Building Resilience in Children of Mothers Who Have Co-occurring Disorders and Histories of Violence

Abstract

Historically, children of parents with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders and histories of violence/trauma have been overlooked in behavioral health treatment systems. The Women, Co-occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS) was a 5-year initiative funded by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that included a Children's Study that explored the treatment needs of children of women with these multiple disorders. This article describes the development of the Children's Study intervention that included clinical assessment, group intervention, and resource coordination/advocacy for children aged 5-10 to build resilience through increasing coping skills, improving interpersonal relationships, and helping coalesce positive identity and self-esteem. Innovative procedures, including the participation of consumer/survivor/recovering women and mothers, in the planning, implementation, and administrative applications of this intervention and study are also highlighted. It is recommended that programs begin to implement family-focused integrated treatment approaches that can potentially increase protective factors for children affected by parental mental illness, substance abuse, and violence.

Annual Research Review: Resilience and child well‐being – public policy implications

“…The evidence offered in support of the initiatives described in these papers is, for example, significantly weaker than that presented in the Vetter et al. (2010) and Finkelstein et al. (2005) studies.…”

“…In summarizing intervention across a range of contexts and institutions the studies of Finkelstein et al. (2005) and Grigorenko et al.…”

“…(2007) more clearly represent ‘proof of concept’ of a policy initiative. Finkelstein et al. (2005) evaluated the impact of a family‐focused integrated treatment approach with over one hundred at‐risk families across four sites in the USA.…”

Shelter from the Storm: Trauma-Informed Care in Homelessness Services Settings~!2009-08-20~!2009-09-28~!2010-03-22~!

“…One year later, children in the intervention group had more positive self-identity, increased tools for building healthy relationships, and improved safety. These changes were particularly striking for children who had witnessed violence [32,39].…”

Shelter from the Storm: Trauma-Informed Care in Homelessness Services Settings

“…A number of programs working to integrate trauma-informed services have also highlighted the importance of parallel services for children. In WCDVS, a subset of sites offered specialized children's programs, including assessment, groups, and resource coordination/advocacy for children to build coping skills, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and develop positive identity and self-esteem [32].…”