Addiction, Treatment and Recovery

The first five-day Professionals in Residence (PIR): Focus on Children program – tailored specifically for those who work with children or are interested in developing children’s services – was recently held on the Betty Ford Center’s Rancho Mirage campus.

Jerry Moe, National Director of the Betty Ford Children’s Program and Training Academy, and trainer/counselor Peggy McGillicuddy co-facilitated the pilot program.

“One of the goals of the Children’s Program Training Academy is to teach others in this field how to create their own program,” said Jerry. “In this fashion, we are able to help more children around the country; in fact, around the world.”

As the work of the Institute’s Children’s Program became more acknowledged over the past decade, interest in emulating it grew.

This first session was by invitation only and included nine participants from Bermuda, Canada, Kansas, North Carolina and Arizona. Each of those who attended had expressed interest in this sort of training “if it ever happened,” and Jerry promises that the success of this event will prompt the scheduling of more in the future.

He added that one of the challenges in creating the program was to do it in a ‘kid-less way’ – the participants didn’t spend any time observing a children’s program but learned general principles and strategies found effective in helping kids from addicted families.

Each participant was provided with a daily schedule, not knowing what was planned for the next day, and thus “lived in the now” each day. Jerry said that several elements of the “classic Children’s Program” were included to make the experience even more unique.

Following are a few comments from the evaluations:

• “Peggy has a very strong, steady, calming presence. She has such great passion for this work. She is a gifted teacher.”

• “Jerry Moe is amazing. He is very engaging, compassionate and energetic. He cares so much and believes strongly in what he is doing …”

• “The program exceeded all my expectations – having a children’s program will enhance our treatment immeasurably. It’s given me new enthusiasm for my work.”

• “This has changed my perspective on what a Children of Alcoholics program should look like, who should be involved in facilitating it and how it affects child and family.”

• “[receiving] the information as it is used with the children in the program [was] far better than learning from lectures or reading. This may be the most impactful training in my career.”

If you are interested in participating in a future session of this new offering, please contact the Children’s Program at (800) 854-9211, ext 4291.

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