Steven O’Brien – Kids in the Thick of Post-Divorce Conflict

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Exploring the Essential Features of “Steven O’Brien – Kids in the Thick of Post-Divorce Conflict”

Speaker:Steven O’Brien, PsyD

Duration:2 Hours 01 Minutes

Format:Audio and Video

Copyright:Aug 08, 2024  

Description

Divorce presents many challenges for children, and parental support is critical to their ability to cope… 

But the prospect of resilience is much more elusive for those kids whose divorced parents continue to be caught up in hostile and combative post-divorce conflict.  

Children in the thick of post-divorce conflict are at increased risk of emotional, behavioral, academic, social, and substance abuse issues. Timely and effective intervention for these kids and their parents is key to reducing these risks and promoting healthy adjustment.  

In this workshop, child-family psychologist and author Dr. Steve O’Brien will offer a structured yet flexible approach to transform post-divorce conflict to support children therapeutically while empowering their parents to shift from conflict to cooperation.  

After this program, you’ll be equipped with…. 

• Core contributors that fuel post-divorce conflict   
• Co-parenting apps and communication structures/boundaries 
• “Bubbling” and other transition tips 
• Redirecting, reframing, and modeling for improved communication 
• And more! 

Speaker

Steven O’Brien, PsyD
 
Dr. Steve O’Brien, is a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience treating children with a variety of anxiety disorders, including separation anxiety, generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He specializes in treating children with co-occurring disorders, especially those who struggle with both anxiety and ADHD or Autism. Dr. O’ Brien’s expertise also includes treatments for childhood depression, oppositional behavior, and divorced/blended family adjustment.

Dr. O’Brien utilizes an eclectic approach which tailors treatment to the developmental level of both children and parents. His approach integrates individual child therapy with intensive parental and familial interventions. Dr. O’Brien has worked in a variety of clinical settings including community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals and medical clinics. He earned his PsyD at Nova Southeastern University and received specialized training applied developmental psychology. Dr. O’Brien incorporates pediatric and child psychiatric consultation into his therapeutic work. He served as associate professor at the Florida School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University from 2000 to 2016. While at the University, Dr. O’Brien developed a unique doctoral level course, ‘Parent Consultation’, designed for graduate students specializing in child/family therapy. In 2015, he developed Life@Home by Psychtouch.com, an innovative clinical tool/app for obtaining a child’s perception of family life. Dr. O’Brien also serves as a media consultant for Bay News 9, Tampa Bay’s 24-hour news source.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Steven O’Brien maintains a private practice. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Steven O’Brien is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Florida Psychological Association.

Objectives

1. Identify the primary psychological and interpersonal factors fueling post-divorce conflict and its effect on children’s functioning to inform/guide treatment. 
2. Provide psychoeducation to parents about the interplay of child development and child-parent interactions which maintain post-divorce conflict to promote conflict-diffusing co-parenting. 
3. Equip children with age-appropriate cognitive-behavioral, self-soothing, and communication skills for better managing distress and obtaining parental support.

Outline 

 Post-Divorce Conflict:  Identifying Core Contributors  

• Parental factors: anxiety, resentment, depression, substance use, personality pathology 
• Child factors: anxiety/depression, temperament, neurodiversity, developmental levels  
• Parent-child factors: goodness-of-fit, pre-existing relational qualities, motivational aspects 
• Risks and limitations  

 Psychoeducation on Post-Divorce Dynamics 

• Literal vs symbolic child communication 
• Child intentions and secondary gain 
• Transition challenges 
• Parental idealization and position vacillation  

 Conflict-Diffusing Co-Parenting 

• Explorative tone vs assumptive/accusatory 
• Emotionally neutral or positive vs intense or negative
• Co-parenting apps and communication structures/boundaries 
• Self-regulation, self-care, and support systems 

 Therapeutic Strategies for Distressed/Dysregulated Children  

• Psychoeducation to promote healthy conflict depersonalization 
• Discovering their relaxation preferences 
• Mindfulness 101 
• 3 R’s of anxiety management and other skill-building strategies 
• “Bubbling” and other transition tips 

 Guidelines for Child-Focused Family sessions 

• Therapeutic preparation for kids and parents 
• Working in subsystems vs whole family 
• Maintaining emotional homeostasis 
• Redirecting, reframing, and modeling for improved communication 

Target Audience

• Licensed Clinical/Mental Health Counselors 
• Psychologists 
• Social Workers
• Marriage & Family Therapists 
• Teachers/School-Based Personnel
• School Administrators
• Case Managers 
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Occupational Therapists 
• Nurses 

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