SENG-Model Parent Support Groups

In 1981, SENG established guidelines for SENG-Model Parent Support Groups. SENG Model Parent Groups are structured to bring together 10 to 20 interested parents of gifted and talented children to discuss such topics as motivation, discipline, stress management, and peer relationships. The co-facilitators of the group, though they are knowledgeable about parenting and about educating gifted/talented children, do not attempt to give expert advice to particular families. Instead their facilitation provides a non-judgmental and nurturing atmosphere. The parents of the high ability children are themselves a rich resource of information, and they are able to get fresh ideas from other parents and from "A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children," the book around which the sessions are organized. The groups meet weekly for a set number of weeks - usually 10 weeks.
(Gifted Parent Groups: The SENG Model, 2nd Edition, 2007, p. x-xi)

Contact Information

SENG is in the process of rebuilding a list of active facilitators around the country.  If you're running groups, please download and complete the SMPG Directory Form with your name, contact information, city and zip code, so we can send interested parents in your direction for more information! Please email the form to Lori.Comallie@sengifted.org. Facilitators are invited to explore the SENG Model Parent Group Resource Links Page. If you have additional links that would benefit other SMPG facilitators please send to Lori.Comallie@sengifted.org.


 

Use SENG's Logo

If you're advertising groups and wish to use the SENG logo, now you can! Simply send an email or letter with the following information, and we'll email you a copy of the logo to use in your announcements. The letter should include:

  • Your agreement that use of the SENG logo to advertise SENG-Model Parent Support Groups indicates facilitator training has been conducted in accordance with the principles in Gifted Parent Groups: The SENG Model, 2nd ed., by DeVries and Webb, Great Potential Press, 2007 AND EITHER A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children by Webb, Gore, Amend, and DeVries, Great Potential Press, 2007 OR Guiding the Gifted Child: A Practical Source for Parents and Teachers, by Webb, Meckstroth and Tolan, Great Potential Press, 1989.
  • Names and contact information (including ZIP code) of group facilitators, for our database.
  • Mailing address to which SENG may send information about our organization for dissemination in your group.
  • Your agreement to send a copy of any advertising materials to SENG for our files.

The SENG Model Parent Group Disclaimer

In order to help parents understand why SENG cannot control Model Parent Groups, and why SENG cannot be liable for what happens in SENG Model Parent Groups, we need to tell a story involving four books and a bounty of old-fashion generosity, freedom,  and responsibility.   

Four Books

James T. Webb, Ph.D., Elizabeth Meckstroth, M.S.W., and Arlene DeVries, M.S.E., invented the SENG Model Parent Groups beginning in 1981. After the 1994 publication Guiding the Gifted Child by Webb, Meckstroth, and Stephanie Tolan, M.A., many SENG facilitators used that book as a resource for parents participating in the groups.  In 1998, Webb and DeVries wrote Gifted Parent Groups: The SENG Model, which was the first training manual for facilitators of SENG Model Parent Groups.  In 2007, Webb and DeVries joined with Janet Gore, M.Ed. and Ed Amend, Psy.D.  to write A Parents Guide to Gifted Children.  Also in 2007, Webb and DeVries wrote Gifted Parent Groups: The SENG Model, 2nd Edition, which recommends use of the 2007 parent guide.

Generosity 

For over two decades, the authors of these books have generously shared the SENG Model Parent Group concept with thousands of people in the United States and abroad.  In fact, they’ve shared the concept so widely that it has acquired a life of its own. Maybe the concept owns itself; we’re not sure.  Tens of thousands of families have benefited from the generosity of the authors, and from the generosity of thousands of individuals who have served as SENG Model Parent Group facilitators.

Freedom

SENG recommends that people receive training in the SENG Model, and people who want to become SENG Model Parent Group facilitators are free to choose from several methods of training. Sometimes groups of parents hire Webb and DeVries (or others experienced in the SENG Model) to train parents and educators who want to learn how to facilitate SENG Model Parent Groups.  Often the training is offered as a pre-conference workshop at various conventions. In such cases, Webb, DeVries, and the other trainers, all of whom are strong SENG supporters, usually operate independently of SENG when they train facilitators. Sometimes, however, parents simply buy the books and teach themselves how to facilitate SENG Model Parent Groups.  In various states, people who have facilitated groups in the past train others how to facilitate groups.  Quite frankly, SENG does not know how many people facilitate SENG Model Parent Groups, or how many people have trained others to facilitate groups.  Just as SENG cannot control the concept, SENG also cannot control the training of SENG Model Parent Group facilitators.  Freedom abounds.

Responsibility

Many successful SENG Model Parent Groups are led by parents just like you, and many parents have found the SENG Model Parent Groups to be extremely helpful and supportive. Please note that the SENG Model Parent Groups are not therapy groups, nor are they advocacy groups. They are guided discussion groups where parents share information about techniques and approaches to parenting gifted children. If you, as a parent, want to participate in a SENG Model Parent Group, you will probably want to ask about the training and background of the facilitator.  For example, if you want only to participate in a SENG Model Parent Group that is led by a licensed psychologist, its your responsibility to refrain from participating in groups with facilitators who are not licensed psychologists.  If you only want to participate in a SENG Model Parent Group if the facilitator has had a background check, its your responsibility to refrain from participating in groups led by facilitators who have not had background checks.  

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that SENG does not control, monitor or guarantee the services or qualifications of SMPG facilitators or facilitator trainers posted on the SMPG website pages, and SENG does not endorse any views expressed or products or services offered by SENG facilitators or facilitator trainers. In our current societal climate, we thus feel obligated to state that in no event shall SENG be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods, or services available on or through any such site or resource.