Written by: Theresa Kelliher

Date: October 2008

When I enrolled in the Family Violence Seminar at Boston University, I was anticipating what most psychology majors have come to expect from a liberal arts course given at a school with more than 18,000 undergrads--a crowded auditorium, full of droopy eyed students trying their best to stay awake during a PowerPoint lecture. That all changed, however, when I learned that in order to pass the course we would have to find an internship relevant to the field. That is when I learned of the opportunity to volunteer on the Parental Stress Line with Parents Helping Parents. 
         

In training, we learned about the stress line model. The model promotes empowering the person in crisis to find their own solution to a problem. In order to accomplish this we practiced reflective listening, recognizing the callers’ strengths with examples, and exploring all possible solutions--but ultimately letting the caller decide for themselves which solution would be the most effective.  At first, refraining from simply giving advice to parents who called the stress line was a challenge. However, as I continued taking calls, I began to realize that the more I adhered to the guidelines of the model, the more positive the outcomes of the calls became.  Generally, when a caller came up with his or her own solution, they sounded much calmer, more confident, and more self-assured when the call ended. 

        
After being at Parents Helping Parents for about a year, I have listened to many different types of calls ranging from parents who just need to vent about a rebellious teen, to callers who are in shelters and are having a difficult time making ends meet, to callers who are afraid they might abuse their children. By practicing the stress line model I have gained the communication skills and confidence to facilitate problem solving in all of the aforementioned scenarios. Furthermore, I feel  that not only do these skills also  generalize to my personal life, as I have become a better listener with friends, family, and co-workers, but they will also be critical to my professional development.  Many other students, including myself, have continued to work with Parents Helping Parents past their semester long commitment, due to how rewarding the experience has been.