THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARENTING WORKSHOPS IN FAMILY COURTS: POSSIBILITIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The family is constituted by a group of people considered as a systemic whole. This structure establishes relationships between its members and their environment. The systemic whole is dynamic and contains other subsystems, performing important functions in relationships. Within the family system, there are the parental and marital subsystems, which are the relationships established between the members. Conjugality refers to the union of a couple, while parenting refers to the care of parents with their children. Marital relationships may come to fall apart – divorce – but parenting is a bond that does not break down. Divorce is an event that runs through families and requires new organizations in the family system. When this restructuring after marital dissolution results in conflicts and family members are unable to organize themselves, the need for judicial interventions is visualized. In this sense, a new look of Justice, careful with parental relationships impacted by marital dissolution, seeks to promote an environment of conflict resolution, in order to produce a territory that aims to expand dialogue. Thus, the National Council of Justice (CNJ) proposes parenting workshops, in order to help parents and children to deal more peacefully and positively with the results of divorce, from the perspective of coparenting. In view of these considerations, the objective of this research is to investigate the applicability and effectiveness of parenting workshops in the Family Courts in several districts of Brazil. This study has a qualitative field research. Initially, a narrative literature research was carried out to support the understanding of the themes. Following the production of the bibliographic review, a field research was carried out, whose target audience was professionals who work in the Justice System in several districts of the country and who carry out parenting workshops. Data were collected between July and August 2023, with the application of a virtual questionnaire. The data assessment was based on the thematic analysis of Minayo (2012). Thus, based on the analysis of the information, three categories were systematized: the lack of systematization and ordering of the execution; demands presented by the participating families; and the perception of the effectiveness of the workshops by the professionals. In view of the discussion of the categories, it was observed that the workshops meet the demands arising from the families – such as communication, power struggle and management of routines. The workshops have recognized effectiveness, especially with regard to the development of coparenting; however, they do not present a systematization of the practice, that is, they do not have a parameter of times, days, distributions and professionals. For the consolidation of this systematization, the workshops need to be considered a priority in the Courts so that, thus, they can expand their interventions and actually measure their effectiveness.