Child-to-Parent Abuse: Using Solution-Focused and Trauma-Informed Principles to Support Family Safety and Healing
Please note: This training is not eligible for CE credits.
Each registration includes a certificate for attendance. To be eligible for a certificate, you must attend the entire live training and complete an evaluation form within 24 hours following the live event.
Child-to-parent abuse remains one of the least understood forms of family violence. It is often hidden by shame, misunderstood by professionals, and responded to in ways that can unintentionally increase conflict within families. Many practitioners
report uncertainty about how to assess risk, engage parents without shame or blame, and work collaboratively with children whose behaviors may be rooted in trauma, adversity, or unmet needs.
Ayse Adil and Joseph Lettieri developed this three-hour training based on more than thirteen years of direct practice with over 1,200 families affected by child-to-parent abuse. Combining research findings, case examples, and practical tools, the training introduces a solution-focused and trauma-informed approach that helps professionals move beyond managing incidents to creating meaningful and sustainable change. The training explores how trauma, family relationships, culture, neurodivergence, and wider systems can all influence presentations of child-to-parent abuse. Among the topics addressed are:
- Shame, blame, and relational distance
- Navigating the systems that families experience (such as youth justice and child welfare)
- How small moments of connection, curiosity, and recognition can restore hope within systems that often feel rigid and impersonal.
- Working with silence (when young people think more than they speak)
Throughout the training, participants have opportunities to reflect on their own practice, consider real-life scenarios, and develop practical skills they can use immediately. Adil and Lettieri emphasize building collaborations that increase safety, reduce blame, and strengthen relationships while promoting accountability.
Interactive Follow-Up Meeting
Attendees are invited to join an open discussion 15 minutes following the end of the training, where you can engage with fellow attendees by turning on your camera and microphone. This is an opportunity to share your experiences and contribute to a meaningful exchange of ideas. Time will be allocated to address questions or insights from the training. Please note that attendance is optional and will not affect your eligibility for a training certificate.
1) Explain different forms of child-to-parent abuse and the factors that can contribute to it, including family violence and related trauma, neurodivergence, and wider systemic influences.
2) Apply solution-focused and trauma-informed principles to engage children, parents, and families to promote safety, collaboration, and hope.
3) Describe practical strategies and questioning techniques that reduce blame, build on strengths and support meaningful change.
4) Identify approaches that improve assessment, intervention and multi agency practice.
Audience
This training is intended for all professionals working child welfare, youth justice, education, mental health, domestic abuse services, community programs and settings.
Content Level
Cancellations
Who's Presenting
Ayse Adil
Ayse Adil is Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive of Family Based Solutions, an award-winning UK charity specialising in child to parent abuse, domestic abuse recovery and solution focused practice. She is an internationally recognised trainer, therapist, coach, author and speaker with more than a decade of experience supporting children, families, adults and professionals across statutory, voluntary and private sectors.
Ayse has worked directly with more than 1,200 families experiencing child to parent abuse and has trained thousands of professionals throughout the UK and internationally. Her work combines solution focused practice, trauma informed approaches and cultural awareness to help practitioners build collaborative, respectful and effective relationships with the people they support.
She regularly delivers keynote presentations, conference workshops and accredited professional training, translating research and frontline experience into practical strategies that professionals can immediately apply in their work.
Joseph Lettieri, BEM
Joseph Lettieri BEM is Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive of Family Based Solutions, an award-winning UK charity specialising in child to parent abuse, domestic abuse recovery and solution focused practice. He is an experienced therapist, trainer, coach and author with more than thirteen years of frontline experience supporting children, young people, adults and families experiencing complex and often high conflict relationships.
Joe has worked directly with more than 1,200 families affected by child to parent abuse and has trained professionals across the UK and internationally. He is recognised for his engaging, practical and compassionate training style, helping practitioners translate theory into confident, effective practice. His work is grounded in solution focused principles, trauma informed practice and a strong belief in working collaboratively with families to create lasting change.