Better Parenting Through Reflection
Better Parenting Through Reflection
December 30, 2015
Twenty psychologists and social workers from Hura, a Bedouin village near Beer-Sheva, received their diplomas recently after completing the first level of Dr. Naama Atzaba-Poria’s workshop on “parental reflective functioning.” Now, they have the tools to work with local parents on these issues.
The workshop is part of a larger project led by Dr. Atzaba-Poria, of BGU’s Department of Psychology, to train psychologists and social workers in the Negev to help adults become engaged, thoughtful parents.
Dr. Naama Atzaba-Poria
“Parental reflective functioning,” Dr. Atzaba-Poria explains, “is known to be the core aspect of the parent-child relationship — the parental ability to be reflective and act from this understanding.”
A reflective parent, she says, is one with the ability “to observe the child’s behavior, as well as his or her own feelings and thoughts about those behaviors.” By training psychologists and social workers throughout the Negev in this discipline, the program creates ambassadors who can positively influence the new generation of Bedouin parents.
“Bedouin parents have experienced cultural changes and have less support. These parents seek support and advice and may benefit from a program that will help them think of their children and of themselves within those cultural and familial changes,” says Dr. Atzaba-Poria.
The program is based on a Los Angeles program and is funded by Americans for Ben-Gurion University national board member Judge (Ret.) Leon Kaplan of Los Angeles. Judge Kaplan has spent a lifetime working with at-risk youth, developing alternatives to juvenile arrests.
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