A perpetual battle persists between adolescents and parents in many households; two parties struggling to maintain an uneasy truce over school, relationships, cultural identity, and more. Misunderstandings and arguments are common, some gradually resolving over time as the teen matures, but some becoming deep-seated or even escalating. If you’ve ever wished you could press the “pause” button on one of these battles, then “rewind and replay” and communicate better this time, we hear you. A studio-produced video series, Parent Playbook, produced by Stanford’s CHIPAO (Communication Health Interactive for Parents and Others) uses role-playing to help parents foster deeper and meaningful relationships with their children.
Intense pressure from schools, parents, and peers to achieve academic and personal success as well as challenging stigma against mental health are common concerns. Furthermore, many parents express discomfort in discussing emotional topics with their children and request hands-on opportunities to help improve family dialogue. Rona Hu, MD, a Stanford Psychiatrist and Chinese-American, has created interactive vignettes illustrating effective communication as an educational tool for parents. While the workshops are tailored to Asian-American families to help address the disproportionate representation in suicide clusters mentioned above, there are many cross-cultural topics and learning points that are universally applicable.
Each vignette begins with actors portraying common scenarios of conflict between parents and children on topics ranging from bad grades to depression and self-harm. A moderator then enters and facilitates comments and suggestions from the audience for improved communication. Finally, the workshop concludes with an improved rendition of the original vignette and a discussion/Q&A session. Live presentations have been well received at schools and community settings, though there is the realization that many parents could not attend because of work and family responsibilities, as such studio produced episodes were created to reach all audiences.
You can also check us out live:
Jordan Middle School (750 N. California Ave, Palo Alto 94303)
April 19th, 2017
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