In week three, we continue to learn about working with families. We move beyond assessment and understanding to how we can work with families and some skills for enhancing relationships. Students will read chapter 15 of Hepworth et al. (2023). Next, we will dive into family engagement and first- and second-order strategies for families.

The agenda will be as follows:

• Review the family system framework
• Discuss family engagement
• Practice with starting services
• Implementing first/second order strategies

Learning Objectives include:

• Demonstrate the ability to apply the family systems framework to assess key dynamics in family functioning.
• Distinguish between first-order and second-order interventions and identify appropriate applications for each.
• Reflect on their own family experiences and beliefs to better understand their professional approach to working with families.