Meet Adela Martinez Berg, Epiphany Center Parenting Education Specialist

Adela Martinez Berg is the Parenting Education Specialist for Epiphany Center’s newest program, Road to Resilience (R2R). R2R, which recently received a two-year grant extension from the state’s Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), supports women experiencing homelessness in San Francisco County who are pregnant or have infants 0-12 months of age, to find safety and stability through services, referrals, and collaborative partnerships that Epiphany has developed with 30 city agencies and community service providers.

Epiphany Center Road to Resilience Team including Adela Martinez Berg, pictured second from right.

WHAT IS STAR?

An important component of R2R is STAR which stands for Services to Accelerated Resilience. STAR is a highly individualized and critical week to 10-day program when new mothers at Epiphany can experience a period of bonding time with their baby to focus on securing the attachment relationship before their intensive recovery treatment begins.

“STAR sets the initial tone for the women’s time at Epiphany Center,” says Adela. “The women get their feet under themselves as parents. It is common that mom and baby will have just come from giving birth at the hospital to our community of women in recovery. STAR provides a special opportunity for mothers and babies to have a grounding period, before mothers have to take on the residential responsibilities,” she adds.

SHORING UP BONDING BETWEEN MOM AND BABY

During STAR, Adela works closely with the mother-infant dyad to create a responsive, foundational parenting curriculum, and to identify parenting goals that the client will focus on in treatment. She works collaboratively with the client through an initial trauma-informed parent interview that helps the client to generate the immediate caregiving skills they want to acquire, as well as the longer-term goals related to parent efficacy. “It’s a unique time to shore up mom and baby’s bonding,” says Adela. “STAR is the start of a therapeutic relationship, of building trust with the client around their abilities as a caregiver.”

“The beauty of managing the STAR program is you get to be very present and to advocate for mother and baby in a trauma-informed way.

We can do the work slowly or more quickly, depending on mom’s needs. All of the work is rooted in attachment theory,” says Adela. “I put a lot of care into how I define my support and service, it is critical that the mother understands that I view her as the expert about her child, and that I am here to help her develop her caregiving lens as a parent so that she may continue to best meet the needs of her baby.”

WHAT IS SECURE ATTACHMENT?

British psychologist John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, describing attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings." Bowlby was interested in understanding the separation anxiety and distress that children experience when separated from their primary caregivers. Warmth, sensitivity, acceptance, and the emotional accessibility of parents are associated with the secure attachment of a child.

Adela adds, “Often the women will move through feelings of guilt and shame because they may have experienced a lot of instability during their pregnancy.

My goal is always to point out the beautiful ways they are already securing their attachment relationship simply by being in recovery treatment with their infant.”

It is sometimes a long journey for a mother and child to arrive in treatment together, which can cause increased feelings of anxiety related to their infant’s behaviors.  When the babies cry, the women can feel fearful at times, particularly if they are working with Child Protective Services (CPS). “I do my best to reassure the mothers of what to expect from their infant, to understand crying as the baby’s way of communicating needs. The baby may be hungry, wet, sleepy, or just frustrated navigating their new world. Your job is to hold space for your baby’s emotions and to meet their needs swiftly and consistently,” says Adela.

CONNECTING WITH WRAP-AROUND SERVICES

Adela leads Mom and Baby Wellness Walks

“What I love about managing the STAR program is that I get to be there with the mothers and babies in real-time, day in and day out. I get to witness their setbacks and their progress, and remain available to aid those early stages of learning. The strength and resilience that our clients demonstrate on a regular basis is astonishing.” Additionally, Adela coordinates appointments with Epiphany’s transdisciplinary team of mental health/recovery staff to connect and define the wrap-around services available while the dyad is in treatment. Adela also facilitates a warm hand-off to Epiphany’s Parent-Child Center following several incremental steps to help mothers support their little ones in making a smooth transition into full-time childcare.  

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES AT EPIPHANY CENTER

“I especially treasure facilitating the interactive mother/baby play groups which I develop based on the dyads’ behaviors that I notice during the week, my goal is always to offer play-based bonding opportunities that are accessible, relevant, and easily folded into a parent’s daily routines,” says Adela. On one of those sweltering hot summer days, Adela gathered baby bathtubs, bowls, and cups from the kitchen, and invited the moms and babies to pull on their bathing suits and meet her outside in the garden. “They all loved it! It was a moment of ease for all of them, a time to focus on an abundance of joy. That experience of holding space so the mothers could delight in watching their babies play is so inspiring to me,” she says. “I see play as a key defining factor in healing,” says Adela.

Another aspect of Adela’s work at Epiphany Center is supporting clients who are in reunification processes with their children after CPS involvement has occurred in early stages of recovery. These cases are some of the most profound to come through treatment because of the dedication and tireless efforts on behalf of the mothers working in pursuit of placement of their baby after separation. Adela offers training to clients during visits with their children to support caregiving skills, awareness of attachment behaviors, and overall sense of efficacy as a parent. She aids in determining and supporting the clients’ areas of strength, as well as growth throughout the reunification process; offering developmental insight, positive parenting principles, opportunities for play and bonding, in addition to the vital role of ensuring safety for mom and baby.

Adela earned a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Mills College where, as a 17-year-old freshman she requested special permission to attend an upper-level class taught by Dr. Linda Perez, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Education at Mills College and Clinical Director of the Epiphany Center Family Treatment Program. Although Adela’s request was initially denied, she persisted and spoke with Dr. Perez about her experiential knowledge having worked in childcare as a youngster and eventually was permitted to take the class. “Dr. Linda took me under her wing, she was essential to my success in college, and without her I would not have known about Epiphany! Working at Epiphany Center has been a life-changing experience for me and I’m so grateful,” Adela says.