HOPE AND HEALING BY DESIGN Professional development strategy
2 Key purpose of the workshop To inform the content and design of the Hope and Healing Framework training and professional development strategies to be delivered in 2018
3 You will: learn more about the H&H Framework and how the framework translates into practice reflect on your experiences of working with children and young people in residential care who have been impacted by trauma identify the knowledge, skills and tools needed by residential care workers and their supervisors to work in a trauma-informed way using the Hope and Healing Framework
4 Needs-informed care
5 Fundamentals of care Safety is the necessary foundation or base. It incorporates the overarching need for cultural safety. Physical, emotional and cultural safety are prerequisites to all other efforts to support the young person. Stability is a core aspect of emotional safety.
6 Fundamentals of care Nurturance is about meeting young people s needs for warm and nurturing relationships, through physical care (good food, having normal things, feeling like a home ) Development is about attention to young people s developmental needs relevant to their age, stage and capacity (educational, physical and emotional) Healing is about being attuned to the impacts for all young people of pre-care and in-care trauma, loss and attachment issues, and meeting the more intensive needs of some. Healing occurs through restorative relationships.
7 Focus areas for practice Relationship refers to a young person s capacity to experience reciprocal relationships, supported by residential care workers efforts to work through relationship. Elements of relationship are trust, empathy, positive regard, reliability, and emotional care Connections refers to a young person s sense of belonging and underpins the development of identity. Connections refers to feeling part of family and community, and having a strong cultural identity
8 Focus areas for practice Emotional know-how is necessary for a young person s mental health, age-appropriate behaviour and higher order learning. In practice, the concept incorporates supporting young people in ways of adaptively coping with internal and external stresses Positive identity is related to a young person s sense of self and feelings of self-worth. A young person s sense of themselves as worthy is essential to their well-being.
9 The phases of care Transition in Focus: establishing safety Stabilising Focus: relationship, stabilisation, developing emotional know-how Strengthening connections Focus: re-connection and strengthening connections, identity and belonging Transition out Focus: reintegration, positive self-regard, hope and aspirations
10 Domains of residential care
11 The Framework in practice Caring with the young person in mind notes that all the various workers who directly influence care and planning must keep the individual young person in mind. Includes working together through Care Teams. Supporting child-focused care notes the need for the wider service system to support and resource direct care workers to do their job Supporting a consistent approach notes the need for practical means by which residential care workers and others can maintain consistency and collaborate, including shared tools and guidelines.
12 A definition of trauma Trauma refers to experiences or events that by definition are out of the ordinary in terms of their overwhelming nature. They are more than merely stressful they are also shocking, terrifying, or devastating to the survivor, resulting in profoundly upsetting feelings of terror, fear, shame, helplessness, and powerlessness. (Courtois, C. A. In ACPMH, 2014)
13 What might be impacted? Sense of safety Attachment / emotional security Emotional regulation Identity self concept Developmental pathway Social functioning Cognition (memory, concentration, problem-solving) Physiology (sleeping, eating, health, growth)
14 What do we mean by trauma-informed? Caring and working with young people in a way that understands and responds to trauma and is therapeutic in approach. Recognises that all young people in residential care have experienced trauma. For the Hope and Healing Framework, the concept of trauma includes disrupted attachment, complicated grief and loss, and other deleterious impacts on development.
15 Consider the BEHAVIOUR in context Decide on action strategies to RESPOND to the need Recognise the EMOTION Identify the NEED underpinning that emotion Consider the PURPOSE of the behaviour in expressing or suppressing that emotion Encompass Family and Community
16 A safe environment in residential care.. requires Structure (predictable routine / fair clear boundaries) Reliability (do what you say you will, be there when you say you will) Consistency (same approach by all, same approach each time / familiarity) Being attuned (recognising & responding to feelings) Acceptance (of difference, identity, preferences) Warmth (genuine caring, we like you )
17 A purposeful daily program refers to how the young person s day is structured predictable routine which engenders security balanced with flexibility to respond to individual needs while maintaining group cohesion plays a strong role in promoting safety responsive to different cohorts includes rituals which reinforce belonging requirements that reinforce good habits for individual self-care and social interaction (Holden, 2009)
18 The caring role Those in direct contact with the young person ensure their safety provide nurturance provide developmental opportunities where trauma has occurred, attend to healing The role is one of purposeful caring, akin to that of a thoughtful parent rather than a youth worker
19 About Care Teams Every child or young person in care has a Care Team On-the-ground everyday contact with the child or young person Important role in implementing the care plan or care agreement Know the young person s current circumstances well and work together to ensure consistency
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