Incredible Familes Charitable Trust

To provide programmes and training, for parents and professionals, that keeps our children in mind and supports their early, optimal, social and emotional development.
Ko tā mātou whāinga he whakahaere i ngā akoranga mō ngā mātua me ngā kaimahi, e aro atu ana ki ngā tamariki me tō rātou tipu tika. He tipu moata, he tipu whai manaaki, he tipu whai aroha, ā, he tipu whai māramatanga anō hoki.

About the Trust

“Those who are nurtured best survive best” — Louis Cozolino

Incredible Families has carefully chosen three evidence-based programmes to promote the nurture of children by improving their relationships with those providing their care.

Infants and toddlers (0–4 years) with problems reflecting disturbed attachment relationships – the Watch, Wait and Wonder® Intervention

Young children (3–8 years) with challenging behaviours that don’t tend to improve without intervention – the Incredible Years Parenting Programme

Children in Care who experience multiple adversities and where better outcomes are directly linked to the quality of care and minimal changes in care – the Fostering Futures programme programme for carers

Next Courses

Incredible Families runs the Incredible Years course in the Wellington Wairarapa area.

Our next courses will start in August 2022

We will post details here as soon as we have them confirmed

INCREDIBLE YEARS GENERAL COURSE

This 14 week course is for whanau with children 3-8 years old

It is designed to develop positive family relationships and empower parents to make changes and to manage difficult behaviour.

INCREDIBLE YEARS AUTISM COURSE
This 14 week course is to help children who have behaviours on the Autism Spectrum and have language delay or social difficulties.
They are funded by the Ministry of Education for children 2-5 years.
Children do not need to have a formal diagnosis.
Interviews with parents about the course here http://www.incrediblefamilies.org.nz/videos/

For information about courses in your area please contact the Ministry of Education https://education.govt.nz/our-work/contact-us/regional-ministry-contacts

For more information contact

Jane Dunbier
0274 182 671
jane@edresources.co.nz

Watch Wait and Wonder

Watch, Wait and Wonder (WWW) is a child-led dyadic psychotherapeutic intervention that specifically and directly uses the spontaneous activity of the child in a play setting to enhance parental sensitivity and responsiveness; the child’s sense of self, self-efficacy, and emotional regulation; and the child’s attachment relationship with their parent. The intervention provides space for the child and parent (caregiver) to work through developmental and relational struggles through play. The parent is engaged in thinking about the play and their child’s inner world of feelings, thoughts and desires. A parent comes to recognise the separate self of the infant and gain understanding of their own emotional responses to their child. The child having a central role in the work differentiates this intervention from many that focus primarily on the more verbal partner. Research indicates that WWW is applicable to a range of infants and young children with relational, behavioural, regulatory and developmental problems. (M Lojkasek, E Muir and N Cohen)

The intervention was developed in New Zealand and researched in Canada.

Check out www.watchwaitwonderdownunder.com for more information

If you are interested and would like to know more: contact@watchwaitwonderdownunder.com

Funders

Incredible Families Works At the Top of the Cliff

‘No other single factor is more significantly related to illness than the degree of parental closeness one enjoys growing up’
— Harvard Mastery of Stress Study

We are committed to programmes that support families and practitioners make a difference in the lives of children by improving the relationships they have with their families and the quality of parenting care they receive.

Dollars spent on evidence-based programmes in the early years are well spent dollars.

Donate and support Incredible Families to work with children, whanau and practitioners.

Learn More

Latest News

Diana Linforth-Howden ( third from right) has been confirmed as a Mentor of Incredible Years Parent Programme by Carolyn Webster Stratton, the creator of the programme.
Diana attended the Mentor Conference in Seattle this September and enjoyed meeting with some of the other Mentors from around the world.

The conference is a great chance to hear Carolyn Webster-Stratton present information about any new Programmes she has written and to hear research that has been carried out internationally on the various Incredible Years programmes. It is also wonderful opportunity to hear of the work of other Mentors and to present work for peer review and is a rich opportunity for learning.

New Zealand was well represented with three Mentors of Incredible Years Teacher programmes from the Ministry of Education, as well as three Incredible Years Parent Programme Mentors, two from Health and Diana as the only NGO Mentor in New Zealand.

The role of the Mentor is to provide training, support and peer coaching for facilitators delivering Incredible Years Programmes. This peer coaching is usually carried out in small groups of facilitators who show video of their delivery. This review of their work helps them to focus on what they are doing well and areas that can be improved and helps ensure fidelity of delivery.

Mentors can also support organisations that are starting out on delivery of Incredible Years Programmes and help them understand the range of activities required for successful delivery.

Diana is also contracted by Auckland University - Werry Workforce WHARAURAU to provide training to practitioners wishing to further their facilitation skills in delivering Incredible Years Parent Programme.

Research into Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) and their immediate and long term effects on all aspects of health underpins the programmes Incredible Years provides.

Check out Nadine Burke Harris in a recent TED Talk:

Nadine Burke Harris: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime