Engaging Fathers/Father Figures
5-Workshop Series Launching Feb 2027 Register Here
Meaning:
Father engagement in goal setting, along with helping reduce professional burnout on the part of those working with families, is the focus of this workshop series on providing Motivational Interviewing (MI) strategies for engaging fathers and families. Through enhancing intrinsic motivation in fathers to commit to goal setting for positive child outcomes, a father discovers his “why” motivation and his own purpose for ongoing participation in his child’s life. At the same time, the professionals working with fathers and families are energized in their work with feeling additionally confident to embark on challenging conversations with fathers and families using MI skills as a tool to keep the conversation moving in a positive direction.
Purpose:
With the role of a father in a child’s life being so crucial, and at the same time fathers facing multiple challenges (work-related, societal pressures, gender role conflict, etc.) that can be barriers to them being the father they want to be, using MI strategies that are strength-based and evidence-based to increase motivation to commit to healthy family development is a passion and a purpose in my work.
Passion:
I worked as a psychologist in the UK for a decade specializing in men’s issues and working with male boarding school survivors, and I was deeply impacted by the challenges that men and fathers face that are unique and often remain unspoken in our culture, and which can lead to lack of presence in a child’s life. In the US I was co-investigator on a research grant exploring substance use amongst US Air Force members, including the impact of gender-role conflict as measured by the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS). I am passionate about working with challenging situations where MI strategies can be helpful for enhancing positive change for fathers with their children, and also encouraging mothers and other caregivers to include the father in their child’s development.
Well-being:
We know from research that MI is effective and efficient. By using MI strategies to enhance a father’s motivation to commit to healthy family development in spite of the challenges he faces in his own life, future generations are positively impacted. At the same time, those working with fathers and families are impacted by continuing to feel joy and purpose in their work to achieve positive child outcomes.
Reserve a spot for this 5-series training: Register Here
If your organization prefers to have a training solely for your team please contact me to organize dates: kwilson@theorytoaction.world.
My co-trainer for these workshops will be Paul Wilson, PhD, retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, currently working at a high security prison with violent male offenders. He also comes with expertise in Motivational Interviewing and working with men.
Nurturing Fathers Workshop Series (FREE):
As a Nurturing Fathers facilitator, I will co-facilitate part of the 13-week program starting on October 21st 2026 from 6:00 – 8:00pm which will be facilitated by Kevin Lamb (Head Start, Placer County, CA). This Nurturing Fathers series will be in-person in Roseville, CA and also available via Zoom! A Spanish interpreter will be on site.
Please contact Kevin for details or to sign up: klamb@pcac-inc.org
