The Parenting Identity Development Model: A Framework for Counseling Parents

In the field of psychology, there are many theoretical models for how children develop into adults and how adults develop later in life. Unfortunately, there is not a structured model for what happens to individuals entering one of the most significant and long-term phases of life: parenthood. Just as clinicians are guided by models that help them understand children and adults as they develop, they can also benefit from a framework for how parenting identity develops during the child-rearing process.

In this two-hour continuing education web conference, licensed clinical social worker and parenting coach, Mercedes Samudio, will introduce the Parenting Identity Development Model to help guide clinicians and parents through change in therapy. Mercedes created this model using existing evidence-based developmental research and proven therapeutic techniques. She will discuss the role a parent plays in a family’s ability to change and what therapists can do to help them successfully maintain those changes. She will cover strategies to bypass parental resistance and develop a therapeutic alliance that will help empower parents and heal families.

Mercedes based the framework for the Parenting Identity Development Model on the work of experts such as Ellen Galinsky, Erik Erikson, and Daniel Levinson, as well as recent research about the impact of trauma and biology on personal identity. She will discuss the stages of parenting identity and their key tasks that contribute to a parent developing a healthier parenting identity. Mercedes will share case examples and will also demonstrate coaching strategies clinicians can use to engage parents and convey the importance of healthy identity development on the overall health of the family.

This introductory instructional level web conference is designed to help clinicians:

1. Summarize the parenting identity development model.
2. Explain the process of parental identity development.
3. List stages in the model and the tasks needed to move into the next stage successfully.
4. Describe specific strategies for using this model in therapy.
5. Recognize barriers, including parental defense mechanisms, that may interfere with parental development.

If you have any questions or concerns about this web conference, or would like more information, please contact us here.

References:

1. Erikson, E., & Erikson, J. (1998). The life cycle completed. New Yorkn New York: W.W. Norton.
2. Galinsky, E. (1989). The six stages of parenthood. Reading Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
3. Levinson, D. (1986). A conception of adult development. American Psychologist, 41(1), 3-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.41.1.3
4. Nakazawa, D. (2016). Childhood disrupted. New York, New York: Atria Books.
5. Van der Kolk, B. (2015). The body keeps the score. New York, New York: Penguin Book.

Continuing Education (CE) Information

Two CE contact hours will be provided by GoodTherapy.org for attending this web conference in its entirety. 

GoodTherapy.org is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements.

GoodTherapy.org is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

GoodTherapy.org, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0395.

GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0022 and for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0031.

To receive CE credit hours for an archived event, you will need to complete a survey as well as a 12 or 15-question exam, verifying that you listened to or watched the event in its entirety. Archived CE events generally are considered "homestudy" by licensing boards.

Registration Information

Premium and Pro Membership with GoodTherapy includes access to this web conference at no additional cost, as well as other member benefits such as a profile listing in GoodTherapy's Therapist Directory. Not yet a member? Sign up for a Premium or Pro Membership, here.

Just want CE credits? Sign up for a monthly or annual CE Subscription with GoodTherapy to get unlimited access to our CE Program, including this event, other live CE web conferences, and hundreds of hours of homestudy courses.

Mental health professionals who are not members can access the homestudy recording for $15.50. Sign up here to purchase this CE course and earn a CE certificate.

If the event is canceled by GoodTherapy, registrants who purchased the event will be notified and the charge for the event will be refunded

If you have any questions or would like information regarding disability accommodations, please contact us.

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