Coaching Families for Resilience: How Pediatricians Can Support Caregivers and Prevent Burnout

Pediatricians and other pediatric health professionals are daily being challenged by the youth mental health crisis, the shortage of pediatric mental health professionals, and their own risk for burnout. Research increasingly shows that a trauma-informed care approach, like that presented in Coaching Families for Resilience, can help address some of the most pressing issues facing families and pediatric care providers.

Coaching Families for Resilience offers a structured program that pediatricians can offer within the framework of primary care office visits. It is designed to teach parents and kids skills and techniques to begin addressing trauma, toxic stress, and behavioral and mental health issues immediately, even while waiting for an appointment with a therapist or psychiatrist.

Over a series of 4 weekly visits, the clinician works with caregivers to identify the most important issues and desired changes, coaches the family on techniques for calming, emotional regulation, and de-escalation, and introduces a simple process for stepwise change. Coaching Families for Resilience also illustrates how to apply the core toolkit of interventions to a broad range of clinical scenarios, including

• Handling acute visits for anxiety, depression, and oppositional behaviors
• Caring for children in foster care
• Working with families dealing with illness or other crises
• Adapting anticipatory guidance recommendations to suit the needs of families affected by significant adversity and toxic stress

A chapter of clinical vignettes breaks down a series of complex office visits into manageable pieces that can be approached using the book’s toolkit, illustrating in detail how a trauma-informed approach can transform practice.
Those professionals who care for children will be empowered by this guide and may find themselves and their practices revitalized by this practical guide to connecting with and assisting families in real time.

Gretchen A. Pianka, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a graduate of Amherst College and a product of the University of Vermont School of Medicine and the University of Virginia Pediatric internship and residency program. She earned her master’s in public health from the University of New England. Dr. Pianka has practiced primary care pediatrics in Maine since 2004, currently caring for immigrants and children entering the foster care system. She enjoys sharing the approach that revitalized her love of medicine and promotes access to positive childhood experiences with children, caregivers, medical students, physicians and other professionals. She lives in coastal Maine with her family.