We are debuting our newest tipsheet, and this one is for providers. It details what our Family Support Partners do, how they can help a family that you serve (or a family that is on your waiting lists), and the ways your families can contact us. The lived experiences of a parent who has a child who is struggling are invaluable. Our FSPs combine their lived experiences with extensive training and are ready and eager to help other families who are in the shoes they once wore. Sometimes it helps to hear from a person who has been in the same shoes as you have been. Our FSPs offer FREE and CONFIDENTIAL one on one support to families across Pennsylvania and can help them in all of the ways listed in the tipsheet.
How can a Parent Alliance FSP help? Here's one example...
"We received a referral from a provider. I reached out to mom and we talked about her daughter who was struggling because of COVID. Her daughter had been attending college and when it went online, she couldn’t stand it and didn't want to continue. Mom was distraught because her daughter thought her whole life was falling apart and couldn’t see any type of future.
Mom said that her daughter couldn’t even leave the house somedays because she couldn’t get dressed. I recognized the meltdowns due to the challenges my own children had exhibited. We strategized some ways mom could support her daughter without placing additional pressure on her and I assisted her in looking for therapists who understood her daughters' needs. We also talked about other interests her daughter has and how she could continue on towards the goals she set but in a different way during COVID. We talked about ways mom could help her by trying to give her a visual guide of things she needed to accomplish to meet her career goals and let her see she is still working towards them.
Mom was just tired and stuck. She was under so much stress for so long that she ran out of ideas and hope. She needed another parent to walk beside her, encourage her, talk with her about possibilities and help her make a plan. After our conversation, she felt less frustrated and got excited again.
When we touched base again in a few weeks, mom reported that she selected one of the therapists we shortlisted and later sent me an email thanking me and saying how helpful and encouraging I was. A few weeks later, we got a call from another parent she referred to the Parent Alliance."
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