Project
We provide psychological support to children and their families in a community in Limerick, which was identified as an area in need of assistance, under the Limerick Regeneration Initiative. The school is a DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) school. A mindfulness curriculum is delivered and support is provided for one cohort of students and their families as part of The Sky’s the Limit programme. A family-school therapeutic relationship model has been adopted and it is envisaged that a key worker for each family will be identified to provide support for the family.
The 'How are our Kids?' Report (Humphreys, McCafferty, & Higgins, 2012) explored the needs and experiences of children and families in communities in Limerick, which were identified as areas in need of assistance, under the Limerick Regeneration Initiative. There is increasing awareness of the prevalence of mental health difficulties during childhood and adolescence in Ireland, but research on the efficacy of interventions meeting this need is limited. The Sky’s the Limit and Mindfulness programmes aims to address some of the psychological needs of the children and their families in order for them to reach their potential during their time at school and provide them with a solid foundation for the future.
Throughout the process, members are able to liaise and receive support and guidance from Dr. Declan Aherne. Members will engage with the Principal of the school and the members of staff at the school, i.e. teachers, home school liaison teacher, community companions. Working with the children and in some cases, members of their families.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) are administered twice a year by the class teacher and parent/guardian of each child. The SDQ is an externally validated behavioural screening questionnaire, which is used for children between the ages of 4-16. It consists of 25 items which are grouped into five scales, four of which represent negative attributes of the child’s behaviour, or Total Difficulties, (emotional symptoms, conduct disorder, hyperactivity/inattention, and peer relationship problems), and one which represents the child’s positive behavioural qualities (Prosocial scale). ‘Externalising’ scores are the sum of the conduct disorder and hyperactivity/inattention scales. ‘Internalising’ scores are the sum of the emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems scales. The Total Difficulties and Prosocial scales can be assigned to one of three clinical thresholds: ‘Normal’, ‘Borderline’, or ‘Abnormal’. There has been a reduction in the number of total difficulties for the students throughout the school since the mindfulness curriculum was introduced.
Focus groups are conducted with parents of the children and a number of teachers to receive feedback on the Mindfulness curriculum. Measures of trauma are conducted with the children to inform the level of need and intervention that is necessary for the children.
Research
An evaluation of the effectiveness of a family-school therapeutic relationship on the psychological wellbeing of children and their family members. The research will focus on evaluating the effectiveness of interventions such as ‘The Sky’s the Limit’ initiative and the mindfulness school curriculum. Through providing psychotherapeutic interventions to children and their families, the research will focus of the effectiveness of such interventions on the psychological well-being of the children and their family members.
The 'How are our Kids?' Report (Humphreys, McCafferty, & Higgins, 2012) explored the needs and experiences of children and families in communities in Limerick, which were identified as areas in need of assistance, under the Limerick Regeneration Initiative. There is increasing awareness of the prevalence of mental health difficulties during childhood and adolescence in Ireland, but research on the efficacy of interventions meeting this need is limited. The initiatives are considered vital to provide psychological support to children and their families in order for them to reach their potential during their time at school, and provide them with a solid foundation for the future. The research will help to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions and will indicate future directions or interventions.
The research will be evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. Strengths and difficulties questionnaires and trauma scales will be completed with the children before and after intervention. Focus groups will be completed with parents/guardians and teachers.