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FAQs Q: What is "Parent's Toolshop"? A: The Parent's Toolshop® brand name appears in resources and services based on The Parent's Toolshop: The Universal Blueprint for Building a Healthy Family, the award-winning book written by Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE. Only Parent's Toolshop Consulting, Ltd. (PTC) and its certified instructors provide Toolshop® educational training programs, which often feature the unique "Universal BlueprintTM Parenting Success Formula" first presented in The Parents Toolshop book. Anywhere you see "Toolshop®," it signals an affiliation with or application of teachings found in The Parents Toolshop book. Not all Toolshop® programs teach the Universal Blueprint® Effective-Response Formula. So when you see the Universal Blueprint® brand name, it signals a program or resource that does reference or teach the Universal Blueprint® Effective Response Formula. PTC owns Ambris Publishing, which currently produces all Toolshop® and Universal Blueprint® products. PTC also regularly provides Toolshop® and Universal Blueprint® training programs for non-parenting relationships. Look for both brand names as guarantees of quality products and services. Q: What does LSW and CFLE stand for after Jody Pawel's name? A: Jody is a Licensed Social Worker through the State of Ohio Counselor and Social Worker Board and a Certified Family Life Educator through the National Council on Family Relations. She is also a second-generation parent educator, which is quite rare. Read her bio page to learn more about the credentials and experience Jody has in advising parents and training professionals. ABOUT THE BOOK, THE PARENT'S TOOLSHOP Q: Is The Parent's Toolshop a book just for parents? A: No. The Parent's Toolshop is all of the following:
Q: Is The Parent's Toolshop appropriate for divorced parents, single parents, or step-parents? A: Absolutely. The skills in The Parent's Toolshop are universal. When special family circumstances or children's needs require parents to use special skills or if a certain skill is particularly useful or important when these issues are involved, there is a special paragraph with bold lettering to flag these suggestions.
Q: Do I need to read all of The Parent's Toolshop or read it from front to back, in order, to improve my parenting? A: No, but over 10 years of field tests show that doing so results in the highest improvement of parenting skills. Almost all the skills are interrelated, so learning only part of the process or learning the skills out of order will likely result in less than optimal results, weaker skills, fewer options available to you in a crisis, and a lack of a universal problem-solving process you can use in any situation in any relationship. Once you have read the book cover to cover, it is easier to reference it or to do selective reading. The logical order of The Parent's Toolshop is an advantage over other parenting resources. Most parenting books teach skills in a haphazard way, so parents don't know which tools to choose in certain situations or what order to use them for maximum results. For more information on getting the greatest benefit from reading The Parent's Toolshop, read the "Suggestions for Use" section of Chapter 1. Q: How different are the 1997 and 2000 editions of The Parent's Toolshop? Can I use my old book when taking a new Parent's Toolshop parenting class? A: In the 2000 Second Edition, Jody updated the problem-solving process unique to Universal Blueprint® resources and cut what she could to reduce the book size. Four professional content editors have edited The Parent's Toolshop and found very little fluff! These cuts changed the page numbers, which parenting class participants may need to reference. Incidentally, Jody also found that none of the advice was inaccurate or no longer "worked," nor did she find any skills "out there" over the past few years that were not already in the book! This proves that Jody succeeded in meeting her goal to create the most comprehensive, accurate, timeless, practical, all-in-one parenting resource to date. Q: Are the teachings in TPT consistent with other parenting curricula and resources I'm familiar with? A: Mostly, yes. A few parenting "experts" promote teachings that are either outdated, inaccurate, or unhealthy. Since parents need to pick and choose carefully the advice from these authors, Toolshop® teachings do not endorse, reference, or recommend these authors by name. Authors who are repeatedly referenced in the book are our recommended resources for reliable, accurate, healthy parenting advice. Graduates of Parent's Toolshop® programs and others who have read The Parent's Toolshop repeatedly comment that they find its teachings are consistent with these well-known and best-selling authors, all of whom we recommend you read/follow. What sets The Parent's Toolshop apart from these other authors and their publications is that The Parent's Toolshop book has the best parenting advice and tools in one resource, so parents don't have to do as much research, screening, and weeding to get the practical advice they need. It is also the only place you can learn a reliable, systematic method for preventing and resolving relationship problems --- a feature only found when you see the Universal BlueprintTM brand in the title or description of an Ambris/Toolshop® product/service. ABOUT TOOLSHOP® TRAINING PROGRAMS Q: Will Jody travel to speak to my group? Do other Group Facilitators give presentations? How can I arrange to have a Toolshop® speaker come to my location? A: Yes, Jody travels to give presentations to parent groups, family-service professionals, early childhood educators, teachers, couples, business and corporate audiences. Most Tour Guides provide services exclusively through their employer and almost exclusively to parents or family-service professionals. There are a few Group Facilitator Consultants who are available in their local area or who may be willing to travel to give a presentation. These are the Tour Guides listed on this website. If you want Jody's speaker packet sent by mail or if you want to book another Tour Guide to speak to your group, call Parent's Toolshop Consulting, Ltd. toll-free at 1-877-748-4541. The speaker packet describes the programs Jody offers, her fees, testimonials, a past-sponsor list, and a sample contract.
Q: Do you always teach the Universal BlueprintTM Effective Response Formula in Toolshop® programs or can you just speak on one topic or issue? A: Generally, we can speak on any topic or issue related to parenting or family relationships, particularly if it is referenced in The Parent's Toolshop. We can also teach groups how to apply the problem-solving formula that is presented in Universal BlueprintTM resources and training programs to non-parenting relationships. We prefer to have 2-3 hours to give Universal BlueprintTM programs, but can present a shorter workshop on any tool in The Parents Toolshop book. Quick overview workshops give a quick peek at the "cream of the crop" tools. See the "Program" page for a listing of training workshops we regularly provide. In truth, though, most of our programs are custom-designed to some extent to the meet the specific needs of the audience or program sponsor. ABOUT TOOLSHOP Group Facilitator CERTIFICATION Q: Do I need to be a social worker or have any special degree or license to be certified? A: No. Since 1998, Jody has been certifying Group Facilitators, and the Tour Guide Standards & Practices Committee has found that the pre-certification process better ensures quality programming than requiring applicants to have certain degrees. This process is detailed in the certification section of this website. The biggest benefit a social service degree or license has for Tour Guides is that their professional or life experience helps them understand the issues and family dynamics they will face when working with parents. Also, professionals with areas of specialty outside parenting may want to receive Tour Guide certification so they can provide training programs to non-parent groups, such as teachers or in the corporate world. We want to encourage Group Facilitators to use the teachings from Universal BlueprintTM programs in every area of their lives and to then teach others how to do the same. Requiring all Tour Guides to have the same degree would make it more difficult to expand Toolshop® programs into these other non-parenting arenas. Q: Are your parent educator products only available to certified Toolshop® Group Facilitators? A: Some are. The catalog is grouped by the population for whom the products in that category were written. Generally, the products and services that use the Universal BlueprintTM trade name are for certified Toolshop® Group Facilitators only as these are the only people who are legally authorized to represent this brand name and teach these copyrighted materials. There are several products, however, that anyone can use for parent education or can adapt to another group setting. The products are listed in the catalog section entitled "Products for Professionals." ABOUT GETTING INFORMATION AND ADVICE Q: Can I get advice from Jody Pawel or any other Toolshop® Group Facilitator? A: This website offers general information, mostly about parenting issues. Likewise, any questions you ask or advice you request through this website should be general in nature as we may post the question and answer in the articles section, with your identity and confidentiality protected. Questions we receive through the website may be answered by Jody or any other certified Group Facilitator, based on who in the organization has the most expertise in the issue in question. To request advice about a general parenting issue, please use the "contact" form or "get advice" form to request this service. If you have a personal question that requires an individualized answer, please contact Jody directly (at the main contact numbers) to schedule a private consultation by phone, e-mail or chat. If you have a question you think we should include in this FAQ section, please contact us.
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