Parents Anonymous
Encyclopedia
Parents Anonymous is a self-help
group for parents who have abused their children
. PA was founded in 1967 by a 29 year-old single mother, Jolly K. and psychiatric social worker Leonard L. Lieber. Jolly K. was under Lieber's care at the time, and he suggested she meet with another child-abusing parent from his caseload. The organization grew slowly until it received a grant from the Office of Child Development and Health Education and Welfare in 1974. Unlike traditional twelve-step program
s PA mandates professional involvement and accepts funding from outside sources, but does emphasize the importance of protecting members anonymity. The PA Chapter Development Manual requires each chapter have professional sponsor who "should be a professional person in the mental health field with a profound respect for the self-help concept." Parents Anonymous publishes a periodical, Frontiers, and several manuals in addition to the Chapter Development Manual.
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
group for parents who have abused their children
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. PA was founded in 1967 by a 29 year-old single mother, Jolly K. and psychiatric social worker Leonard L. Lieber. Jolly K. was under Lieber's care at the time, and he suggested she meet with another child-abusing parent from his caseload. The organization grew slowly until it received a grant from the Office of Child Development and Health Education and Welfare in 1974. Unlike traditional twelve-step program
Twelve-step program
A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems...
s PA mandates professional involvement and accepts funding from outside sources, but does emphasize the importance of protecting members anonymity. The PA Chapter Development Manual requires each chapter have professional sponsor who "should be a professional person in the mental health field with a profound respect for the self-help concept." Parents Anonymous publishes a periodical, Frontiers, and several manuals in addition to the Chapter Development Manual.