A practical, reflective workshop for professionals navigating complex family dynamics
“They don’t engage.”
“They’re defensive.”
“We’ve tried everything.”
When working with parents and carers under stress — whether in the context of domestic abuse, safeguarding concerns, school issues or support services — it’s easy to feel stuck. But what if ‘resistance’ isn’t refusal? What if it’s protection, fear, or exhaustion?
This training challenges traditional labels and offers a fresh, compassionate lens on how to engage parents and carers who may appear shut down, hostile, or unwilling to cooperate. Drawing on trauma-informed practice and Solution Focused Brief Therapy, we explore how to build connection without confrontation, and how to create the conditions where trust and collaboration can begin.
This workshop will help you:
- Understand the roots of resistance — what sits beneath avoidance, anger, or silence
- Spot the difference between non-engagement and trauma responses
- Use language that reduces shame and opens up dialogue
- Reframe the “hard to reach” narrative to one of “hard to trust”
- Hold empathy and professional authority at the same time
- Stay calm and curious in difficult conversations
- Learn practical strategies to move relationships forward, not push them further away
- Reflect on your own reactions and triggers in challenging family work
Who is this for?
This training is ideal for professionals working with families in:
- Schools and education support
- Early help and social care
- Domestic abuse and mental health services
- Youth offending, family intervention, and safeguarding teams
- Housing and community outreach roles
- Parenting programmes and multi-agency networks
Whether you're early in your career or deeply experienced, this session will offer fresh insight, renewed confidence, and practical strategies grounded in real-world practice.
About the facilitators
Ayse Adil and Joe Lettieri are the co-founders of Family Based Solutions, a specialist organisation supporting families affected by domestic abuse and relational trauma. With over a decade of hands-on experience, they bring a blend of solution-focused practice, systemic thinking, and trauma-informed care to every session — making theory feel useful, accessible, and human.
