For the fifth consecutive year, VTDigger is excited to work with Vermont Care Partners to promote the much-needed services of its sixteen respective member agencies which, includes NCSS. They also understand how important it is for our elected officials to know how to support the needs of Vermonters.  

This thirteen-week series is a collaboration produced by members of the Vermont Care Partners statewide network of sixteen non-profit, community-based agencies providing mental health, substance use and intellectual and developmental disability support.

Below is the eighth installment of the series from the Counseling Service of Addison County (CSAC) highlighting the Breakthrough Parenting: Curriculum Navigating Trauma Across Generations (BPC) class.  

Parenting class on trauma’s impact

Parents make shifts at home, creates ripple effect of change for families.

On a chilly February morning, a group of parents gather with a common goal: to learn effective strategies for managing parenting challenges, and to strengthen bonds with their children. They are participants in the class Breakthrough Parenting: Curriculum Navigating Trauma Across Generations (BPC), offered by Counseling Service of Addison County (CSAC).  

Kim, mother of three and now a CSAC BPC Parent Peer Facilitator is enthusiastic about the class’ impact. “I love this class. It’s the cat’s meow!” she exclaims. Kim recalls her initial experience as a participant in CSAC’s first class offering, back in December 2022, during a particularly difficult period following the loss of her partner.  “I was a mess, my kids were a mess, and I reached out to [CSAC] for help. I was in a hole. My main life focus was how do I get my kids through this?” 

Her journey from participant to Facilitator in September 2023 is testament to the transformative power of the class. “It’s been life changing,” she reflects.

“This class is hard work because you’re talking about trauma, and that’s hard. But doing that shows strength.” Kim, CSAC BPC class Parent Peer Facilitator 

Kim reflects on her childhood trauma and the revelations she had during the class. She shares that you start to understand what’s normal and what’s not: “When you take the class, you realize oh, that’s not normal… [with the class] you learn a different way of doing things.” This realization leads to learning new approaches in parenting. Betsy King, CSAC BPC Coordinator, contributing her insights, mentions how the class aids in recognizing and learning about generational trauma and validating for people that they received the wrong messages when they were children. Betsy co-teaches the class with CSAC’s Sarah Muss, a CSAC Outreach Clinician.  Read more by clicking Sponsor Spotlight link.

Parenting class on trauma’s impact