Promoting Family Resilience
Overview
Families experiencing transitions or periods of change can benefit from strategies that support their resilience. There are five key resilience skills: communication, emotional regulation, problem solving, goal setting, and managing trauma and stress reminders. In your work, you may encounter families or individuals struggling through a challenging time. Promoting these skills to even just one person and motivating them to share with their loved ones can help encourage the entire family to build on their strengths and become closer. Review strategies and exercises that support family resilience and try them out with the families with whom you work.
Printable Tools
"Feeling Foxes" Feeling Chart
The first step to managing negative emotions is understanding how those emotions make us feel. The Feeling Chart is an effective tool that can be used to help children identify and understand their feelings. Use this chart as a fun and engaging way to check in with children about how they feel.
Be PREPARED
It can be difficult to know what to say, how much to say, or when to say anything about challenging topics with a child. Utilize this printable tool for support in having open communication with youth about difficult topics.
Behavior Plan
Appropriate responses to children's behavior can help reduce problematic behavior and positively reinforce the behaviors we'd like to see more of. Use this behavior plan handout with parents to identify positive behaviors and brainstorm ways to manage challenging and dangerous behaviors for youth.
Daily Play
Play is how children learn. Use this guide to teach caregivers how to engage with their child during play in order to enhance the child's learning and strengthen their parent and child bond.
Videos
Demonstration: Dealing With a Tantrum
Tantrums are a common occurrence when working with children. This video provides examples on how to manage tantrums. Watch the video with caregivers and engage them in conversation about how to manage these challenging behaviors.
Demonstration: Holding a Family Meeting
Family meetings provide opportunities to foster communication and problem solve challenges. Watch this video with families to see a demonstration of a structured family meeting in order to guide the family to conduct their own meeting.
Demonstration: Playing With a Young Child
Play is how children learn. Watch this video with caregivers to teach them how to engage with their child during play in order to enhance the child's learning and strengthen their parent and child bond.
Demonstration: Responding to Problem Behaviors
Problem behaviors may present a challenge when working with children. Watch this video with caregivers to see a demonstration of how to manage problem behaviors in children both inside and outside of the home.
Learning Pathways
Somatic Series: Widening Our Window of Tolerance
This pathway provides an overview of the Window of Tolerance and accessible, body-based mindfulness practices to support yourself or those in your communities. Learn how the Window of Tolerance concept applies to wellbeing and practical body-based strategies to support wellbeing, nervous system regulation, and a wider Window of Tolerance. This pathway includes explanations, examples, and opportunities for practice. Get ready for a different type of experience: after the first step of the pathway, the milestones will guide you through real-life practices. How to get ready to complete ...
Articles
A Family Reading List
As a child psychologist and parent coach, I love activities that are fun, engaging, and provide opportunities for families to connect. One of my favorite activities to do with my children is to read together.
Adaptability, Flexibility, and Empathy: Foundations for Success in Working With Youth Who Are Involved in Systems and Their Families
As a clinician who has worked in clinical and non-clinical roles in juvenile hall, residential treatment, shelters, and with foster and adoptive families, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to receive adequate training and support to learn best practices in working with system-involved youth.
Restoring Normalcy During the Unknown
In our house, my husband and I use a white board with a monthly calendar to help our young child anticipate less routine happenings, such as days we will each be out of town for work, birthday parties, afterschool activities and the like and review it with my child each week. Since most of these events have been put on hold, like many other families, we have had no need to write down the specifics of each day because they're all the same.
Supporting Family Resilience
An unexpected or difficult event always has the potential to get us down; being resilient refers to our ability to move through tough times, grow and adapt in the face of stress, and support our overall wellbeing. Key skills that support resilience can be practiced as an individual or as a family. Communication, problem-solving, setting effective goals, and managing stress all contribute to resilience. Practicing skills that support resilience can be helpful, even when times are difficult. Here are a few of our favorite strategies.
Mobile Tools
FOCUS on the Go!
FOCUS (Families Overcoming Under Stress) on the Go! contains games, access to resources, and videos that highlight strategies to support families. Encourage the families you work with to download this free mobile app designed to help them to enhance existing skills and develop new ones.
Podcast Episodes
Interview With Niranjan Karnik: An Inside Look at Developing a Framework for Lay Person Interventions in Community Settings
Explore the world of Niranjan Karnik's work with a lay person intervention and the potential to fill gaps in mental healthcare by providing resilience skill-building in the community. Community engagement is critical for success. Broad skills can be taught in a variety of settings where individuals live, work, play, commute, and socialize. Guest host Dr. Angela Venegas discusses with Dr. Karnik how this work came about and the importance of community-based work.
