Reproducible Assessments, Exercises, & Educational Handouts
Building resiliency is critical in the life of teens. It is currently called a host of other names including hardiness, psychological resilience, emotional resourcefulness, and mental resiliency. Regardless of the name you choose, resiliency is the ability of a teen to interact with the environment, handle stresses that occur, and bounce back from these stressful events. It is the process by which well-being is promoted and protection factors are activated against overwhelming feelings of stress. Teens that have developed resiliency are able to bounce back from the negative impact of difficulties.
Resiliency can be thought of as a skill that allows teens to:
- manage life's challenges, stresses, changes, and pressures effectively
- cope with and adapt successfully to adversity
- bounce back to a balanced state after facing a major disruption in life or career planning
The Teen Resiliency-Building Workbook contains five separate sections to help participants learn more about themselves and how to build the resiliency which will enable them to thrive in times of adversity, change and stress. They will learn about the importance of building resiliency skills to turn change and stress into opportunities and challenges, to live life zestfully, and to take positive actions in order to live their lives with less stress.
Teens have an innate ability to demonstrate resiliency as they build resiliency skills into their lives. Resilient people are able to adapt successfully under adverse circumstances such as poverty, mental illness, disasters, terrorism, physical or psychological trauma, parents' divorce, parent's job loss and financial problems, family members in prison, loss of a loved one, peer pressure, physical or sexual abuse, self-induced pressure to achieve in school, or a lack of safety. Resiliency, or a positive behavioral adaptation, is critical when people encounter any type of trauma.
Teens that are resilient...
- work hard at school work and study because they enjoy it and want to achieve
- react in optimistic ways
- see problems and difficult situations as challenges
- take positive risks and actions
- think of changes as natural
- go with the flow
- have a high self-esteem, self-confidence, self-concept and sense of self
- thrive under challenging situations
- believe that they can influence events and their reactions to events
- recognize that with good stress comes growth
- have hope for their future
- overcome obstacles with confidence
- create goals and work at accomplishing them
- possess a keen sense of control over their life
- bounce-back from disappointments
Research also indicates that resiliency can be built through skill development by enhancing communication, developing an optimistic outlook, building a greater sense of control, creating a more realistic sense of self, and learning how to effectively deal with change. The purpose of this workbook is to provide teens with the requisite skills they need to manage their emotions and to develop and maintain resiliency.
The five sections of the book include:
- Optimistic Outlook Scale.
- Sense of Control Scale.
- Sense-of-Self Scale.
- Ability to Bounce Back Scale.
- Change Management Scale.
John J. Liptak, EdD, frequently conducts workshops on assessment-related topics. He has written three books on career-related topics and these books have been featured in numerous newspapers including The Washington Post, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Associated Press. His work has also been featured on MSNBC, CNN Radio and on the PAX / ION television series, Success without a College Degree. John has many years of experience in providing counseling services to individuals and groups in a variety of settings including job training programs, correctional institutions, and colleges and universities. In addition, John has about ten years of teaching experience as an assistant professor. With Kathy Khalsa and Ester Leutenberg, he has written three other comprehensive books for teachers and counselors to use with their students and clients: The Self-Esteem Program, The Social Skills Program and The Stress Management Program: Inventories, Activities & Educational Handouts. With Whole Person Associates, he and Ester Leutenberg continue to co-write books to add to their Teen Mental Health & Life Skills Workbook series.
Ester R.A. Leutenberg has worked in the mental health field for many years as a publisher, author and advocate for those suffering from loss. She personally experienced a devastating loss when her son Mitchell, after struggling with a mental illness for eight years, died by suicide in 1986. Soon after, as a way of both healing and helping others, Ester co-founded Wellness Reproductions & Publishing with her daughter Kathy Khalsa and began developing therapeutic products that help facilitators help their clients. Ester is the co-author of the SEALS series for teen-agers, Life Management Skills series for adults and Meaningful Life Skills for older adults, as well as a variety of other therapeutic card games, board games and posters. Ester has co-written Creating a Healthy Balanced Life, the Mental Health & Life Skills Workbook Series, the Teen Mental Health & Life Skills Workbook Series, the Coping Workbook Series, Motivation, GriefWork ~ Healing from Loss, book, card and poster, The GriefWork Companion, and GriefWork for Teens, all published by Whole Person Associates. Ester and John have co-written the Mental Health & Life Skills Workbook Series, the Teen Mental Health & Life Skills Workbook Series and the Coping Workbook Series, all published by Whole Person Associates.
