Minnelly Vasquez, LCSW Completes New Trainings on Family Based Therapies

The WFCPC's Social Worker Minnelly Vasquez, LCSW recently completed two trainings focused on family-based therapies. These approaches enable children and parents to take leading roles in processing their CP journeys.

The Bottom-Up Approach in Multigenerational Family Therapy: The Child as the Family Guide

This bottom-up approach moves from child protection to child respect and sees the child as a therapeutic resource. The technique encourages the child’s voice to be heard and their relational competence appreciated, so they can become a special guide to enter the emotional world of their family. A map of the family world provides a wonderful platform to start this therapeutic journey.  

"The child in family therapy is commonly seen as a problem or as a victim. This approach reframes the child’s challenging behaviors as an opportunity to form a special alliance with the child, to help navigate the emotional state of the family", said Minnelly.

Minnelly will incorporate these approaches into her family therapy sessions. 

Parenting Family Journey

The Parenting Journey explores relationships through respect, empathetic listening, and recognizing and supporting strengths. The approach focuses on adult development and the emotional understanding of the parent's role, thus filling a void created by traditional parenting classes which often focus on child development and disciplinary techniques. 

Based on this approach, Minnelly plans to create a curriculum for CP parents that incorporates the medical, educational and social journey. The curriculum will explore past and present factors that influence their parenting styles, enhance parenting skills, and utilize parents' strengths to support their children and build nurturing family relationships.

Minnelly provides individual and family psychotherapy, and runs monthly support groups for adults with cerebral palsy. Learn more about our mental health services here.