Involving Young People in Parenting Programmes
SECTION 4
Session 6: Promoting Resilience in Young People
Project staff were keen to explore how to promote resilience as they have an opportunity to do this in their work directly with young people and through their work with parents. A workshop with training input was held to explore this issue.
Gilligan (2001) describes resilience as follows:
Resilience refers to the qualities which cushion a vulnerable child from the worst effects of adversity... Which can help a child or young person cope with, survive and even thrive in the face of great hurt and disadvantage (Gilligan 2001)
The workshop explored how professionals can promote resilience in young people within their work with young people, parents and families. The site staff felt that this should be addressed at all stages of the intervention, from initial assessment to case closure summaries. It is important to start in a small way to avoid being overwhelmed by a young person’s past experience, but that staff should ‘keep at it’ because they can never know when they will help to make a difference for a young person, parent or family.
Tips for Practice:
Workers’ issues
It is important for workers to consider and develop their own resilience. If necessary, seek support in supervision or from colleagues. Workers should prioritise or give prominence to the idea of resilience within their places of work. In order to do so, workers should be creative.
Assessment
Include resilience factors in any assessments of young people and parents. They can be powerful protective factors for young people. See Appendix 1 for an assessment chart, which has been adapted from a Department of Health Framework of Assessment for ‘Children in Need’ and domains identified by Daniel and Wassel (2002). When closing a case, include a summary statement regarding the level of resilience of the young person, parent or family.
Checklists
Create/use checklists – see below for an example of a checklist for resilience. The experience of site staff for the Parallel Group Programme in the IYPP project was that parents working in a group in parallel to their young people’s group found these checklists really helpful in supporting their development of resilience in their sons and daughters.
Other strategies
Give young people and parents constant ‘drip, drip’ aids to resilience, such as praise. Remember that praise can start in a very small way – recognise the little things, be sincere and constantly look for improvements. Finally, create opportunities to laugh with your client group.
Checklist to Indicate Resilience
- The young person has someone who loves him/her totally (unconditionally).
- The young person has an older person outside the home she/he can tell about problems and feelings.
- The young person is praised for doing things on his/her own.
- The young person can count on her/his family being there when needed.
- The young person knows someone he/she wants to be like.
- The young person believes things will turn out all right.
- The young person does endearing things that make people like her/him
- The young person believes in power greater than seen.
- The young person is willing to try new things.
- The young person likes to achieve in what he/she does.
- The young person feels that what she/he does makes a difference in how things come out.
- The young person likes himself/herself.
- The young person can focus on a task and stay within it.
- The young person has a sense of humour.
- The young person makes plans to do things.
Grotberg E (1999a) The International Resilience Project
See also Countering Depression With the Five Building Blocks of Resilience Edith H. Grotberg http://resilnet.uiuc.edu/library/grotb99.html