Page 11 - New Year Refresher 2021

KEY MESSAGE 18: FOCUS ON STRENGTHS:

Strength Based Approach – seeing the strengths, even when exploring times of anti-
social responses, keeping sharply focused on strengths.

I gave the example of the lass who had been upset about a girl saying something unkind
to a boy in the school. She was verbally abusive to the girl then phoned 57 times.

The girl had actually shown some strengths – strong principles, wanting to protect and
support others, the determination, single focus and energy to keep going. Unfortunately,
these strengths were all channelled in unhelpful ways.

The trick is to help the girl see the strengths and channel them in pro-social ways. We are
working with the school to recognise how her dance skills, her influence and determination
could be put to good use in coaching younger students regularly as part of her timetable.

When we view Executive Function Skills as scales, young people can start recognising their
STRENGTHS and when they use that strength at HELPFUL times and when it is LESS
HELPFUL. They can also begin to better understand the things they experience
DIFFICULTY and work at ways to minimise their difficulties.

KEY MESSAGE 19: POSITIONS: Helping a child develop self-awareness is

always the first step – s/he cannot change until s/he understands the
issues stopping her / him from doing well.

The good news is that by helping people to notice the positions they take when they

feel powerless, they will be in a better position to work at shifting into more positive
positions and developing more helpful neural habits.