{"id":2724,"date":"2026-04-23T15:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.sivustamo.dev\/uncategorized\/small-changes-in-time-can-make-all-the-difference-this-is-how-we-support-families-at-an-early-stage\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:50:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:50:32","slug":"small-changes-in-time-can-make-all-the-difference-this-is-how-we-support-families-at-an-early-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/blog\/small-changes-in-time-can-make-all-the-difference-this-is-how-we-support-families-at-an-early-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Small changes in time can make all the difference &#8211; this is how we support families at an early stage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Towards lighter services &#8211; prevention at the heart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Parenting Counselling Centre Vars, we believe that the most effective support comes early. By supporting families early enough, we can prevent situations from becoming overwhelming and reduce the need for more burdensome services. This is not only important in human terms, it is also a sustainable way of building a functioning service system.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our work is based on practical, everyday support. It focuses on where families&#8217; lives really happen: in everyday life, interaction and parenting. By giving parents understanding and concrete ways of dealing with challenging situations, even small changes can have a significant impact on the well-being of the whole family.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Making impact visible in everyday life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our work in out-of-home care is based on the structured model of Strengthening Parenting that we have developed. Each family is set clear, everyday goals and their achievement is monitored throughout the process. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Effectiveness is considered from many angles:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>how the objectives set will be achieved<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how the family&#8217;s everyday life and ability to function are changing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how the family perceives the support they receive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how stress and risk factors evolve<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This way, we ensure that the work is not just about meetings, but about making a real difference.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Prevention reduces the need for more burdensome services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By working at an early stage and strengthening parenting, problems can be prevented from accumulating. The aim is to ensure that families receive adequate support early, before situations require more difficult and often more expensive solutions. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Practical and flexible working<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our work, we use a parenting workbook we have developed to support parents&#8217; self-awareness and mentalisation skills. The work can be carried out in both individual and group formats, enabling us to provide support to several families at the same time in an effective and cost-efficient way. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Part of the family unit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We work closely with social work. Common goals, regular contact and networking ensure that support is aligned with the family&#8217;s overall process, not an isolated part of it. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Knowledge-based development<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We systematically collect information about our work, which is used both to support individual families and to develop services. This enables us to continuously evaluate and improve the effectiveness of our work. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Towards a more sustainable future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parenting Counselling Varsi combines preventive work, practical methods and measurement of effectiveness into a package that supports both families and the service system.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When support is timely, clear and relevant to everyday life, solutions can be built that are both humanly and economically sustainable.Top of formBottom of form<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, this means that we want to make support as accessible as possible, before situations become overwhelming. One key way we do this is through the low-threshold group work we have developed, which gives parents the opportunity to stop, reflect and strengthen their own parenting together with others. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Group support works both as a stand-alone service and as part of other family and support worker work, allowing it to be naturally linked to the family&#8217;s overall situation and needs.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Description of the service<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parenting Counselling Centre Varsi offers group parenting support based on the developed workbook <em>Aiming for self-perceived parenting &#8211; a workbook for parents to deepen their self-awareness<\/em>. The aim of the work is to strengthen the parent&#8217;s self-awareness, mentalisation and everyday interaction skills so that parenthood is strengthened and the need for more burdensome services is reduced. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service is a structured 12 session group process combining psychoeducation, reflective work, practical exercises and physical methods to strengthen presence skills.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8212;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How does this work in practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on all this, we have built a concrete, low-threshold working model for parents. The model does not remain at the level of an idea, but is a clear process where understanding is translated into practical action in everyday life. <\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The aim of the work is to:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>strengthen the parent&#8217;s ability to understand the child&#8217;s experiences and feelings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>increase self-awareness and the ability to regulate your own reactions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>improve parent-child interaction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>support the development of a secure attachment relationship<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>prevent the accumulation of challenges at an early stage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How is the work progressing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The work is built up in stages and progresses towards self-directed, functional parenting:<\/p>\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Understanding the current situation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthening self-esteem<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clarifying values<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identifying feelings and needs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Setting limits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Building your own parenthood<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The work combines discussion, practical exercises and a pause to reflect on your own experience.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why does this matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As parents&#8217; understanding of themselves and their child deepens, everyday life changes.<br\/>Interaction becomes clearer, stress is reduced and new ways of dealing with situations are found.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research shows that this ability to understand the child&#8217;s experience and to regulate one&#8217;s own behaviour is one of the key factors behind effective parenting.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s why we believe there is a place for such support at an early stage.<br\/>Not just when problems are big, but when they can still be prevented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Parenting Counselling Centre Vars, we believe that the most effective support comes early. By supporting families early enough, we can prevent situations from becoming overwhelming and reduce the need for more burdensome services. This is not only important in human terms, it is also a sustainable way of building a functioning service system.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2724"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2726,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2724\/revisions\/2726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhemmuusneuvola.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}