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ForwardMothering from the Inside Out Didactic Training - May 2026
Mothering from the Inside Out is an evidence-based intervention delivered in substance use treatment settings that helps mothers with substance use disorders foster parent-child attachment, cope with stressful parenting situations, and promote their child’s healthy development. This four-day counseling intervention both improves parent-child attachment and decreases rates of drug relapse among mothers. The proposed mechanism of action targeted by the intervention is a change in parental reflective functioning, defined as the capacity to recognize and make sense of mental states (especially emotional states), and understand how they influence behavior and relationships. This training in this intervention entails a total of 16 hours of didactic lectures.
Provided by:
Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Science (DHDPS) and Baystate Continuing Interprofessional Education
Target Audience
This course is designed for : Mental health professionals and residential treatment programs
Learning Objectives
As a result of attending this educational activity, attendees should be able to:
Day 1 Learning Objectives
- Describe the impact of addiction, adversity, attachment, and marginalization on parenting
- Describe the underlying role of neuroscience in the mechanisms linking addiction and parenting in families intergenerationally
- Define the term “attachment” and describe its functions proximally and distally for child development, the parent-child relationship, and lifespan mental health sequelae
Day 2 Learning Objectives
- Define the terms “mentalization” and “parental reflective functioning” and describe their functions in human relationships and parenting specifically
- Explain the underlying role of parental reflective functioning in the intergenerational transmission of addiction, adversity, and attachment
- Apply knowledge about substance use and parenting research to understanding how interventions are developed and tested in families impacted by parental substance use
Day 3 Learning Objectives
- Identify the five core therapeutic elements utilized in Mothering from the Inside Out that have been shown to improve outcomes for families impacted by parental substance use
- Identify the five elements of a “mentalizing stance” and provide examples of language that exemplifies each element
- Evaluate how recent findings from research on Mothering from the Inside Out apply to their settings and communities
Day 4 Learning Objectives
- Identify, label, and evaluate examples of the core components of Mothering from the Inside Out while observing audio/video examples of a real clinician providing treatment to a real client
- Generate additional examples of Mothering from the Inside Out interventions that could apply to audio/video recorded real life sessions that are adherent to the model
This course is supported by funding from the following sources: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MADPH), Baystate Center for Young Children and Families.
Individual | Individual's Role in Activity | Financial Relationship Disclosure | Discussion of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers, MD | Course Director/ Instructor | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
Amanda Lowell, PhD | Planner/Instructor | Research funding, Alkermes,Inc | No |
| Amanda Zayde, PsyD | Planner/Instructor | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
| Briana Jurkowski, B.S | Planner | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
| Emma Baar-Bittman, LICSW | Planner | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
| Amy Sommer, MSW | Instructor | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
| Danya Handelsman, LICSW | Instructor | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
| Maria Rader, LICSW | Instructor | No relevant relationships with ineligible companies to disclose | No |
The design and content of Baystate Continuing Interprofessional Education (CE) activities support quality improvement in healthcare and provide fair and balanced views of therapeutic options. Any relevant financial relationships are mitigated prior to the educational activity.
Amanda Lowell, PhD receives research funding from Alkermes, Inc. All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.
None of the other planners or faculty for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, Baystate Health is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Credit Designation Statements
| Psychologists Baystate Health is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Baystate Health maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 16.0 CE credit(s) for psychologists have been granted for this educational activity. | |
Social Workers (ASWB) | |
Mental Health Counselors | |
 This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team and learners will receive 16.00 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change. |
Available Credit
- 16.00 APA American Psychological AssociationBaystate Health is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Baystate Health maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- 16.00 ASWB Continuing Education Credit(s)
- 16.00 IPCE Credit Hour(s)
- 16.00 NBCC
Baystate Health is an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP™) and may offer NBCC approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP solely responsible for all aspects of the program. (ACEP #5684)