Page 9 - Empowerment Approach. Brain Clear: Agree Expectations

3. Make it collaborative (working with, not to)

▪ Having a sense of control over what is happening to us is an

important emotional need for us all

▪ For children who have experienced trauma, this can be even
more important: they may have often felt a stark lack of control

over what is happening in their lives.

This can increase their need to feel in control.

▪ Children with flexible thinking difficulties can experience an
intense emotional response when feeling controlled by others.

They may find it particularly difficult to follow ‘rules’.

▪ By collaborating, we help young people to feel
in control of what is happening in their lives.

This can help them to feel motivated to keep to
expectations.