Story Stem Assessment Profile Training
The Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP) is a clinical and research assessment tool for use with clinical and maltreatment populations.
About this training
The Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP) (Hodges and Hillman, 2004) asks children to respond to a set of narrative story stems where they are given the beginning of a ‘story’ highlighting everyday scenarios with an inherent dilemma. Children are then asked to "show and tell me what happens next". This allows some assessment of the child’s expectations and perceptions of family roles, attachments and relationships, without asking the child direct questions about their family which might cause them conflict or anxiety.
The SSAP is an assessment tool which is specifically for use with clinical and maltreatment populations. It has proved a valuable and non-intrusive tool for examining young children’s mental representations of attachment and relationships, in clinical practice, social work, and research. Normally, it is best used with children aged between about four and nine years.
Previous research has shown that children’s response to these story stems reflect both current and past features of their family life and attachment histories. The technique allows the child’s attachment representations to be evidenced in a displaced way which is usually enjoyed by the child and not experienced as unduly threatening.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE; 2015) recommends the SSAP for accessing attachment difficulties in children in all health and social care settings. It is recommended to guide decisions on interventions for children who have or may have attachment difficulties.
This is a four-day training course teaching the administration, coding and application of the Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP) within clinical work, social work, and research domains.
Course session dates and times
Day 1: 20th January 2025, 09:15 - 16:15 - Online
Day 2: 27th January 2025, 09:15 - 16:15 - Online
Day 3: 28th January 2025, 09:15 - 16:15 - Online
Day 4: 7th February 2025, 09:15 - 16:15 - Online
Aims of this training
To teach the administration, coding and applicability of the Story Stem Assessment Profile (SSAP)
To allow for professionals working with children in this age bracket to become trained and qualified to use the tool clinically and within the social work and research domain.
To provide professionals with a shared forum/platform to think about the material they are working with.
Who is this training for?
Attendees will need to be working with children (aged 4 to 9) within a clinical, social work, or research setting. Those who can book on to this training include:
Qualified practitioners, with a degree-level qualification, in child mental health or social work;
Post-graduate researchers.
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"Teachers were enthusiastic and engaging, and I like the changing between online teaching and breakout rooms. Interesting material." Participant, January 2024
"I liked the structure of teaching - the mix between introductions and 'do it yourself' in groups. Perfectly balanced I find. And the well-prepared teachers were an absolute pleasure." Participant, January 2024
"The days with the coding were very dynamic and made the SSAP very clear/easier to understand." Participant, January 2024
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This training will take place using a blended learning approach and consists of live Zoom sessions and self-guided learning e.g. watching pre-recorded videos. You will also be required to attend three to four live sessions each day of the training, which will last approximately 0.5 - 1.5 hours.
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Please note you are required to bring a set of SSAP materials with you to the training. For the full list of materials please see SSAP Kit List.
It is important that all characters, animals and props are in scale with other another. Please gather as many object as you can from the list but don't worry if you don't manage to get everything. The Kit will be discussed in detail during the first day of the training and you will be advised if all your props are appropriate.
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Attendees based in England will be supplied with hard copies of the slides and manuals via post if they book 14 days before the training is due to commence. If you are based outside of England or book on to the training after this, the materials will be emailed to you and you will need to print these ahead of the training.
Please note this is separate from the SSAP Kit list. You will need to source the items on Kit list yourself.
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Certification of competency involves the demonstration of competence and aptitude in two areas of usage of the Story Stem Assessment Profile training. Certification of competency enables you to have the backing that you are competent and reliable in using the tool. For those working clinically and/or involved in producing reports in court proceedings, it is critical that you have this backing of being a reliable user of the SSAP. In order to receive the certification of competency you will be asked to:
Send in a DVD of yourself carrying out a full set of the 13 SSAP stories
Code two transcripts of 13 stories each.
If you are successful in reaching the necessary standards, you will receive a certification of competency alongside feedback. Certification is at no extra cost and is included in the training fee. If you have not completed SSAP Certification of Competency within three years, you must attend a refresher day before continuing with the Certification process.
The SSAP training and associated materials were developed in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital. The SSAP is copyright of Anna Freud. At present, the only way to be trained in the administration, coding and application of SSAP and to receive Certification of competency to use the measure is through the Anna Freud's training and certification process.
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This training is run in person and online (check the specific dates to understand the format the training will be delivered in.)
The online platform, Zoom will be used to deliver online training. Prior to booking, please ensure you meet the system requirements so you can join this training session, to test your equipment visit Zoom.us/test and follow the instructions.
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Upon booking, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accept our terms and conditions and our privacy notice. Please read these documents before booking:
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