experts in helping professions may be indirectly exposed to traumatic triggers. We will present you with a spectrum of various possible symptoms and long – term effects of secondary traumatisation. We will point out desirable preventive measures to be taken by individuals as well as organisations.
Psychiatrist, psychotherapist and research worker
Natália Kaščáková is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist with private practice, where she mostly works with adult clients suffering from depresive, anxious and psychosomatic problems and problems with relationships. Since 2015 she has been doing research in the Institute of social health at the Palackého University in Olomouc, where she has been working as expert assistant since 2021. In her research she concentrates mainly on exploring the connection between traumatisation – early one as well as later in life and on attachment, resilience and health. She is author of the book Defence mechanisms from the point of psychoanalytical, ethological and evolutionary – biological aspect. She has got a husband and they have got two sons together.
Topic of contribution: Childhood trauma – how it influences ability to form adult relationships and health
Annotation:
Clinical practice and researches show consistently the connection between childhood traumatisation and worsened health in adulthood. In this contribution we point out the connention between childhood traumatisation and relationship and behavioral patterns and health in adulthood based on representative sample of adult inhabitants of the Czech Republic (n=1800, average age 46,4, 48,7% of men). Within the whole sample 8 (0,4 %) respondents mention they were adopted when they were children. Out of these 8 responents 1 shows no sign of childhood traumatisation, 3 show one type of tramatisation, 3 show four types and 1 shows all five types of traumatisation. There was a serious emotional and physical abuse and neglect with 5 out of 8, one suffered sexual abuse and 4 emotional neglect. Out of 8 respondents – adoptees 6 suffered from enhanced relationship anxiety, 1 from enhanced relationship avoidance and 1 had secure attachment. With 7 out of 8 there was some chronic illness – e.g. asthma, eczema, migraines, back pains, thyreoid gland malfunction, ulcers, anxiety and depression. With 4 respondents more than 3 ilnesses occured. Half of the respondents were smokers with problems. The extent of the traumatic issues and insecure attachment represent challenge for creating preventive programmes and therapeutic approaches in the clinical practice.
Psychotherapist, Director of the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Trinity College Dublin/Ireland
Ladislav Timulak, PhD is Course Director of the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. In addition, Ladislav (or short Laco; read Latso) is involved in various psychotherapy trainings in Ireland and internationally. Laco is both an academic and practitioner. His main research interest is psychotherapy research, particularly the development of emotion-focused therapy. He currently is developing this form of therapy as a transdiagnostic treatment for depression, anxiety and related disorders. He has written or co-written seven books, over 90 peer reviewed papers and various chapters in both his native language, Slovak and in English. His most recent books include Transforming Emotional Pain in Psychotherapy: An Emotion-Focused Approach (Routledge, 2015), Transforming Generalized Anxiety: An Emotion-Focused Approach (Routledge, 2017) and co-authorship of Essentials of Descriptive-Interpretive Qualitative Research (American Psychological Association, 2021). He serves on various editorial boards and in the past co-edited Counselling Psychology Quarterly. He maintains a part-time private practice.
Contribution: Working with Trauma in Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Music Therapist
Dr Vivien Norris, DClinPsy, DipMusicTh is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Music Therapist. She is also a Certified Theraplay® and DDP Practitioner, supervisor and trainer. Vivien has worked as a Clinical Psychologist within the NHS in the UK for over twenty years and is now Clinical Director of The Family Place www.thefamilyplace.co.uk, an independent organisation providing flexible therapeutic interventions for families.
Vivien is co-author of ‘Parenting with Theraplay’ (2018) and ‘Theraplay: A Practical Guide for Practitioners’ (2020). She is author of By Your Side (2019) which focuses specifically on the transition from fostering to adoption. This resource includes training, a children’s book and foster carer, adopter and practitioner guides. Vivien can be contacted at vivien@thefamilyplace.co.uk
Workshop: How to creatively support a foster family system
The workshop will focus on creative therapeutic approaches for supporting foster care families. A brief theoretical framework will be presented to illustrate the central importance of the foster carer in the well-being of the child. Practical therapeutic approaches will be explored which help deepen this core relationship and help placement stability – based on the use of Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). Some brief video examples will be shared and we will play some activities remotely together.
Education trainer, author and coauthor of methodologies and training programs
Polish education trainer, author and coauthor of methodologies, organizational schemes and training programs for foster carers, social workers, care-givers and case-workers. Provided trainings and consultations in Poland, Georgia, Lithuania and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Author of several textbooks in the field of child and family support. Participated in numerous deinstitutionalization programs both on local and national levels.
The title of the presentation: Strengthening attachment abilities in children with insecure attachment patterns placed in institutional vs. family foster care
The presentation will focus on the strengths and needs of different foster care environments in the context of rebuilding secure and stable attachments. What conditions should be fulfilled by foster families or by care-givers in care institutions to ensure the reintegration of the child with the family, or, if this is not possible, the provision of stable attachment in an alternative family environment? What competencies of foster carers or care-givers are needed in order to satisfy a child’s need of building an individual and positive relationship? What should happen so that efforts of a biological family and a foster family or a caregivers are reconciled and focused on the well-being of the child? How to avoid further child’s emotional deprivation and trauma in the foster care environment? These and other important questions will be posed during the 30-minutes presentation.
Psychiatrist and psychotherapist
Psychiatrist and psychotherapist of children and teenagers, who focuses on psychoanalysis, he also co-founded Helpline in 1995. For the past 21 years he has been working for his private practice in Prague. He also gives lectures for expert as well as inexpert public, he founded Institute for child and parent psychotherapy and within its framework he organises and leads trainings in child psychotherapy in the Czech as well as Slovak Republic. He writes articles including expert ones on emotional traumatization and child protection. He has also had four books published. In 2020 it was the Power of unspoken and the 3. edition of the Emotional disorders in childhood and adolescence. He also gets involved in humanitarian aid (refugees, excluded minorities).
Home: MUDr. PETER PÖTHE | PSYCHIATR A PSYCHOTERAPEUT (dr-pothe.com)
Contribution: Relationship as a trauma
Therapist, consultant and supervisor, director of Child Trauma Intervention Services
Richard is the Director of Child Trauma Intervention Services Ltd (CTIS) which seeks to engage with children affected by early life trauma and to help them achieve their full potential. Richard undertakes consultancy and training on Life Story Therapy and working with ‘hard to reach’ children and adolescents and develops academic training programmes in the UK and internationally.
Throughout his career, Richard has worked with children and their families in out of home care and within birth family placements, with the aim of enabling these placements to become healthy and nurturing.
Richard is the author of The Child’s Own Story – Life Story Work with Traumatised Children (2004); Life Story Therapy with Traumatised Children – A Model for Practice (2012) and Innovative Therapeutic Life Story Work (2017).
Home – Therapeutic Life Story Work International (TLSWi)
Contribution: Making Sense of Fragmented Lives – helping children and young people to understand their past, make sense of their present and move confidently to their future.
Workshops:
Psychologist focusing on psychology of emergency situations and crisis management
He represents the Czech Republic in the Permanent Committee for Psychology of crisis, disaster and trauma (EFPA). He works for the Ministry of Interior, the Psychological Department. He also gives lectures at The Charles University in Prague. For the past 12 years he has worked as a judicial expert – psychologist. He is experienced in investigating children in the course of custody disputes and also children who are victim to serious crimes.
Home: Kontakty – Psychologie pro krize
Contribution: Trauma and recovery of a child – a view of judicial expert
Theologian, pedagogue, lecturer and advisor of the Center for Trauma Pedagogy/Ukraine
Theologist, certified trauma pedagogue of the German Institute of psychotraumatologists (Deutschsprachige Gesellschaft für Psychotraumatologie). Instructor of experiential pedagogy and pioneer of pedagogy of trauma in Ukraine. Founder and head of the children rehabilitation center Sunshine in Ukraine. He has been working with traumatised children for more than 16 years. Since 2004 he has been organising workshops and training for pedagogues, teachers and foster parents in Switzerland, Poland, Moldavia, Ukraine and Belarussia.
Topic of the workshop: Experiential pedagogy as a form of therapy when working with endangered children
In the course of this workshop participants will be presented with the most important principles of everyday pedagogical and therapeutical work in small centres for children and foster families. Based on long term work with children with trauma, the developmental trauma in particular, we will discuss issues of subjective feeling of safety of the child, activation of attachment, feeling of competency. We are also going to introduce concept of experiential pedagogy and its practical use related to work with traumatised children.
