ABSTRACT
This chapter describes parenting training groups that people have offered alongside other clinical work to families referred to the specialist Fostering, Adoption and Kinship Care team at the Tavistock Clinic. Many of the families people work with come to people in a state of exhaustion and despair. Some of their struggles are undoubtedly shared by parents in more ordinary circumstances. The Incredible Years training programme was developed in the United States by Carolyn Webster-Stratton. It uses group discussion, videotape clips, modelling, and role-play rehearsal to help parents and carers with children aged 2 to 10 years. The groups of about six included a mix of parents and carers from white/UK and black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The parents' commentary throughout the groups showed that this had been an experience that had allowed them to grow and develop. Talking to teachers and supporting children's learning is an important feature of the programme, and some contact with school would have been helpful.
