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Fathers have different needs, face different challenges, and want different guidance with parenting than mothers do. The curriculum addresses the complex intersection of male socialization, childhood and adolescent trauma, and relational struggles that often create disconnection between fathers and their children as well as in their other relationships. The primary goal of this curriculum is to help participants create a vision of the fathers they want to be and to provide them with the awareness, tools, and confidence to achieve that vision.
Each of the sixteen, two-hour, co-facilitated sessions includes activities, exercises, and experiential opportunities enabling each father to connect with the content on a personal level. The program is wide-ranging and encompasses a variety of topics to help fathers develop increased self-awareness to enhance their relationships with their children and other family members. The material will stretch both participants and facilitators alike. The sessions are designed to take a deep and comprehensive look at the barriers impeding dads from being the best fathers they can be.
The curriculum speaks to all learning styles using kinesthetic, audio, and visual engagement using art, physical movement, and role plays. Fathers are given additional learning opportunities in the form of exercises to complete between sessions to put their learning Into Action. These exercises build upon the role plays and in-session practice that the fathers receive to help them translate the material directly into their own lives.
Topics covered in this program include:
- The impact of male socialization (The Man Rules) on a father’s identity (a core theme that guides the context of the whole curriculum)
- Skill-building and practical tools fathers can use with, and teach to, their children
- Understanding trauma, the specific ways that men experience and respond to trauma, and its effects on fathers
- A comprehensive and unique look at relational skill development
- Developing emotional fluency particularly as relates to anger and shame
- Enhanced communication skills for healthy conflict resolution
- The influence of family of origin experiences on fathers
- Exploring the relationships with fathers/father-figure and mothers/mother-figure
- A candid exploration of Sex, Sexuality, and Intimacy and how to begin having healthy dialogue about these topics with their children
- Differentiating discipline from punishment, how punishment can turn into abuse, and identifying what healthy discipline looks like
- The effects of male socialization on the fathers’ ability to create and maintain healthy relationships, offering them specific tools to help repair during times of disconnection
- Finding balance and the importance of self-care as part of being a healthy father
- Understanding and meeting the changing roles and expectations of men and fathers in the 21st century
