‘The Amal Group – Addressing adversity, stress, trauma and the associated mental health responses of children and young people’ is a webinar is organised by ACAMH’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Special Interest Group.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD certificate via email.
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- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
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£5 ACAMH Learn Account holders
£5 Non Members
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.
About the webinar
Amal for Children is an animation series telling a story of hope, resilience, friendship, and community, through the lens of a 9-year-old boy. Saleem arrives in the new town, carrying burdens of the past, after losing his father and experiencing displacement with his mother and two siblings. Each of the 9 animation episodes revolves around a therapeutic theme, suitable for children aged 8-14. The coping skills demonstrated in the series and support material and associated curriculum are designed to empower and equip children by helping them identify, understand, and deal with their symptoms of PTSD, toxic stress, anxiety and depression.
There are several substories intertwined with the main storyline related to mental health and traumatic injury, including bullying, stress, anxiety, child abuse, loss and grief, utilizing the bibliotherapy and KidNET therapeutic modality. KidNET is a Narrative Exposure Therapy for children, a trauma focused psychotherapy aiming to reconstruct a chronological narrative of the child’s life, focusing on traumatic events whilst integrating positive experiences. Several stories of survival and resilience are told, as part of the psychosocial support Saleem receives. Therapeutic elements include Psychoeducation and normalisation, stress management and coping mechanisms, such as controlled breathing technique, progressive muscle relaxation, thought management and renewal, affect expression and cognitive coping, behavioural management, and creating trauma narrative.
Besides offering help to children in need of psychosocial support, one of the goals of Amal For Children is to generate awareness and empathy within communities and society at large, highlighting the positive role of their support.
The webinar will present a model demonstrating how the the Amal for Children episodes can be integrated into the 7 Session transdiagnostic model of Intervention –the Hope for Children and Families Programme. This is A Modular ‘Common Elements’ approach which gathers and integrates the most effective forms of intervention, into a library of interventions. The seminar will be presented by Digitalis and Child and Family Training colleagues
Learning objectives
• To introduce the Amal for Children animation series and the nine episodes which illustrate therapeutic themes.
• To demonstrate the relevance to supporting children and young people suffering exposure to conflict and displacement
• To demonstrate how these episodes can be integrated into an overall programme relevant to mental health treatment of all children and young people
About the Speakers
Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha, who worked with international NGOs on human rights and peace-building projects, co-founded Digitales with her husband, Shadi Sharaiha. Digitales produces children’s and family digital content, including animation series and films. It is also the creator of Amal For Children, an innovative children’s digital MHPSS project. ynthia directs the viral 2D animation YouTube series Our Family Life: Abu Sanad’s Family, while Shadi is the producer and writer on the series. They are also the director and executive producer of the award-winning film “Saleem,” which brought together the team of over 120 local and international talents, including artists from major studios like Disney. The film earned multiple awards, including Best Director for Cynthia at the Chicago Women’s Film Fest. Among several other film festivals, they were selected to screen the film at the prestigious Annecy Animation Festival and received the Order of King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein for Excellence. The story’s focus on overcoming trauma and finding healing resonated with audiences around the world, reflecting broader societal aspirations for recovery and growth amidst adversity.
Jenny Gray OBE is a social work consultant, working in both the UK and internationally. Jenny has undertaken child protection projects for WHO Europe and the EU. She also is an expert witness in child welfare cases. Jenny is a Child and Family Training UK Director and, together with Dr Arnon Bentovim, edited the HfCF Intervention Guides for Practitioners. She delivers training both in the UK and internationally, working in English and through interpreters. Jenny has been in children and families social work, management and policy development since 1979. Jenny joined the Social Services Inspectorate, Department of Health in 1991 and led the development of the new inspection methodologies. In 1995, she was appointed as the professional adviser to the British government on safeguarding children, firstly in the Department of Health and then in the Department for Education. Jenny held this post until September 2012. Jenny was awarded The Order of the British Empire and an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. She was President and CEO of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect from 2012 to 2014
Arnon Bentovim is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Director of Child and Family Training. He trained as a Psychoanalyst and Family Therapist and worked at the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and the Tavistock Clinic, and was an Honorary Senior lecturer at the ICH-UCL. He is a Visiting Professor at the Royal Holloway University of London. At Great Ormond Street, he shared responsibility for Child Protection and helped to initiate a number of services including the first Sexual Abuse Assessment and Treatment Service in the UK and a Child Care Consultation Service. He was a founder member of ISPCAN and BASPCAN, and acted as a Specialist advisor to a House of Commons Select Committee which established the basic parameters of how Child Protection should be approached in the UK. He was one of the group who pioneered the development of Family Therapy in the UK, helped found the Association and Institute of Family Therapy, and was President of the International Family Therapy Association. Research on Family Assessment at the Institute of Child Health formed the basis of the tools commissioned by the Department of Health and Department of Education to support the Assessment Framework. Child and Family Training was established to provide training and further developments in evidence-based practice including the modular intervention approach to intervention. Research on treatment of sexual abuse and factors associated with sexually harmful behaviour was carried out at the ICH and GOS. He was Chair of Trustees of the Faithfull Foundation and is Honorary Life President of the Organisation.