Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents: Enhancing Social Competence and Self-Regulation: A Cognitive-Behavioral Group Approach

About this book

This cognitive-behavioral group approach is designed to help students bounce back from and deal with the hardships difficulties and challenges in their lives. Participants learn to focus on what they do well and develop protective factors that promote resilience. Fun-to-do group sessions address the social/interpersonal aspects of growing up. The sessions are designed to increase confidence self-esteem self-control and the use of coping strategies to deal with issues such as fitting-in and finding academic and social success. Specific resilience leadership and social competence skills are emphasized each week using discussion role-plays or other age-appropriate techniques. Topics covered include being proactive personal space awareness problem solving anger/anxiety management self-regulation friendship skills starting and maintaining conversations and understanding the impact of ones behavior on others. Relaxation and self-regulation techniques help group members increase awareness of thoughts body and emotions through calm breathing visualization progressive muscle relaxation or yoga. Homework assignments and community field trips are utilized to reinforce the positive gains seen in the group setting and expand them for use in the world outside of group. Through the included parent letters parents are given information about the specific skill being addressed; ideas to encourage and foster development; and recommendations for additional readings.