This paper describes a group treatment approach to helping parents of youth with Disruptive Behaviour Disorders. These youth have a significant negative and pervasive impact on their parents, who feel incompetent and guilty. Parents are helped to express their grief at their many losses in a safe, supportive and non-blaming group environment. They gain insight into the factors that make it difficult for them to set limits and they begin to change themselves rather than "fix" their child. Parent's hope and confidence grow as positive change becomes evident. As their sense of shame, guilt and fear lessen, parents are able to act more effectively with their youth and others. This paper delineates the clinical factors that contribute to parental effectiveness.
All custody and access dispute cases referred to a court clinic during a one year period were examined to determine the extent of grandparental mvolvement and its impact, if any, on the recommendations made to the courts. Two-thirds of family law cases referred (67%) were found to have grandparental involvement. Grandparents were referred to in 77% of all court reports and mentioned specifically in the recommendations in 37% of these. Over one quarter (27%) of the clinicians stated that they would have made different recommendations had the grandparents not been involved. More than one-third of the parents and three-quarters of their children had actually lived in the grandparents' home during or after the parental separation. Grandparents may have an important role in actualizing the best interests of children involved in painful and disruptive disputes.
National statistics in the United States and Canada indicate that following marital separation the majority of parents settle for sole custody with the mother as custodian. Also, in the approximately 15% of separations in which custody is disputed, a majority of mothers are also awarded sole custody. A review of different views of the reasons for protracted custody disputes shows few authors systematically using data to support their views. A systematic comparison of custodial and noncustodial parents of both sexes showed no differences in their psychiatric histories, marital status and alleged reasons for marital separation. However, clinical recommendations referred more often to unusual circumstances when recommending sole custody to fathers than to mothers.
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