Incredible Years^® Training Workshops

This training will prepare group leaders to implement our Baby Parenting Program. This 9-12 session program focuses on teaching parents how to provide nurturing parenting to babies including offering physical, tactile, verbal, and visual stimulation, coping with crying babies, safety proofing one’s house, and understanding the developmental needs of babies. Parents will learn about managing issues such as crying babies, feeding and diapering problems, and leaders will take advantage of the babies’ presence in the group to set up practices (for example, baby massage). The curriculum uses Dr. Webster-Stratton’s book Incredible Babies as the text for parents.

This training will prepare group leaders to lead three different basic parenting programs: (1) Toddler Parenting Program (ages 1-3 years) which is 13 weekly sessions; (2) Preschool Parenting Program (ages 3-6 years) which is 18-20 sessions; and (3) School-Age Parenting Program (ages 6-8 years) which is 16 sessions (four additional sessions for the Supporting your Child’s Education component).

The training teaches the following content: child-directed play, academic, persistence, social and emotional coaching, praise and encouragement, predictable routines, effective limit setting, nonphysical discipline alternatives, teaching children to problem solve, and supporting children’s education. The training will also teach how to use this program as a prevention program in elementary schools and preschools.

This program may be used by professionals (such as therapists and parent educators from psychology, social work, education, nursing, pediatrics, and psychiatry) who are working with families of young children diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ADHD or aggressive behavior problems or anxiety and internalizing problems (ages 3-8 years), or with higher risk socioeconomically disadvantaged families, as well as court-ordered families, foster parents, and teenage parents.

This training will prepare group leaders to lead the 16-18 session school-age parenting program (ages 6-12 years). The training teaches the following content: special time (play), academic, social, and emotional coaching, praise and incentives, rules and responsibilities, limit setting, prosocial discipline, problem-solving, and ways to foster homework completion and after-school monitoring.

Group leaders already trained in the version of BASIC training that includes early School Age (ages 6-8) may receive a supplemental training workshop (in person for 1 full day or online for two 3.25 hour sessions) for using the School Age program with parents of children ages 9-12.

This training is designed for experienced group leaders who have already received the Parenting Programs (Basic) training to offer this 8-12 week parenting course as an adjunct to the basic programs, have run at least one full series of the group sessions, and ideally are also certified group leaders. It covers topics such as effective communication skills, anger management, giving and getting support, problem-solving with adults and teachers, and family problem-solving meetings.

*This training is only available for participants who have previously attended a Basic Parent Group Leader Training

This training covers in depth the Attentive Parenting Program, which is intended to be used as a universal prevention parenting program for all parents. It is designed to promote positive parenting strategies which lead to children’s social and emotional competence. The content of this program includes child-directed play, academic and persistence coaching, emotion coaching, social coaching, emotional regulation training, and problem-solving. This prevention program may be used by professionals (such as therapists and parent educators from psychology, social work, education, nursing, and psychiatry) who are working with families of young children without conduct problems (ages 2-6 years). It may also be used as a follow-up for those who have been through the treatment parenting groups.

This training workshop covers in depth the Autism Spectrum and Language Delays Parenting Program for parents of children ages 2–5 years old. Group leaders attending this training should have prior experience working with children on the autism spectrum or their families. It is recommended that Group Leaders attending this training have previously attended the Basic Parent Group Leader Training and have experience running Incredible Years® groups. This workshop will train group leaders to deliver the Autism Spectrum and Language Delays Program in a parent-group setting. This program can be used as a stand-alone, following the 14-16 session protocol for a group of parents all of whom have children on the autism spectrum or with language delays. It can also be used by group leaders delivering the Toddler or Preschool Parenting Programs as a supplement if there are parents in the group with children on the autism spectrum or with language delays.

For the Baby, Toddler, Preschool, and School Age Basic Parenting Programs we have developed a home-visitor coaching model. This one-on-one parent-coach model can be used to deliver the entire basic parenting program or as a supplement for parents attending an Incredible Years® group. This home-visitor coaching model is a good option if parents cannot attend a parent group due to schedule conflicts, or if there is an extended delay before the next parent group will be offered. This model may also be used with parents who need some additional coaching at home with their children.

*This training is only available for participants who have previously attended Basic Parenting Program Group Leader Training.

This training workshop will present in depth the Dina Dinosaur Child Social Skills, Emotional Regulation & Problem-Solving Training for Children designed by Dr. Webster-Stratton to help young children who have behavior problems. The program focuses on ways to promote children’s emotional literacy, anger management, appropriate conflict management strategies, expected classroom behaviors, and positive social skills or friendship behaviors with other children and adults.

The workshop will cover methods for working with small groups of children including role play, rehearsal, video and live modeling, group discussion, and small group activities. The intervention program is appropriate for use by therapists with small groups of children with behavior problems either in mental health centers or as “pull-out” programs in schools. The program has been shown to be effective in four randomized control group studies with families of children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder.

This training workshop will present in depth the Classroom Dinosaur Child Program designed by Dr. Webster-Stratton to help prevent behavior problems and promote social competence and emotional literacy in young children. The program focuses on ways for teachers to promote children’s emotional literacy, anger management, appropriate conflict management strategies, expected classroom behaviors, and positive social skills or friendship behaviors with other children and adults.

The curriculum includes over 60 lesson plans for use by teachers for children aged 3-8 (the curriculum is broken up into three “levels” for different developmental stages). The training also includes classroom management strategies that enhance children’s prosocial skills and reduce behavior plans.

The program is appropriate for use by teachers and school counselors for classrooms of students in groups of 18 to 24. It includes circle time, small group activities, and strategies to promote social, emotional, and academic literacy throughout the day.

This training workshop will cover in depth the Helping Preschool Children with Autism Program for teachers and parents of children ages 2–5 years old. This workshop will train group leaders to deliver the 6-session Helping Preschool Children with Autism Program with both teachers and parents in a group setting. This program can be used as a stand-alone curriculum, or it can be used as a supplement to the Teacher Classroom Management Program OR the Autism Spectrum and Language Delays Parenting Program.

To attend this training, group leaders should have prior experience working with children with autism or their families. Prior experience with running Incredible Years groups is not required, although highly recommended, and experienced IY group leaders are welcome!

This training workshop will train group leaders to deliver the Incredible Beginnings® Program to teachers and childcare providers and includes a training protocol for teachers of toddlers (1–3 years) as well as one for preschoolers (3–5 years). In this collaborative, interactive training, participants learn group leadership skills such as the use of self-reflection inventories and goal setting, mediation of video vignettes, how to set up role play practices and buzzes, development of behavior plans, and benefits/barriers exercises. The program topics focus on ways preschool and daycare providers can provide an environment that promotes optimal development of children’s social competence, emotional literacy, self-regulation, and sense of security and attachment, as well as early problem-solving and academic readiness skills. After this training, leaders can offer this 6–day curriculum to groups of teachers and/or childcare providers.

This training workshop will help group leaders learn how to deliver the evidence-based Teacher Classroom Management Program to preschool and early school-age teachers. The training focuses on how to strengthen teacher classroom management strategies, promote children’s pro-social behavior and school readiness (reading and writing skills), and reduce classroom aggression and non-cooperation with peers and teachers. Additionally, the curriculum provides ways teachers can effectively collaborate with parents to support their school involvement and promote consistency from home to school.

After the training, group leaders can offer this 6-day curriculum to groups of teachers in their schools. It may be delivered in monthly or weekly meetings and takes 42 hours for teachers to complete the entire series.

Group leaders should have a background in child development, social learning theory, adult group leadership skills, and experience teaching children in the classroom.