Re-thinking adolescent-parent relationships: an immersive workshop

What’s on offer?

Join us for an immersive and interactive workshop on parent-adolescent relationships with researchers in Manchester Metropolitan Universities’ Virtual Cave. We will walk you through real footage from families, with films capturing meaningful moments and emotions from multiple family perspectives. After watching the footage and walking in the shoes of parents, teenagers, and outsiders (i.e., acting as the researcher or therapist)- we will ask you what you see, what you hear and what you think is meaningful. 

We will also guide you through the latest tools in observational behavioural psychology, giving you the opportunity to learn and have a go at ‘micro-coding’ of emotional expressions. Compare your codes with other teens, parents, as well as automatic facial coding software by computers! 

Our aim is to guide new directions in how we understand family relationships and how we go about observing behaviours in psychological research.  

What’s it about?

There is a mental health crisis unfolding for young people and relationships with parents are an important source of support. Our research group aims to develop ways to understand and strengthen family relationships in the context of mental health.  In order to support -rather than stigmatise or disempower- parents and teens at this time, we need to work together to rethink, re-assess, and rearticulate what we consider to be the strengths in parent-adolescence relationships.   

We need to move away from what we think is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ parenting.  

We need to- listen – hear- and really- see current parent and adolescence relationships, without stigma. We need our ‘ground truth’ as researchers and clinicians to start with what parents and teens see as the strengths, not what we see.  

Who’s leading the event?

Dr Nicky Wright, Lecturer in Psychology, and Professor Rebecca Pearson from Manchester Metropolitan University, alongside Adele Bryce, Young person Expert by Experience

Open to

We are holding two workshops, one on the 2nd November for young people (aged 16-25 years) and one on the 9th November for parents of young people aged 12-25 years. We need to recruit 6-8 people per workshop, please book your place using Eventbrite (booking link to follow).

Attendees will be given a £20 shopping voucher to thank you for the time taken to participate.

Of particular interest to

Young people and parents of young people

Scheduling information

We will hold a second event for parents on 9 November at 7pm - please see eventbrite booking details