This program is intended for adult and teen parents.
PIT staff will assign you to your group following a required 90-minute intake evaluation.
If you are over 19 years old and need to make an intake appointment for New Skills and Choices 12 week Groups or have questions concerning the program, please contact: Deborah Licurse, MFT at: 408-774-1009.
For intake appointments for the Teen New Skills and Choices Parenting Program, or co or parallel parenting counseling, please contact Deborah Licurse, MFT at: 408-774-1009.
The New Skills and Choices Parenting Program is a comprehensive and integrated continuum of care consisting of three levels: prevention, intervention, and intensive intervention. These multiple levels of services are provided by Peace-It-Together, a non-profit agency of mental health professionals, with over ten years of experience.
This program is available for families who are in the process of separation and divorce, which are:
- New Skills and Choices – a twelve week group intervention for both parents;
- Co-parenting and Parallel-parenting Counseling
The following are descriptions of each of the programs provided by PIT:
NEW SKILLS AND CHOICES
Families referred by Family Court to the New Skills and Choices Intervention Program include:
- Teen or adult parents in conflict over their children
- Children in family who are in stress due to parental conflict and separation;
- Parents who are entrenched in litigation;
- Both parents participate in the classes in separate groups.
Classes are not appropriate for families with active substance abuse or serious mental disorders.
Class structure:
- Classes are two hour sessions held once a week over an eight week period;
- Both parents are encouraged to attend and are separated into two different classes on different days;
- The two groups are a mix of fathers/mothers and custodial/non-custodial parents.
Program objectives: To help parents build new skills in communication and parenting and to make constructive choices for their family. Group interventions include role plays, videos, peer learning and didactic information to assist them in learning the ability to:
- Develop empathy for children and the other parent;
- Learn constructive ways to solve problems;
- Learn new communication techniques, especially clarifying and listening;
- Learn value of parallel parenting when appropriate;
- Understand effects of conflict on children and on each other;
- Recognize ways that stress, anger, violence, substance use, and emotions cause problems.
Service goals: The counselor functions as a parent coordinator to manage chronic, recurring disputes such as visitation conflicts and to help parents to adhere to court orders in highly conflicted separating and divorcing families. Interventions generally include helping the parents understand the effects of their conflict on the children, to help them improve and protect good relationships with their children, provide advice and assistance in implementing their visitation and custody plans, help improve communication, coordinate the safe care of their children and help children cope with the stress and fears.
All services and classes of the New Skills and Choices Programs are treatment focused, confidential and not subject to assessments, reports or testifying.
Sessions day/times are made by appointment only. Please contact our main number at 408-774-1009.
Fees
Fees are based on a sliding scale; fee for each class is $40.00. Classes are taught only in English.
Workbook: $25.00
Intake: $55.00
Location
NSC’s New Skills and Choices Groups are held at: Address: 1588 Homestead Rd., Santa Clara.
Groups will be held in the conference room on Wednesday, 6:00 -8:00 pm.
