University Of Central Lancashire To Deliver Nurtured Heart Workshop, UK

Main Category: ADHD
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Psychology / Psychiatry;  Mental Health
Article Date: 11 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Residential childcare and fostering agency, Perpetual Care, and the University of Central Lancashire's School of Nursing & Caring Sciences are jointly developing an introductory workshop on the ground-breaking Nurtured Heart Approach, which seeks to improve social and educational outcomes for many children and young people. Experts from UCLan and Perpetual are currently designing an awareness workshop, which will provide an overview of the approach, examine existing US research findings and explore its potential role in UK residential childcare and fostering, particularly in the light of revised NICE guidelines relating to children with ADHD. The first session is scheduled at UCLan's Preston campus in late June this year and should be of interest to registered social workers, local authority placement officers and other social care and health professionals concerned with the well-being of challenging young people.

"We are delighted to be working with Perpetual Care on this innovative approach," says Dr Joy Duxbury, Reader in Mental Health Nursing, who is leading the project for UCLan. "Helping young people to feel good about themselves, by promoting positive values and self regard, is fundamental to their mental health. We look forward to a fruitful partnership in the delivery of workshops in this area."

Perpetual Care founder and CEO, Tahir Khan, is equally positive about the prospects: "I am delighted that Perpetual Care has entered into this critical initiative with such a respected university as UCLan. This pioneering work will enable Perpetual to consolidate its position as a provider of quality care to vulnerable children, both in residential and foster care."

The Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA) is already widely practised in the United States, helping many thousands of families to transform complex children, by channelling their intensity in creative and constructive ways. It was developed by qualified clinical psychologist and family therapist, Howard Glasser, who has achieved national acclaim in the USA, for his work with children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and has authored several books on the NHA theory and techniques.

Having already researched various child care theories and been convinced by the NHA principles, before putting them into practice at Perpetual Care, Tahir Khan visited Howard Glasser in Tuscon, Arizona earlier this year and enlisted his support for the UK initiative, with the potential of extending it into Europe. Howard is keen to see his techniques applied in a residential childcare setting and has agreed to the possibility of guest lecturing at UCLan.

The university's School of Nursing & Caring Sciences is amongst the UK's foremost providers of health and social care education, as well as a leading research and consultancy body, so was an ideal partner for this initiative. Dr Duxbury and her colleague, Senior Lecturer, Sharon Pagett, will work with Perpetual's Director of Practice, Alastair Gardiner, on developing and delivering the full-day workshop, which will include role playing sessions. Initially at least, the workshop will be free to local authorities, giving them an opportunity to gather intelligence on this ground-breaking approach. There is also the likelihood of the School and Perpetual collaborating on relevant research projects, with the latter providing an established setting for a quality study.

Alastair Gardiner, who is also an advanced Nurtured Heart trainer, has instructed residential care staff and foster carers on NHA techniques and reports favourably on the outcomes: "We are finding the approach has broader applications than complex or difficult youngsters and children in our residential provisions are thriving on it, while foster carers are also reporting genuine improvements."

"With the Nurtured Heart Approach, children are encouraged to arrive at conclusions themselves," he continues. "Instead of delivering lectures and pep talks to control challenging behaviour, our staff are focusing on positive messages, congratulating youngsters when they are being mature and acting responsibly. One young male resident, who had a succession of placements and a history of criminal behaviour, with consequently high perceptions of failure, has really bought into the approach and is responding positively."

In September 2008, the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellent (NICE) issued revised guidelines, advising that drugs such as Ritalin should not be used as the first-line of treatment for school-age children and young people with ADHD. Perpetual feels that the Nurtured Heart Approach offers a realistic alternative, especially as US research has shown that 97% of children who were considered candidates for medication, were able to avoid it through the use of NHA techniques.

Source
Perpetual Care

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