Core Components

Family Transitions Triple P is a Level 5 group intervention from the multi-level Triple P System. The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® is a parenting and family support system designed to prevent and treat behaviour and emotional problems in children and teenagers. The system takes a minimal sufficiency approach, offering families just the amount of support they require. It also takes a self-regulatory approach that encourages practitioners, parents and children to promote independent problem solving.

The Triple P System has five levels of intervention, each increasing in intensity and directed towards a different level of family need or dysfunction. The levels range from level 1 which takes a universal approach, to level 5 interventions which include programmes which offer intensive family support for families with complex concerns.

Family Transitions Triple P is aimed at families of children aged up to 12 years old where parents are experiencing distress from separation or divorce, are experiencing difficulties communicating effectively with former partners and where these challenges are impacting on their parenting. It aims to prevent severe behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents to make a smooth transition through the separation/divorce. The focus of the intervention is on supporting parents to develop skills to resolve conflicts and how to cope positively with stress.

The intervention is typically made up of 5 group sessions for parents (it can also be completed individually with parents), completed prior to receiving a Level 4 Triple P intervention. The 5 sessions cover topics such as; how to talk to children about the separation and helping them manage their emotions, identifying unhelpful emotions and thoughts and how to challenge them, coping strategies, self-care and assertive communication skills.

Practitioners work from a manual and PowerPoint presentation provided at training. Each parent receives a Family Transitions Workbook and relaxation CD. The intervention is well operationalised, the manual provides comprehensive guidance around what should be covered in each session.

Fidelity

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® has three main fidelity checks / quality assurance strategies for all the programmes delivered in-person:

- Accreditation of practitioners undertaken as part of a provider training course. Intended to establish a baseline of competence for all practitioners.
- Session Checklists – Manualised programme which includes practitioner check list for every session.
- Peer Support Networks – Triple P has a Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS) model which is a self-regulatory framework for practitioners where they can support each other’s skills development. The PASS model is covered in the training days.

Modifiable Components

Triple P practitioners can tailor interventions to meet the needs of individual parents, while maintaining adherence to the overall principles and content of the programmes, appropriate adaptions are covered during training.

Training in Triple P has been delivered in 30 countries and written and audio-visual materials have been translated from English, dubbed or subtitled into 21 languages, with videoclips and workbooks including images of diverse ethnicities. Practitioners can tailor the intervention, so it is culturally acceptable, such as using culturally-familiar terminology and examples.

Triple P consultants can offer support to implementing services to consider appropriate adaptions.

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® was developed in Queensland, Australia. Training and implementation has been delivered across 30 countries. Within the United Kingdom, training and implementation support can be accessed from Triple P UK.

Support for Organisation/Practice

Implementation Support

Triple P UK has structured implementation supports available to sites. All implementation supports are flexible and tailored to the site’s requirements and are available for all programmes in the Triple P system. Triple P have developed a framework for implementation, it has 5 phases and are all described in detail in the Triple P Implementation Framework (TPIF). Triple P UK also has Implementation Consultants (IC) available to support new sites work through the phases of implementation. The 5 phases of implementation supported by Triple P are detailed below:

• Engagement – ICs share information about the Triple P system and work with key contacts to establish if there is a potential fit.
• Commitment and Contracting – ICs work with the organisation to help establish more detailed plans and goals, choose suitable Triple P programme variants, set up implementation support and communications strategies, and together agree on mutual commitments.
• Implementation Planning – ICs help support development of detailed plans for service delivery, communications, training and accreditation, and evaluation for the organisation’s outcomes, based on their readiness and capacity.
• Training and Accreditation – ICs work with key contacts to ensure there are enough trained practitioners to offer the planned Triple P services. This includes ensuring practitioners are prepared for training, have a high-quality experience of training, and have time after training to work on their skills and prepare for and complete their accreditation.
• Implementation and Maintenance – The goal of this phase is to ensure that Triple P is effectively delivered, that there is an active evaluation process from which feedback is provided to practitioners and leadership, that practitioners are getting the most out of Triple P peer support networks, and strategies are in place to support sustainable, effective delivery.

After training, practitioners can access the Triple P Provider Network which has resources such as questionnaires and monitoring forms, further information for learning and development of competencies and access to the Automatic Scoring and Reporting Application (ASRA). Using the ASRA tool, sites can score questionnaires, analyse and compare individual cases and outcomes, enabling reporting and evaluation of the programme’s effectiveness.

Additional implementation support options are available from Triple P UK. These include:

- Triple P Briefing
- Support to Managers and Coordinators
- Strategic Project Consultation
- Support for Practitioners

Licence Requirements

No licence is required.

Start-up Costs

Costs can be provided directly from Triple P UK for training groups of staff from 12–20 practitioners.

Costs that need to be considered are the training course, programme resources for working with parents and children, and any additional implementation supports required. Certain locations will require additional costs of trainer travel and accommodation.

Building Staff Competency

Qualifications Required

Triple P UK recommends that for all programmes practitioners have a post-high school qualification in health, education, early childhood education, or social services. However, para-professionals who actively work with families may also be suitable for training.

Triple P UK note that professionals who usually undertake their Triple P courses are those who may be involved in support for the client and are able to provide focused therapeutic interventions, including teachers, school counsellors, nurse, health visitors, family physicians and allied health professionals. Triple P UK suggest that the intervention is carried out by a professional in the course of providing routine care for families.

Training Requirements

Practitioners are required to attend 2 days of Family Transitions training, followed by a one day pre-accreditation workshop and half day accreditation. Prior to the accreditation session practitioners need to complete a quiz and competence preparation. In total, it is estimated that training and accreditation should take 3 – 5 days of practitioner time.

Organisations can host agency training at a time and location convenient to them or alternatively individual practitioners apply for open enrolment training held remotely (video conference) through the UK open enrolment timetable.

Supervision Requirements

No official supervision requirements are detailed by Triple P UK. However, they do have a professional development and peer support model; Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS). This approach brings together Triple P practitioners to support one another to strengthen and refine their Triple P delivery.

 

Theory of Change

The Triple P system aims to enhance family protective factors and reduce risk factors associated with severe behavioural and emotional problems later in childhood. Triple P interventions are based on social learning, cognitive behavioural and developmental theory. The Family Transitions programme draws on these theories, for example social learning theory; as with their child, parents can get caught in coercive interactions with each other, Family Transitions Triple P teaches parents to develop and maintain co-parenting relationships using assertive communication skills, problem-solving and parenting plans as an alternative to hostility. This in turn helps teach children communication skills, coping with emotions and adjustment to change. The programme also draws on cognitive therapy techniques to support parents to monitor their mood and challenge automatic thoughts.

Values

Triple P interventions support parents of children who have, or are at risk of developing, behaviour problems. The interventions aim to promote positive caring relationships between parents and their children and to help parents develop effective management strategies for dealing with behaviour and emotions problems. 

Triple P takes a minimal sufficiency approach, offering families just the amount of support parents require to resolve a problem and enable parents to be confident, competent and independent in their parenting. It also takes a self-regulatory approach that encourages practitioners, parents and children to promote independent problem solving.

• Is working with families to promote a positive caring relationship with their child match with your service values?
• Does taking a minimal sufficiency approach to offering support align with your service values?

Priorities

Family Transitions Triple P is intensive family support for parents who are experiencing distress following a separation or divorce and for whom this is impacting on their parenting.

• Is taking an early intervention and prevention approach to child behaviour and emotional difficulties a priority for your service?
• Is supporting parents experiencing distress and challenges to parenting following divorce or separation a priority for your service?

Existing Initiatives 

• Does your service already provide early intervention programmes aiming to support parents following a separation or divorce who are finding parenting challenging?

Families accessing Family Transitions Triple P should attend a level 4 Triple P intervention following the Family Transitions programme. 

• Does your service, or a locally accessible service, provide this intervention or plan to implement Level 4 interventions?

Workforce

One practitioner is required to deliver a Family Transitions Triple P group. Practitioners require time to train in the intervention and to deliver it, usually 10 hours (5 two-hour sessions), as well as preparation, administration and supervision time. Triple P UK recommends that practitioners have a post-high school qualification in health, education, child care, or social services, but there are no pre-requisites to access training. Training takes place over 2 days, followed by a 1-day pre-accreditation and a half-day accreditation. 

• Do you have the required staff numbers to meet the need of the demand in your service / area?
• Do you have appropriate staff with the capacity to train and deliver this intervention?

Technology Support

To implement Family Transitions Triple P a computer / data projector and screen is required to show the presentation and video clips (available for practitioners to download or access online).

• Do you have access to adequate technology to support practitioners to effectively deliver the technological components of the programme?
• Do you have the technology to support practitioners to download, print and photocopy the materials they need to deliver the programme?

Administrative Support

Administrative support is required to collect evaluation data and feedback, print off materials along with co-ordinating and booking of venues.

• Do you have enough administrative capacity and systems to meet these administrative needs?
• Do you have access to facilities to host Family Transitions Triple P sessions?

Financial Support

Costs can be provided directly from Triple P UK for training groups of staff from 12–20 practitioners. In addition to training, the costs of programme resources and any additional implementation supports need to be taken into consideration.

• Do you have the finances available to support the training and implementation of this programme?

Comparable Population 

Family Transitions Triple P is aimed at parents experiencing distress and conflict after separation or divorce, which is impacting on their parenting. 

• Is this an identified population of particular concern to your organisation?

Research into Family Transitions has been conducted with families in Queensland, Australia. Most families were born in Australia or New Zealand. A majority had completed their high school education and were in paid employment. 

• Is this comparable to the population you serve?

Desired Outcome

Triple P programmes aim to prevent and treat behaviour and emotional problems in children. Family Transitions Triple P aims to prevent severe behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents to make a smooth transition through the separation/divorce.

• Are the improvements of parenting practices and children’s behaviour a priority outcome for your organisation?
• Is supporting parents to develop skills to resolve conflicts and cope positively with stress a priority for your service?