Technique Is Not Enough (TINE) - British Psychological Society

attitudes. Such attitudes can surface in this way especially between groups from differentcultural backgrounds where there is also an inherent power imbalance betweenparticipating groups. Parenting programme developers could therefore include teambuilding exercises during the programme training phase. These could be designed so thedevelopment process itself models professionals shifting power towards service user parenttrainers (parents who have previously completed a programme and then train asprogramme facilitators). Experience tells us that this can also increase professionals’respect for the importance of the multiple and often lay kinds of knowledge that arehelpful in successfully engaging with so called ‘hard to reach’ parents. The importance ofthis insight is obvious. For example:Triple PTriple P has begun to explore engagement and acceptability for culturally and linguistically diverse(CALD) families. Evidence suggests professional gatekeepers are less readily engaged than parentsthemselves if they have the chance to access Triple P interventions (e.g. while some practitioners havereservations about the appropriateness of the positive parenting strategies for their specific CALDclient groups, the parents themselves rate the strategies as highly relevant and acceptable).However, including local parents from socially marginalised backgrounds at the table withmiddle-class, university graduate professionals may seem like a risky proposition for aprogramme developer. This could lead to core effective components of the programmebeing challenged, which we know should be avoided. We recommend that programmedevelopers identify what the effective core components of their particular programme arein advance of implementation so they can be clear that these cannot be changed. It is ourexperience that co-production teams respect the distinction between aspects of theprogramme that can be changed and those that cannot where the programme developershares the research that identified their programme’s core components in the first place,thereby explaining why certain features are non-negotiable. We also strongly recommendactively identifying aspects of the programme that can be adapted. This might involvebeing flexible about learning methods and content, programme location and times andwith whom and by whom the programme is facilitated. These options can then be offeredup for discussion and subsequent cultural adaptation by the co-production team. This canbe an empowering process in itself as it provides the opportunity for real ownership andcontrol to reside at the local level. Empowerment and ownership contribute to building apositive context for later sustainability as we will see later. For example:SNAPSNAP uses a variety of methods. Research ethics approval committees involve clients, and othercollaborators where indicated. Board members include parents who have accessed our services in thepast. People can participate as parent/peer mentors – parents, who have already completed the coreSNAP groups (e.g. SNAP Girls Club) are asked to co‐facilitate the subsequent SNAP group sessionswith the SNAP Leader – the mentor is typically involved in pre/debriefs following groups.Recommendations for enhancements and changes emerge during our regular on‐site consultationswith the aboriginal community leaders, programme staff and feedback from parents.44 Professional Practice Board