Adriana was a troubled teenager that had fits of rage that would exacerbate to the point of having her parents Baker Act their daughter on two separate occasions. Hospital staff informed Adriana's parents that the uncontrolled eruptions of anger were used as a form of manipulation. But also, a behavior that was learned from her parents since both worsen the situation by demonstrating their frustration to Adriana. It was a vicious cycle of anger where Adriana's behavior would trigger a stress response in her parents, in which they would react in outrage which then would lead Adriana to increase her stance of defiance even more.It was a nonstop cycle of miscommunication and unchecked negative reactions between Adriana and her parents. When Claudia, our In-Home Family Services Consultant stepped in, she implemented the Boys Town's Model which focuses on helping the child by also engaging the whole family, including parental empowerment, and parenting skills to help provide clear expectations and positive discipline approach. By identifying resources that ease the family's specific stressors, the family was then able to build on their strengths to have a better foundation. The whole family started to see a positive change through the following methods:
- Implementing strategies that reinforced Adriana's positive behavior
- Effective communication techniques that avoided disruptions on both sides
- Developing habits of self-reflection to evaluate if past experience is impacting parenting skills
- Building healthy coping skills
All these learned skills and guidance from the Family Consultant were critical for the parents and daughter to work on improving their relationships with one another. After a few weeks of the program, Adriana started to attend school regularly, being able to express herself in a calm manner, and learning to remove herself from stressful situations to reflect on the discussion at hand.
Today, Adriana has even picked up basketball as a hobby, which brought her closer to her father as they go outside to burn off some steam. Our evidence-based In-Home Family Services, delivered by our staff in partnership with the family, not only helped Adriana learn about self-control and coping skills, but it also gave her parents the tools needed to become better communicators, emotionally supportive of their daughter with healthy family routines. Adriana's transformation is evidence of a positive change that took place within the whole family.