CURRENTLY OUR IN PERSON CLASSES HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL THE FURTHER NOTICE.
Sister of Soul (S.O.S) Youth and Family Inc. is dedicated to putting families first, improving family life through knowledge, and understanding.
Anger Management Classes
Weekly psycho-educational classes that focus on effective anger management. Parenting Classes are for adults to enhance their knowledge, skills, and values in the area of parenting, creating nurturing relationships, structure, and effective non-physical discipline methods. Licensed therapist, Marriage and family therapist intern or master’s level certified trainer may facilitate this class.
Domestic Violence Classes
Court ordered 12 or 52 week program for victims of domestic violence and batters.
An experienced licensed therapist, Marriage and family therapist intern or certified domestic violence facilitator may facilitate this class.
Family, Couple and Individual Therapy
Addresses a variety of issues including mood disorders, trauma, substance abuse and addictions, martial conflicts, parent/child conflict, and family abuse and neglect issues. Therapy is conducted by licensed clinician or registered Board of Behavioral Sciences intern. Trauma focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) - Specific therapy to address traumatic experience. The goal is to achieve post-traumatic growth and healing. Licensed therapist and Board of Behavioral registrants (Marriage and Family Therapy Interns and Associate Clinical Social Workers provide TF-CBT.
A traumatic experience includes but is not limited to: a hurricane, a serious car accident, rape, robbery, assault, physical/sexual abuse, neglect, a warzone, a soldier in combat, and witnessing a murder or domestic violence. A traumatic event is an incident or a series of incidents that when it occurs, the person believes that their safety or the stability of their world or others is in danger. The traumatic event may have caused physical, emotional, psychological distress, or harm. The feelings, emotions, behavior, and physical abilities after the event will vary but it may include experiencing a mental health disorder such as Acute Stress Disorder and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Post-traumatic growth (PTG) or benefit finding refers to positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity and other challenges in order to rise to a higher level of functioning. These sets of circumstances represent significant challenges to the adaptive resources of the individual, and pose significant challenges to individuals' way of understanding the world and their place in it. Posttraumatic growth is not about returning to the same life as it was previously experienced before a period of traumatic suffering; but rather it is about undergoing significant 'life-changing' psychological shifts in thinking and relating to the world, that contribute to a personal process of change, that is deeply meaningful. It is often characterized by decreased reactivity and faster recovery in response to similar stressors in the future. This occurs as a result of exposure to the event and subsequent learning.
Trauma Treatment
Trauma-specific intervention programs generally recognize the following:
— The survivor's need to be respected, informed, connected, and hopeful regarding their own recovery
— The interrelation between trauma and symptoms of trauma such as substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety
— The need to work in a collaborative way with survivors, family and friends of the survivor, and other human services agencies in a manner that will empower survivors and consumers
Our staff are experienced Clinicians who have experience in providing evidence based practices to those who have had a life-changing traumatic event. We offer the following services:
Individual Behavioral Psychotherapy/ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way they feel. It is used to help treat a wide range of issues in a person’s life, from sleeping difficulties or relationship problems, to drug and alcohol abuse or anxiety and depression. CBT works by changing people’s attitudes and their behavior by focusing on the thoughts, images, beliefs, and attitudes that are held (a person’s cognitive processes) and how these processes relate to the way a person behaves, as a way of dealing with emotional problems.
Child and family focused trauma treatment
In working with children who have experienced trauma careful consideration is given to the treatment modality. Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) has been found to be effective. More than a dozen scientifically rigorous researches have proven that TF-CBT assists the child and family to recover from the negative effects of traumatic experiences, including PTSD symptoms, depression, and related difficulties. The studies compared TF-CBT to other treatments commonly provided to traumatized children, such as supportive therapy, child-centered therapy, play therapy, or usual community treatment, and showed that children receiving TF-CBT improved faster and more completely than the children who received other treatments. Research studies show that TF-CBT works:
— For children who have experienced any trauma, including multiple traumas.
— With children from diverse backgrounds.
— In as few as 12 treatment sessions.
— In clinics, schools, homes, residential treatment facilities, and inpatient settings.
— Even if there is no parent or caregiver to participate in treatment.
— For children in foster care.
— In a variety of languages and countries.
TF-CBT is a short-term treatment approach that can work in as few as 12 sessions. It also may be provided for longer periods of time depending on the child’s and family’s needs. Individual sessions for the child and for the parents or caregivers, as well as joint parent-child sessions, are a part of the treatment. As with any therapy, forming a therapeutic relationship with the child and parent is critical to TF-CBT. The specific components of TF-CBT are summarized by the acronym PRACTICE:
Psycho education
Relaxation and stress management skills are individualized for each child and parent
Affective expression and modulation
Cognitive coping and processing
Trauma narration
In vivo mastery of trauma; Conjoint child-parent sessions help the child and parent
Children with problems from traumatic experiences may benefit
Enhancing future safety and development, addresses safety.
General Parenting and Child Endangerment/Child Abuse Education class
Students will enhance their knowledge, skills and values by learning effective parenting methods through in-class presentations, viewing video tapes, group interactions and discussions, role playing, and active feedback. Individual parenting instruction and coaching are also offered as an alternative treatment approach or in collaboration with the group format.
Parenting topics include but are not limited to the following:
— Amazing me and Amazing Family
— Child and Adolescent Human Growth and Development Education, including but not limited to safety, nutrition and health
— Building self-esteem, including, but not limited to, parents’ building a positive parental identity and building self-esteem of their children
— How to strengthen the child and parent and overall family attachment
— Enhancing positive communication which includes empathic non-judgmental and non-defensive listening which may result in the parent learning to listen to and speak with the child
— Positive non-physical discipline
— Enhancing the child social intelligence
— Self-Care methods for the child and parent
— Stress and anger management for the child and parent
— Building resiliency (child, parent and family)
— Learning boundaries of permissible sexual conduct by adults with regard to children
— Anger, Stress, Anxiety and Depression
— Managing your child’s Attention Deficit Hyperactive Deficit
— Positive Fatherhood
Case Management
The purpose of case management services is to assist the client to manage different parts of their lives that are indirectly connected to the reason for seeking services and can influence the overall success of treatment outcomes. These services provide assessment, planning, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of options and resources to meet an individual's needs which includes but is not limited to providing referrals for
— Free or low-income health care services
— Housing/transitional housing/shelter
— Utility payment assistance
— Employment assistance
— Job training
— Vocational skills training
— Educational assessment
— Legal aid
— Child care
To avoid duplication of services, SOS works collaboratively with clients who have an assigned social worker, probation or parole officer or other types of case managers to coordinate services.
What Is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is abuse or threats of abuse when the person is being abused and the abuser are or have been in an intimate relationship (married or domestic partners, are dating or used to date, live or lived together, or have a child together). It is also when the abused person and the abusive person are closely related by blood or by marriage.
The domestic violence laws say “abuse” is:
* Physically hurting or trying to hurt someone, intentionally or recklessly;
* Sexual assault;
* Making someone reasonably afraid that they or someone else are about to be seriously hurt (like threats or promises to harm someone); OR
* Behavior like harassing, stalking, threatening, or hitting someone; disturbing someone’s peace; or destroying someone’s personal property.
The physical abuse is more than hitting, it includes being emotionally and verbally abusive, preventing the person from eating, sleeping, medical care, shoving, restraining, stalking, intimidation, pulling hair, throwing items near or directly at the person, breaking the person’s belongings, and violent acts against the family pet. The overall goal is to maintain control and power over the other individual.
Punishment for Domestic Violence
A criminal conviction for domestic battery or criminal threats in California may result in jail, large fines, mandatory domestic violence counseling sessions which meet two (2) hours weekly for a minimum of one year, mandatory alcohol education classes, personal conduct orders, stay away orders, temporary restraining orders, and other punishments as instructed in Penal Code Section 1203.097. SOS offers a comprehensive Domestic Program that meets the legal and court requirements.
Domestic Violence Program
SOS Batter/Domestic Violence Intervention/Program Learning Objectives:
Violence
o Defining Domestic Violence
o Know the Dynamics of Domestic Violence
o Impact of children who witness domestic violence
o Impact of domestic violence upon the victim
o Societal and Community Response: The Legal System including Criminal, Family and Juvenile
o Dependency
o Lethality Assessments and Safety Planning
o Dynamics and Characteristics of Perpetrator Substance Abuse
Management of Mental and Emotional Issues that include:
o Stress
o Anger control
o Depression, Anxiety and other mood disturbances
Relations Enhancement
o Healthy Intimate Relationships
o Healthy Parenting and Fatherhood
o Effective/Assertive Communication
Education, Career and Economic Education
* Education and Career Assessment
* Entrepreneurial/Self-Employment
* Money management
SOS Domestic Violence Program is for you if:
You have been:
* ordered by the Court to complete a twelve(12) or fifty-two (52) week program for domestic violence intervention and counseling
* given a date to return to Court and provide proof that you have enrolled in one of the certified programs
* required to complete a court certified program
Monthly Reporting
SOS provides reports, as requested.
FAMILIES FIRST