Addison County Family Wellness Program
The Vermont Family Based Approach, developed by James Hudziak, MD, is a comprehensive, evidence based, family focused, wellness approach to preventing, reducing and treating childhood mental health issues. The core of this approach is to promote exercise, emotional regulation skills, music, reading, a healthy diet, parenting skills and parental mental health treatment as the primary interventions to improve children’s mental health. Members of the VCCYF team are collaborating with a team of education and health professionals at the Addison County Central Supervisory Union on a project to bring the Vermont Family Based Approach to the Early Education Program at the Mary Hogan School.
Objectives
- To pilot a preschool based Family Wellness Program.
Accomplishments
- Core team was identified.
- Program design and procedures were developed and documented.
- A project Community Day was held to elicit community awareness and buy-in from major stakeholders (school, primary care, parents, and community leaders).
- Mental Health Clinicians from CSAC (Counseling Services of Addison County) were provided a two day training in evidence based “Parent
- Management Training” developed by Alan Kazdin at The Yale Child Study Center.