Meeting Parents Where They Are- FAN Approach to Relationship Based, Reflective Practice

Developed at Erikson Institute, FAN offers not only a conceptual model but also a practical navigational tool to operationalize the attunement process. Practitioners learn to read parent’s cues for engagement and match their interactions to what the parent is showing they are most able to use in the moment. The FAN uses four core processes to match to the parent’s cues: Empathic Inquiry when feelings are primary, Collaborative Exploration to think together, Capacity Building to learn new skills, and Integration to build reflective capacity. The fifth, Mindful Self-Regulation, helps the home visitor track and regulate their own responses. The ARC of Engagement provides direction on how to prepare for and then structure parent contacts using open-ended questions to build collaboration and reflection. Recent research found that home visitors trained in the FAN showed increased reflective capacity and decreased burnout. Supervisors were more able to manage their own emotions, encourage reflection in their supervisees, and support attunement with parents. Participants will be introduced to the Supervisor FAN, which applies the same concepts of attunement in relationships to reflective supervision. Learn More >>