2013 Parent Workshop

In order to help families be successful at home, Chrysalis has always focused on the needs of our parents, as well as our students. With that focus in mind, Chrysalis holds a Parent Workshop each fall. This three day workshop offers parents a wealth of information about child development, family dysfunction, and overall family healing. They also participate in group exercises to experience certain relationship concepts and then sit down in small groups to discuss their experience. . These small groups are facilitated by experienced parents who have been through the workshop previously. Parents explored topics including family systems, the etiology of relational injury, Erickson's Psycho-social Developmental Stages, negative belief systems, trust, negative control mechanisms, and how to give and receive feedback.

Twenty-five parents participated in our workshop this year. These parents represented seventeen of our current students.  Overall, the parents found it very impactful and exhausting. Since this workshop focuses strictly on the parents, they learned a lot about themselves and what they contribute to their individual family system. They went away with a new perspective on how their family functions in a healthy or unhealthy way, and what they can do to change it.  We encourage parents to do their own therapeutic work at home while their daughter is working on herself on campus. At Chrysalis we know that research shows that if the student does her work while away from the home, but the family system does not change, the student will likely quickly return to her old behaviors and patterns.

In conclusion, the 2013 Parent Workshop was a huge success. However, what these parents reported as being the most helpful were the small group interactions, getting to know other parents, and learning about feedback. Several parents remarked that now they know what their daughters go through on a regular basis with groups and feedback, and were amazed at their resiliency. The workshop concluded with a touching and heartfelt closing ceremony with the students. 

Our next workshop will be the Family Workshop in the spring. This will be a fabulous opportunity to include students, parents and even siblings. For more information about Chrysalis’ Parent Workshops, call our admissions department at 888-317-9297.