Parent Stress Intervention Program (PSIP) Curricula

The curricula of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Parenting Stress Intervention Program (PSIP) are now available for purchase. Components include strategies based in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Positive Adult Development (PAD). These curricula were developed as part of an intervention research study for stress reduction in parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Adapted by Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., and a group of dedicated parent mentors, the curricula is intended to provide tools for learning and practicing these techniques, and for teaching them to parent groups. The information is intended to be used in mental health or institutional settings by qualified personnel serving as group leaders/mentors in an effort to teach stress reduction to parent/caregiver groups. It is not intended to replace mental health services or consultation.

To better understand this novel approach and to learn about the experiences of parents who participated in the research project, it may be helpful to read the article (linked below) that appeared in the New York Times in July 2014.

New York Times: When the Caregivers Need Healing

For a better understanding of the PSIP program's research methods and outcomes, it may be helpful to read the article (linked below) that appeared in Pediatrics.

Pediatrics: Reducing Distress in Mothers of Children With Autism and Other Disabilities: A Randomized Trial.

To purchase the PSIP curricula, visit: psip.vueinnovations.com