Programme IV=
span>
Improvement of the psychosocial help methods for children from fami=
lies
having alcohol-related problems
The following issues were covered un=
der
this programme:
A. Too low level of competence of the car=
ers
working with alcoholics’ children.
B. Low competence in terms of a methodolo=
gy
applied in socio-therapeutic work with alcoholics’ children from
different age groups.
C. Deficiency of professional help for
alcoholics’ children who stay in educational institutions.
D. Low availability of socio-therapeutic
centres for the children of alcoholics in different regions.
E. Lack of young leaders running self
assistance groups and not enough support coming from adults.
The activities conducted aimed at the
achievement of the following objectives:
A. Increasing competence of staff working
with alcoholics’ children in socio-therapeutic and educational
institutions.
B. Dissemination of latest methodologies
applied in socio-therapeutic work with alcoholics’ children.
C. Increasing competence of tutors workin=
g in
educational institutions, providing full assistance to alcoholics’
children.
D. Dissemination of work technologies app=
lied
when working with alcoholics children who stay in orphanages. =
span>
E. Increasing accessibility of
socio-therapeutic institutions for alcoholics’ children. <=
/span>
F. Developing network of support groups, =
like
Al-Ateen.
=
span>
1. Children coming from families having
alcohol-related problems.
There approximately=
1,5–2 billion children in Poland who are raised in fami=
lies
with alcohol-related problems. Almost 500 thousand of them find themselves =
in
dramatic conditions which threaten not only their health but often life. According to the paper published by Witold Skrzypczyk [Witold
Skrzypczyk- „Dzieci alkoholików – zdarzenia
traumatyczne.” Łódź 2000r=
.
(Alcoholics’ Children – traumatic events”)] such children experience various types of traumas: che=
ating,
unfair treatment, abandoning, they are overly criticised by their parents. =
Most
popular experiences are violence-related.
- two out of three described children witnessed violence, =
o:p>
- over half of them experiences direct physical, emotional or
intellectual violence,
- every sixth girl described her experience related to sexual abuse. <=
o:p>
In terms of their e=
motional
conditions, the most frequently mentioned were:
- shamed by=
a
parent (40%),
- sense of =
guilt
(23%),
- fear of a
parent (41%),
- loneliness
(57%),
- anger or hatred with a parent (80%).
Children raised in
alcoholic families have a constant low self-esteem and have no respect for =
themselves. This is demonstrated by self criticism,
depreciation of their own achievements and
self-destruction actions. Most of them have identity-related problems.
Based on research described above we could say that the most frequent
perpetrator of a traumatic experience is an alcohol-dependent parent. In ev=
ery
fifth case the perpetrator was another parent. This demonstrates a particul=
arly
difficult situation of a child who can’t count on understanding or
support of either of a parents. Therefore help n=
eeds
to come from outside.
Since 1999 PARPA has been running a development assistance programme for
alcoholics’ children, according to the following assumptions:
- a child lives in a family and such help should be integrated wi=
th
the assistance to the family as a whole;
- an assistance to a child should be planned and based on a diagn=
osis
of its needs and problems;
- an assistance to a child should cover all aspects of the
child’s life and should be long-term which means it should last =
as
long as the problems are not solved;
- the assistance objective should be to solve the child’s
problems instead of immediately satisfying child’s demands (e.g.
materialistic);
- the assistance should be individualised;
- people who provide such an assistance should be appropriately
qualified and skilled;
- the help should be a team planning effort and if possible ̵=
1;
should be supervised and subject to consultancy;
- the help should meet the standards adequate to the type of services
rendered (living conditions, number of children in a group, etc).
2. Development of the socio-therapeutic club rooms=
The socio-therapeut=
ic club
rooms play important role in the process of helping alcoholics’ child=
ren.
The updated act on upbringing in sobriety and counteracting alcoholism resu=
lted
in a dynamic development of such club rooms and socio-therapeutic groups.
According to reports incoming to the State Agency for Prevention of
Alcohol-related Problems, in 1997 there were 860 institutions like that and=
in
2002, the number increased to 3.390 and 4.117 of them were focused on
educational – upbringing programme and supporting the child’s
development through the development of his hobbies and through him actively
spending free time (data collected from 15 provinces). Local self-governmen=
ts
focused on the development of the system, which was only possible due to
financing allocated for the execution of the alcohol-related problems
prevention in gminas.
It has become of a particular importance to develop and disseminate working
standards of the institutions offering help to children and organise traini=
ng courses
which would improve competence of people working with children from families
having alcohol-related problems.
It often happens that people who work in club rooms for children from famil=
ies
with alcohol-related problems do not have appropriate qualifications and sk=
ills
and therefore are not at all prepared to do this job. Often they are regular
teachers or retired tutors. This is highly concerning.
In 2000-2000 the State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-related problems
ordered a research project to be conducted, in order to define characterist=
ics
of the population working with alcoholics’ children. The research was=
run
by the Research Institute of Health Psychology.
Vast majority of the respondents declared their emotion involvement towards=
the
problems of alcoholics’ children. There are a
number of staff at the club rooms who were involved in their parents
alcohol-related problems and home violence experience in their childhood. E=
very
fifth respondent (approx 20 %) admits their father had alcohol-related
problems, 3% was raised in the house where mother was alcohol-dependent, 13=
% of
respondents were victims of home violence, almost 23% witnessed violence at
home and every third parson was both: the witness and victim.
It is worth noting that respondents describe their charges in a very negati=
ve
way. They think the children have no aspiration and life ambitions, they are
impatient. In relationships with others they are closed, backing off,
concentrated on themselves, little altruistic and ready not only to help ot=
hers
but also to co-act. The respondents do not see their charges as those who n=
eed
more help than others. They think they are not ready to accept such help. T=
hey
also think children they work with are emotional and socially immature, ins=
ensitive,
egocentric and self-focused,. aggressive,
demanding, not clever, with no chance to pursue their ambitions and
aspirations. The psychological profile as perceived by those who are to ass=
ist
them in how to cope with day-to-day problems is very negative. This can ref=
lect
upon the quality of relation and nature of support they can get. It seems t=
hat
the programmes should have more contents which would allow them to get to k=
now,
learn and understand problems and need of children brought up in alcoholic =
families,
through various educational activities targeted for this particular group. =
- This is the role played by training / courses launched at the
initiative of the State Agency of Prevention of Alcohol-Related Proble=
ms.
They have been conducted since 1998 by ETOH Fundation. The objective of
the training is to prepare participants to a specific work with a child
and alcoholic family based on a socio-therapy.
- Over the period of five years, approx. 1 200 people participate=
d in
120-hours lecture – workshop classes.
- Based on the conclusions from the research programme, in 2002,
first edition of a 280-hours „Qualifi=
cation
training on socio-therapy and psycho-educational aid for alcoholic
families and other risk group children” was launched.
- Improving competence set of the club rooms<=
/span>
staff is a main focus of the annual conferences (6 conferences so far)
titled: „Psychological assistance to alcoholic families
children”. The objective of the conference is to exchange
experience, disseminate latest work methodologies, increase of compete=
nce
in the area of helping children and the related efforts intensificatio=
n.
Subjects of the lectures and workshops revolve around emotional trauma=
s of
an alcoholic family child and socio-therapeutic work directions. =
- There is a database of the socio-therapeutic and educational cl=
ub
rooms. Based on collected survey forms and having analysed the results=
we
have been able to develop reports and monitor the development quality =
of
the programmes for alcoholic families child=
ren.
- The improvement of methodology of providing psychosocial aid for
alcoholics’ children and development of latest technologies is d=
ealt
with by launching a project called “Rodzina
Misiow Parpusiakow” (Parpusiak Bears Family). 650 toy
bear sets (4 big bears – mummy, daddy and two children and big
pillow to help get rid of negative emotions) were distributed free of
charge to socio-therapeutic club rooms, where alcoholics’ childr=
en
attend. As a result of the project different scenarios of classes with=
the
use of the toys were elaborated. Based on the incoming materials, we a=
re
preparing a publication which promotes the above mentioned work
methodology.
- Another project that serves promotion of interesting technologi=
es
of working with alcoholics’ children is „Razem Razniej” (Toget=
her
Jauntfully) the objective of which is to exchange information about the
programmes conducted in the club rooms and selecting club rooms which =
are
leaders of a socio-therapeutic programme. Currently there are 200 such
institutions.
3. Children coming from families who have alcohol
– related problems, staying in care – educational centres.
Children coming from
families with alcohol – related problems staying in various
care-educational centres (such as orphanages, protective care departments,
educational centres etc. ) deserve special atten=
tion. Part of the pupils are natural orphans and semi-orphan=
s.
Vast majority are children are there as their parents either cannot or are
unable (or sometimes do not want to) to perform their parental duties. One =
of
many reasons for a family to stop perform its basic functions is alcoholism=
of
one or of both parents. It is estimated that almost 90% of children in the
population of educational-care centre pupils are alcoholics’ children=
.
Today there are 376 orphanages with 20 thousand children.
- In 2000 the State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Prob=
lems
started the project of improving methodology of psychosocial work for
children from alcoholic families staying in educational – care
centres. The
objective of the project is:
1. To increase the number of tutors and
carers who have been trained to provide psychological assistance to children
staying at orphanages and their families.
2. To work out psychological-educational =
work
methodology in total care centres.
3. To increase the number of institutions
that conduct implementation programmes for children staying at the educatio=
nal
– care centres and for their families.
4. To intensify co-operation between the
institutions and organisations who take care of the children and alcohol
families’ members (social care, health care, abstainers’ clubs,=
court superintendents).
First step aiming at the execution of the objective was to collect data abo=
ut
the existing educational – care institutions and to diagnose situatio=
n of
children from alcoholic families. Training classes for orphanages staff were
launched. A pilot programme in a selected institution was launched with the
objective to launch a psychological aid and implementation work programme
directed to the intervention and co-operating with the pupils’ family
homes, to help them return home. In 2003 we have prepared a training project
designated to the provincial consultants for orphanages, with the objective=
to
initiate and support the process of changing the rules for the orphanages
operation.
4. developing the netwo=
rk of
AL-Ateen support groups
- An important stream of working with children from alcoholic
families is setting up self-aid Al-Ateen groups. Due to lack of young
leaders to run the groups as well as not enough support from adults, a
project ordered by the State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related
Problems has been launched. Its objective is to develop Al-Ateen suppo=
rt
groups. Another important element of this programme is to collect
information about Al-Ateen groups, providing consulting services and
support to the group leaders and disseminating material they use in th=
eir
day to day work.
- An integral element of the self-aid youth g=
roups
development was to run training courses for the Al-Ateen leaders. Duri=
ng
summer holidays we have conducted a modified therapeutic programme bas=
ed
on the ideology of the Al-Ateen self-aid groups. There are approx. 50
young people in the age of 16-19 participating, each year. =
- Since 1998 Ogolnopolskie
Forum Liderow Mlodziezowych (Polish Young Leaders Forum) h=
as
been organised for the above programme participants. The classes focus=
on:
position of an alcoholic’s child in an environment, working on
further steps, methods of getting new members and keeping them, basic
theory about the support groups, the role of a leader in the aid group,
organising co-operation with adult professionals. In addition to the
educational nature of the conference, the participants emphasise its h=
uge
importance in overcoming the feeling of isolation and loneliness which
often features children living in alcoholic families. The meetings pro=
mote
openness, building trust for others, getting support and feeling of
security. Each year there are 100 people attending from the whole country.
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