Responding to Child-to-Parent Violence: Innovative Practices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Although child-to-parent violence has yet to become a visible and explicit concern of social work policy and practice development, child-to-parent violence is a growing social problem with broad implications for research, policy, and intervention. Although the initial referral to out-patient child and adolescent mental health services for assessment and intervention may be related to concerns about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, or out-of-control behaviors, more parents are beginning to talk with embarrassment and fear about their experiences of being the target of their child's aggression and violence at home. This article examines the prevalence of child-to-parent violence and proposes a clear definition of child-to-parent violence for social work practitioners and researchers in mental health. Some of the obstacles in health and social care practice for the recognition and development of effective responses to child-to-parent violence are explored. Using an outline case example from community mental health practice in Ireland, the author suggests the Non Violent Resistance Programme as one innovative response to the problem of child-to-parent violence.