FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Questions and Answers About Training

Questions and Answers About Ordering Materials

Questions and Answers About the Materials

Questions and Answers About the Training Programs

Questions & Answers About Training

1: When/where will there be training? What is the cost?

Workshops in the parent and child programs are offered regularly in Seattle and upon request elsewhere in North America and the United Kingdom. You can check our current list of workshops. The price for training depends on which training you are selecting, and where it is offered. If an agency has contracted with us to host their own training primarily for their own staff, but are also opening up the training to people outside their agency, the price will be determined by that agency. In Seattle, our 3-day (21 hours) parent training is $400, and the 2-day (14 hour) Dina Dinosaur curriculum training is $300. Transportation, hotel, and per diem are the responsibility of the participants. Seattle workshops are currently held once a year. Please see our workshop page for more details.
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2: How can I schedule a trainer to come to my site?

Send us an e-mail with an official request for the type of training, including some choices of dates. While we will try to accommodate your desired dates, please understand that our training schedule fills up quickly. Many training dates need to be arranged 6 to 9 months ahead of time, or more.

The cost to have a trainer at your site is $1,500 per day, plus the trainer's airfare, lodging, travel, and meals. Please see our workshop page for more details. 
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3: What is involved in a consultation day? How do I schedule one?

The consultation day is for therapists/group leaders who have already received the "authorized training" in the parent or child programs and have conducted one or more groups. On this day group leaders have the opportunity to get feedback or supervision about group therapy issues, particular family dynamics or children they have encountered in their groups. Participants are asked to bring a videotape of one of their parent or child group sessions. Participants share particularly useful role-plays or discussions, which they feel others will benefit from watching or a section of their video where a problem or difficult issue is discovered. Once an agency has hosted their first basic workshops, it is advisable to schedule a follow-up consultancy day with the trainer within a year. These workshops help group leaders to continue their peer supervision and provide the support needed to complete their certification process. The consultant gives detailed feedback and direction regarding specific issues.
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4: I have attended your training for leading the parent and child groups. Is it a requirement that all group leaders receive such training or would it be acceptable to be trained by someone else who has attended your workshop?

If a leader wants to become 'certified' (which we recommend), they need to take a workshop from a certified mentor or trainer. Mentors and trainers are certified group leaders who have completed additional training. In order to get others in your agency interested or involved in leading groups you may ask them to co-lead with you and offer "unofficial training" as long as you make it clear that these are not authorized workshops. We suggest you get started on your own certification as a group leader so that you will be eligible for applying for mentor status which allows you to offer authorized workshops within your own agency. There is additional training for this process. You can see all the requirements for certification and mentor status in the certification section of this site.
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5: Is there any training available in Australia by certified trainers?

There are currently no certified trainers in Australia so one of our trainers would need to go there or interested leaders could come to our Seattle training in May. Please see our workshop page for more details. 
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6: Is there any training available in United Kingdom by certified mentors or trainers?

Yes; training programs are regularly offered by certified trainers throughout Great Britain each year. Several certified group leaders in the UK completed their certification as mentors in 2001 and are available to train in their agencies or communities. See a complete list of the mentors on our certified mentor/trainer page.
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7: Is training required before running a parent or child group?

Training is not required, but is highly recommended. Many people find that they are able to deliver the program more effectively if they have the training. If you are planning to become certified as a group leader, then training is the first required step. Also, if you plan to do any research projects using The Incredible Years programs, certification is required.
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Questions & Answers About Ordering Materials

1: Can we preview the materials? Can the preview charge be deducted from the purchase price if we order the program?

Yes, you can preview a video, for a small fee to cover shipping and handling. Just fill out the part on the order form where it says "preview" and indicate which program you would like to see. We will then pick one of the videos from within that program. We would like you to then send us the video back in about two weeks. If you need it a little longer, just let us know.

The preview charge cannot be deducted from your purchase price. The charge is a shipping and handling charge for the  preview video itself.
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2: How long does it take to receive the materials?

Shipment of materials usually occurs within 7 to 10 business days from the day we receive your order. Your receipt of the materials depends on your location. We ship via UPS; look on their website for guidelines as to time in transit. Shipments to areas closest to the West Coast of the U.S. will take 1 to 3 days, and shipments to the East Coast take 5 to 7 days. Shipments to overseas destinations are made by airmail and typically take 7 to 14 days.
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3: What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept payment by check for prepaid orders, or we can invoice you with an institutional purchase order number, with terms being "payment due upon receipt," and subsequent payment should be by check made out to the Incredible Years (in US Dollars, for our international customers). We do not take credit cards at this time.
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4: What is the shipping cost?

Shipping charges vary according to the total price of your order. There is a chart at the end of the price list/ order form. The only change to this is if you order multiple books to be sent overseas. Due to their extra weight, there is additional shipping added to your invoice, and the amount depends on the number of books you order (you may contact us for an exact quote).  If you are ordering from overseas or Canada, there will be an extra tax charged to you by the government upon delivery
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5: Can the Incredible Years programs be purchased elsewhere? Are there any distributors in United Kingdom?

Currently our programs and all other support materials can only be purchased from us here in Seattle. At this time there are no plans to move sales to any other distributor.
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Questions and Answers About the Materials

1: How many manuals are in a parent or child or teacher curriculum? Can we get extra copies of the Facilitator/Leader/Teacher manual?

Each curriculum comes with one leader's manual. If you want a second manual for your set of videos you can purchase one. Manuals may only be purchased if the tapes have been purchased. Please see our products page.
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2: Are the parent "homework" assignments and the refrigerator notes reproducible?

Yes. We provide you with a complete set of 25 already copied and made into tear off pads. These will get you started. After that, there are masters in the leader's guide that can be used to make copies for all your subsequent groups. If you wish, you may order additional tear off pads. Please see our products page.
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3: How many copies of the book "The Incredible Years: A trouble-shooting guide for parents of children aged 3 - 8" are there in a set of programs?

There is one copy of the book provided with the set of programs. For a complete list of what comes in each set of programs, check out the programs page of our website. Additional copies are available for purchase, for purchase, if you would like to make them available to the parents in your groups. It is recommended that each parent have a book when they participate in the program. (You may ask parents to buy them from you or return them at the end of the program.) Please see our products page.

Also, one copy of the book "How to promote children's social and emotional competence" and one set of four Wally's detective books are provided in the Teacher 1 - 5 program, and in the Dina Dinosaur curriculum. Additional copies of the teacher book are available for purchase, and additional sets of the Wally detective books are available for purchase as well. The 4 Wally books are only sold as a set. Please see our products page.
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4: How many magnets come in a set?

There is one piggy bank magnet entitled "Building up your bank account with your child" which is provided with the Parenting Programs, and one Dina Dinosaur magnet provided with the Teacher 1 - 5 program and the Dina Dinosaur curriculum. Additional magnets may be purchased. It is fun for each parent or child in the group to have a magnet to hold their weekly refrigerator notes. Please see our products page.
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Questions and Answers About the Training Programs

1: What age group do the programs serve?

The BASIC parenting programs are targeted toward parents of toddlers up to children age 8.  The ADVANCE parent program may be offered to parents of children ages 6-10 years.  The Dina Dinosaur curriculum is designed for children ages 4 to 8.  See a complete description of the goals and objectives under the research section on the link menu at left.
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2: What suggestions are there for childcare while parents are attending a group meeting? Do you separate children according to their ages?

If the group is for parents of children ages 4-8 we combine those age groups for childcare. If there are siblings coming as well, and some are infants, you will need a much higher ratio of supervision.  We recommend training the childcare providers  with the same videotapes that the parents see. Often in schools, teachers will agree to do childcare. In some schools we have had parents who had participated in our parent training groups a previous year help with the child care in a subsequent year. It is really important to offer good quality childcare and for your childcare providers to model the skills you are teaching the parents in the parent groups.
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3: What adaptations can be made to implement the parenting program as an Intervention rather than as a treatment model?

See also: Agencies and Schools section of our site
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4: Do you advertise the program or take referrals?

If you are offering the program as a prevention program in a school setting, we recommend that you develop a brochure  newsletter and/or a poster that explains the objectives of the programs, who can participate and how families can sign up for it.  In a clinic setting a brochure explaining the programs, cost, and admission criteria will be helpful. You may use information from our website to develop your own brochure and distribute it among your target group.
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5: For a mental health setting how is screening done with parents to determine who will qualify to become a member of the group?

We recommend the program to parents and/or children (ages 3-8 years) if their children meet the DSM IV criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or fall in the borderline or clinical range for behavior problems on standardized measures such as the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist or the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory. Otherwise, we have very few exclusion criteria. (Information about assessment tools may be found in our research papers.)  We combine single parents with couples and parents of all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds in the same groups, this provides a rich mix of perspectives. 

It is recommended that an extensive interview be conducted in the clinic with the parents in order to understand parents' parenting perspectives, childhood experiences and current family stressors (e.g., depression, marital stress, family issues) as well as their approaches to managing their child's problems to date. These interviews help the group leaders to understand parents' needs and goals and to establish a one-to-one relationship prior to starting the group.
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6: For a school setting how is screening done with parents to determine who will qualify to become a member of the group?

If resources permit we recommend that the parent program be offered to all parents in a school setting in order not to stigmatize parents with children who are more difficult to manage. A brief assessment of the child's social competence using a standardized measure (with normative data) can be completed prior to starting groups by each child's teacher and parents.  These assessments are repeated after the group ends so that leaders, teachers and parents can see their improvements.

If the "pull out" small group version of the Dinosaur Curriculum is being offered in the school by school counselors, we recommend selecting children based on teacher reports on standardized measures and those who exhibit aggressive behavior in the borderline and clinical range. We also recommend that groups include children who are highly competent who can befriend these children and help model some of the desired social skills.

University of Washington Parenting Clinic website.
Read more about the tools we use at the Parenting Clinic to do screening.
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7: Is it permissible to condense the Basic parent program down to 10 weeks? Is it possible to reduce the child Dinosaur group to the same 10-week period of time?

It takes 12-14 weeks to complete the BASIC parent program. We have tried to do the program in 8-10 weeks in prior studies and consistently found that we cannot complete the material. Parents have also evaluated the program as not being long enough. Additionally, there is the danger with a 10-week program of ending with the Time Out program and not having time to discuss other discipline approaches or integration of all the strategies that have been learned over the weeks. This final integration is important for parents to understand how to determine which parenting strategy is appropriate for which child behavior problems. 

Currently, our clinic-based treatment programs for children with conduct problems (ages 3-8 years) consists of a combination of the ADVANCE program with the BASIC program in a 22-24-week parent intervention. We find that this broader focus which includes communication skills with other adults, problem-solving, anger management and ways to give and get support is more effective for parents who are experiencing marital distress, interpersonal difficulties, depression and a lack of support. This 22-week parent program dovetails well with the 22-week Dinosaur program. 

For children with conduct problems the Dinosaur program has only been evaluated using the 18 - 22 session model. We do not recommend any fewer than 18 weekly sessions. In order to complete the program in 18 sessions you may cut a few sessions from the 'Doing Your Best in School' program because this material is extensively practiced during every small group session. 

We have adapted the child Dinosaur Curriculum for use as a prevention program in the classroom with all children. This program is delivered 2-3 times a week in a 15-20 minute circle time followed by a 20-minute small group (6-8 per group) practice activity. There are more than 60 lesson plans, as well as lessons spanning a second year of delivery of the program.