Supporting Healthy Family Relationships and Promoting Mental Wellbeing

Connection is at the heart of wellbeing. Our Family Relations and Mental Wellbeing classes create welcoming spaces for individuals and families to learn, share, and grow together. We focus on strengthening relationships, improving communication, understanding emotions, and managing life’s everyday challenges. Our parent-focused programs are grounded in research-based practices that foster secure attachment and honor the inherent worth and dignity of every child.

Family Relations/Parenting

TBRI, or Trust-Based Relational Intervention, is a trauma-informed and attachment-based intervention developed by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. It focuses on helping caregivers build healthy relationships with children, especially those who have experienced trauma, by addressing their physical, emotional, and relational needs. TBRI is based on three core principles: Connecting, Empowering, and Correcting. 

Parenting for Positive Self-Worth is based on TBRI principles and consists of eight 2-hour classes designed to help caregivers build a stronger connection with their children. They will learn how to connect with their children in a deep and meaningful way, how to empower their children to be successful each day, and how to correct behavior while establishing positive self-worth in their children.

The Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth ages 10-14 – This parent and child focused curriculum has made a difference in thousands of families in all 50 states and in over 25 countries. Parents want to protect their children, but it’s challenging. Youth need skills to help them resist the peer pressure that leads to risky behaviors. Research shows that protective parenting improves family relationships and decreases the level of family conflict, contributing to lower levels of substance use. This award-winning and highly recognized program was developed by Iowa State Extension.

WITS Workout – this class has two main goals—to provide purposeful opportunities for older adults to engage intellectually, and to increase their socialization through ongoing group participation. These brain workouts are a little challenging and a lot of fun.

Mental Wellbeing

Making Sense of Your Worth - A program for men, women and teens. Self-Worth is the foundation of who we are as human beings and in today’s world is highly sought after. It plays a role in every decision we make and in every relationship we have. This eight-week program is designed for men, women and teens who desire the freedom that comes with positive self-worth and secure attachment. Making Sense of Your Worth follows a step-by-step process of replacing the lies the world has told us about who we are with the truth of who we really are.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a one-day course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis. Mental Health First Aiders are teachers, first responders, veterans, neighbors, parents and friends. They’re people in recovery, and those supporting a loved one. If you want to make your community healthier, happier and safer than become a Mental Health First Aider.

QPR - Question, Persuade, Refer - Just as people trained in CPR help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. This class takes less than 2 hours and can be offered virtually or in-person.

CREW - Compassion and Resilience Education at Work - This curriculum is designed as professional development for current employees to address challenges in three areas – work-life balance, stress management, and stigma reduction. This training is for organizations of all sizes and is available as a standalone one-hour session or as a series. 

Grief Recovery Method – The Grief Recovery Method helps grievers deal with those things they wish might have been different or better. It gives them the chance to address their dreams and hopes for the future, address the words left unspoken, and process the lost relationship. Research shows that this dream of a better tomorrow is very possible, thanks to the Grief Recovery Method Action Plan!  We offer both group and one-on-one Grief Recovery Method Support Programs to assist grievers, no matter their emotional loss.

Other Classes

UF IFAS SMART Classes Online – Please visit www.smartcouples.org to select from free self-paced, online classes including Before You Tie the Knot, Positive Behavioral Management Skills, 9 Skills for Talking about Money, and more!
Relationships can be beautiful, frustrating, amazing, annoying, and everything in between. A strong relationship takes work, and it can be challenging knowing how to handle any given situation. Communication issues, finances, home responsibilities, raising children, and fun ideas for date night are just a few of the research-based, expert-authored topics on the site. The goal is to strengthen marriages, relationships, and families among all Florida residents.

Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills – two-day training facilitation skills along with opportunities to practice – participants learn how to get work done more effectively and efficiently in group meetings

Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing - Participants of the workshop draft and polish a grant proposal and learn how to navigate the grant process. Both beginners and experienced grant writers learn to develop ideas into winning proposals, identify and build relationships with potential funders, and speak and write confidently about how their proposal will make an impact. This is an award-winning program developed by Purdue Extension.

For information on specific days, times, and locations, please contact Pamela Bradford at 813-744-5519 ext 54140 or by email at pbradford@ufl.edu.

For Court Ordered/Divorce Parenting Courses visit https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/child-family/child-and-family-well-being/pefs/local-course-list