Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Author: Aldo Santin HELP AVAILABLE FOR PARENTS WITH ADDICTIONS HELPING troubled parents recognize the signals their children are giving them and to give them the help they need is the theme of a two-day workshop that's attracted more than 300 professionals from across the province. Organized by the Attachment Network, the workshop at the Holiday Inn Airport West has attracted teachers, counsellors, therapists, psychiatric nurses, welfare workers and other health care practitioners. The workshop is designed to help professionals show parents with backgrounds in addictions and violence how to become parents, said Yvette Preston, chairman of the Attachment Network. "These parents don't have a history of being or being in contact with warm, caring and supportive parents," Preston said. "The workshop will help the professionals recognize that people with this kind of history will have a harder time to understand what the child needs." The workshop began Thursday and concludes this afternoon. Preston said the workshop has brought in two of the preeminent specialists in the field, Dr. Neil Boris, of Tulane University, and Dr. Bob Marvin, of the University of Virginia. Boris's research focus has been on the social and emotional development of high-risk children. Marvin's work has led him to focus increasingly on clinical issues, including assessment and intervention with families experiencing divorce and with foster and adopted children. Preston, who is the attachment services co-ordinator at the Aulneau Renewal Centre, said many troubled parents have good intentions and don't want to harm their children but they often fail to understand what problems their children are having and how to properly respond to those situations. Preston said professionals strive to establish a home environment where a child feels comfortable exploring their world but also knows that when they are having problem they can be re-assured and comforted by their parents. Situations that lead to children being placed into care is often the result of parents not knowing what's happening with their children or not properly responding, Preston said, adding that Boris and Marvin will show the participating professionals techniques that they can use to help parents recognize when their children are in trouble and how best to help them. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek