Team Members

• Nicole Rider, Program Manager
• Rosenny Fenton, Family Therapist
• Shawnta Wright, Family Therapist

What do we do?

The Parenting of Adolescents Program is an 8 to 30 week in-home family counseling program that helps parents to effectively set limits, develop and strengthen their relationship with their adolescent, and increase communication skills. The program also connects the family to other community resources that could be of assistance to them.

Specific issues that the Parenting of Adolescents Program can address are:

• Improving anger management skills
• Reducing truancy, school suspension, and running away
• Creating healthy parent-child relationships
• Improving family coping and stress management skills
• Fostering a strong and mature sense of self in adolescents
• Dealing with adolescent sexuality, crime and drug use issues
• Helping adolescents make healthy peer choices
• Finding other resources in the community

Program Eligibility: Referrals can be made for any juvenile who is, or is at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system for any reason (ie: truancy, running away, ignoring house rules, or delinquent behavior). Juveniles must be between the ages of 7 and 17 to qualify for the program.

Program Referrals: Referrals can come from Juvenile Court Counselors, Law Enforcement Officers, School Counselors, School Social Workers, other Mental Health Professionals, other agencies, or the families themselves. Referral forms can be obtained by calling 919.403.8249, Ext 229.

Program Cost: Free to Durham County families.

Parenting of Adolescents also offers the Nurturing Program for Parents who have possible Substance Abuse issues and are in need of parenting skills and emotional support. Referrals can come from Drug Treatment Court personnel, Substance Abuse Treatment Providers, Department of Social Services, The Durham Center, and clients themselves.

What is Functional Family Therapy?

Functional Family Therapy is an intervention for families with children age 10-17. The intervention begins with an engagement/motivation phase where the Family Support Specialist develops alliances with all family members, minimizes hopelessness and negative communication, and increases motivation for change. When the Family Support Specialist assesses that the family is motivated, she begins behavior change, matching the families' relational functions, helping the family develop communication and positive parenting skills. In the final phase, generalization, the Family Support Specialist assists the family in accessing needed community resources and planning how to implement the skills they've developed in new situations they may encounter.

What kinds of outcomes does the research show?

• Youth involved in the juvenile justice system who receive Functional Family Therapy are less likely to re-offend, and if they do re-offend, re-offend with less frequency and severity compared to youth who are in group therapy or other family therapies. In addition, their siblings are less likely to become involved in negative behavior.
• Children and youth were less likely to be place out-of home into foster care (11% vs. 48%).

How can you learn more about Family Therapy?

Go to www.fftinc.com.