ACT Raising Safe Kids Program International
For several years now, the ACT program has also been successfully implemented in a variety of countries in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and has great potential for continued expansion. Through memorandums of agreement and memorandums of understanding with APA’s Violence Prevention Office and Leadership Development Institute, universities, foundations, and national psychological associations are implementing the program in communities overseas.
Who is involved with the ACT program abroad?
The ACT International Master Trainers/Coordinators include university professors, researchers, graduate students, clinicians, and managers in fields such as psychology, social work, education, and health, who coordinate and are involved in research and/or implementation of the program in their communities.
Role of ACT International Coordinators/Master Trainers:
- Secure institutional support and funding.
- Organize program groups for parents based on the materials and protocols defined by the program coordination at APA.
- Conduct and publish evaluation studies.
- Maintain a relationship with the program coordination at APA.
Cultural adaptation of the ACT program
The ACT program is culturally sensitive, with a research-based curriculum and materials adapted for diverse cultures and translated into several languages. It translates science-based complex content into simple, friendly language and formats to help all parents learn positive parenting skills and practices.
It has a universal approach and a curriculum that teaches basic knowledge and skills that every parent should learn. It incorporates adult learning theory and proposes an interactive and experiential opportunity to engage participants.
Adaptation to the different countries, languages, and cultures is incorporated after thorough discussions, reviews, and reasoning with the program coordination staff at APA, and is therefore documented. Adaptation means being creative, changing, or adding examples and activities that better reflect cultures and groups. But cannot change the objectives of the program, nor remove and/or add new content.
International coordinators/master trainers
Branka Ivanović
Executive Director
In Foundation
Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ivanovic is a psychologist and the executive director of In Foundation (INF), a foundation for the social inclusion of children and youth, addressing children at risk, child protection programs, parents, and violence. Through a Memorandum of Understanding with APA, the ACT program was introduced in BiH in 2015.
Elisa Rachel Pisani Altafim, PhD
Psychologist and Researcher
Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
Altafim has a PhD in science and mental health and a master’s degree in developmental psychology and learning from the University of São Paulo Medical School, at Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. She was a visiting fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2016. She is a researcher at the Laboratory of Childhood Behavioral Problems Prevention and Development at the university. She is a researcher, coordinator a,nd facilitator for the ACT Raising Safe Kids program. Her research work is on child development, parenting, interventions with familie,s and violence prevention. She is a member of the Institute for the Valorization of Education and Research in the State of São Paulo.
Maria Beatriz Martins Linhares, PsyD, PhD
Senior Associate Professor and Investigator
Ribeirão Preto Medical School (FMRP), University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil
Maria Beatriz Martins Linhares is a senior associate professor in the Department of Neurosciences and Behavior at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is affiliated with the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Postgraduate Program and serves as coordinator of the Laboratory for Research on Prevention of Child Development and Behavior Problems.
Linhares is a senior research scientist of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and principal investigator of the Brazilian Center of Early Childhood Development, supported by FAPESP and the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation. She also contributes to national and state-level scientific advancement as a member of the Scientific Committee of the Science for Childhood Core and the Institute for the Valuation of Education and Research in the state of São Paulo.
With extensive expertise in child development and prevention science, Linhares leads interdisciplinary research focused on promoting healthy early childhood development and preventing behavioral and developmental challenges among vulnerable populations.
Natalia Cárdenas Zuluaga, MEd
Professor
Universidade CES
Medellin, Colombia
Cárdenas-Zuluaga is a psychologist, professor, and researcher on infancy, childhood, and youth with the Psychology, Health and Society Research Group, Faculty of Psychology Universidad CES. She has been an ACT facilitator since 2013 and an ACT international coordinator/master trainer since 2016.
Maria Clara Cuevas Jaramillo, PhD
Professor and Researcher
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Cali
Cali, Colombia
Cuevas Jaramillo is a supervisor of clinical practice, researcher, professor of national and international post-graduate programs, and author. Her areas of expertise include child neuropsychology, health psychology, bullying, and programs to strengthen parenting skills. She has been an ACT international coordinator/master trainer since 2007.
Dubravka Svilar Blažinić, MS
Psychologist
Zagreb, Croatia
Blažinić is a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist, registered family mediator, certified psychology court expert, certified ACT facilitator, and international coordinator/master trainer. As a psychologist, her work includes monitoring, diagnostics, assessment, education, counseling, and therapeutic and crisis intervention for couples, parents, children, and families.
Kamea Jaman
Professor and Psychologist
Hrvatska, Croatia
Jaman is a psychologist in the field of applied psychology: developmental, educational, and counseling psychology. She works with children, parents, and teachers.
Andrea Verónica Armijos Navarro
Psychologist
Quito, Ecuador
Armijos Navarro is a psychologist with experience in child care, child development, and family support. Engaged with the ACT program since 2013, she applied the program with almost 200 families and childcare professionals in Ecuador, and has been involved with psychosocial/educational interventions related to humanitarian aid to children and adolescents with their families. She had done research on child-rearing practices and styles of preschool parents according to socio-economic status.
Artemis Giotsa, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Ioannina
Ioannina, Greece
Giotsa is an associate professor of social psychology at the University of Ioannina in Greece, a researcher, and an awarded author and editor of many publications. Her research includes the study of attitudes and beliefs in different fields in cross-cultural research, family relationships, parents' training, application of systems theory in different contexts, and creation and adaptation of psychometric tools in Greek. She has adapted and translated the ACT Parents Handbook into Greek. Since 2007, she has been an ACT international coordinator/master trainer responsible for research and training in Greece.
Pantelis Proios, BA, MA
Licensed Psychologist
Lykovrissi, Attikis, Greece
Proios is the ACT international coordinator/master trainer for the Association of Greek Psychologists. He has been with the ACT program since 2007.
Ana Alicia Cóbar, MA
Professor, Program Director and Internship Supervisor
Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Cobar is the director of the Master’s Program in Psychological Interview, Family Counselling and Community Psychology, and a professor and internship supervisor at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Psychology Department. She has been the ACT international coordinator/master trainer since 2014.
Nahoko Nishizawa, PsyD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist and an associate professor
Japan Program of Clinical Psychology at California School of Professional Psychology/Alliant International University.
Tokyo, Japan
Nishizawa is a licensed clinical psychologist in California and an associate professor in the Japan Program of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology/Alliant International University. Her work and research interests are family and child, trauma, disability, community, and culture. Following the earthquake and nuclear accident in 2011, she founded the Japan-US Parent Child Support Network and has coordinated international collaboration to support families affected by the disaster. In an effort to provide support for parents in Japan, she began implementing a Japanese version of the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program. She started an ACT Japan office in the California School of Professional Psychology Japan Program in Tokyo. She resides and works in Berkeley, Calif.
Luisa Barros, PhD
Clinical Psychologist and Professor
Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
Barros has a PhD in counseling and clinical psychology. She is a full professor of health psychology at the University of Lisbon. She teaches and researches subjects related to pediatric psychology, parenting, and children’s health and interventions with parents. She has been the ACT international coordinator/master trainer of the Lisbon team since 2016.
Ana Isabel Pereira, PhD
Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor
Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
Pereira has a PhD in clinical psychology and is an assistant professor at the University of Lisbon. She teaches and researches subjects related to parenting, child and adolescent development, and psychopathology, and evidence-based psychological interventions with parents and youth. She joined the ACT program in 2016.
Teresa Marques
PhD Student
University of Lisbon
Lisbon, Portugal
Marques is a PhD student in the Clinical and Health Psychology Department at the University of Lisbon. Her work examines the role of parental self-regulation in parenting interventions. She is also a clinical psychologist working in the pediatric psychology unit of the Faculty of Psychology Community Service. She joined the ACT program in 2016.
Catia Magalhães, PhD
Psychologist and Professor
Portugal Polytechnic Institute of Viseu
Viseu, Portugal
Magalhães is a psychologist and professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu. Her areas of interest and research include prevention, parenting education, cross-cultural research and evidence-based interventions. She has published and co-authored national and international works that target academic and professional audiences. She joined the ACT program in 2016.
Camelia Botez, MS
Social Entrepreneur
Bucharest, Romania
Botez has a master’s degree in management of nonprofit organizations from Case Western University, as well as a master’s degree in social work. Together with her sister, Corina Murariu Botez, she created Bless the Children/Inclusion in 1990 when they developed and implemented new services, including a school, alliances and partnerships with similar organizations, sponsorship and fundraising programs throughout Europe.
Corina Murariu Botez, MS
Social Entrepreneur
Bucharest, Romania
Botez is a mental health professional with over ten years of experience working with children and families with severe intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability and autism spectrum disorder and other special needs. Together with her sister, Camelia Botez, she created Bless the Children/Inclusion in 1990 when they developed and implemented new services, including a school, alliances and partnerships with similar organizations, sponsorship and fundraising programs throughout Europe.
Mihaela Epurianu Dranoff, PhD
Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Faculty
Montclair, N.J.
Dranoff is an adjunct professor in the psychology department at Montclair State University. She teaches courses in child psychology, developmental psychology, theories of psychotherapy, abnormal psychology, Latino mental health issues, and multicultural and ethical issues in the practice of psychology. She also works in a private practice specializing in evaluations for the immigration court system. She was initially trained in the ACT program in 2008. After a hiatus, she resumed her involvement in 2015 and started to advocate for introducing ACT in Romania.
Trista Fu, PhD
Professor and Researcher
National Chengchi University
Taipei, Taiwan
Fu is an assistant professor in the Department of Education and the Master’s Degree Program of Counseling and Guidance at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California, and has experience working in community, school, and hospital settings. Her research interests include neurodevelopmental psychopathology, couples and family therapy, and parenting-related issues. She has been with the ACT program since 2015. Fu received a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego, Calif.
Aysun Dogan, PhD
Associate Professor
Ege university
İzmir, Turkey
Doğan is an applied developmental psychologist. She is currently an associate professor in the psychology department and the director of the Child and Adolescent Research Lab at Ege University, İzmir, Turkey. Her research interests include adolescents’ risk-taking behaviors, the effects of traumatic events on adolescents’ mental health, immigration, bullying, victimization, friendship, adolescent-parent relations and preventive intervention programs. She has been an ACT international coordinator/master trainer since 2014.