DEALING WITH FAMILY DISTRESS IN SCHOOLS

Social workers and teachers in schools deal with families in distress. When a child is having trouble in school, families will respond in th eir preferred style of dealing with problems. The challenge for social workers and teachers is to understand the meaning behind how the fami ly copes with the distress. Professionals typically have been taught t raditional models of family dynamics that identify or label coping sty les as either functional or dysfunctional. The authors introduce schoo l-based professionals to the Family Distress and Family Outreach model s, which emphasize an appreciation for the family's ability to cope wi th distress in ways that are consistent with its goals and values. The authors provide a framework for developing and maintaining working re lationships with students' parents on the basis of the Family Outreach Model.