Group members work together to ensure that each parent member has the tools and support necessary to make these changes. This means that members take the lead in helping each other talk about their frustrations, identify problem areas and explore different ways of dealing with difficulties in their everyday lives. Each parent who joins a PHP group is asked to listen and share of himself or herself openly and honestly. Each member is also asked to protect the anonymity of fellow participants and to keep the contents of the meetings confidential. On a practical level, there are no membership fees required of group participants.
Meetings are free and are held weekly for approximately two hours.
A parent can join for a few weeks or for several years. Inc. Parents Anonymous itself was founded in 1970 by Jolly K., a courageous parent, and Leonard Lieber, an innovative licensed clinical social worker. Jolly K., herself abused as a child, had been placed in more than thirty foster homes and institutions by her eighteenth birthday. Jolly became the mother of three children, one of whom bore the brunt of the anger she had been carrying since childhood. Jolly tried to find help for herself and her daughter, and eventually confronted the staff at a local social service office.