Teen Resiliency-building Workbook (Teen Mental Health and Life Skills Workbooks) Workbook edition

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; and 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. Research shows that resiliency offers protection from distress and illness in the face of change or adversity. The presence of high levels of resiliency is associated with these factors: high level of happiness, self-esteem, sense of energy and vitality, optimism, self-reported health, sense of meaning and direction, and a low level of depression. 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 helps teens identify how optimistically they view and live life. Sense of Control Scale helps teens explore the extent to which they believe they have control over what happens in their lives. Sense-of-Self Scale helps teens explore the strength of their self-esteem, self-confidence and self-concept. Ability to Bounce Back Scale helps teens increase their ability to bounce back and recover from a setback. Change Management Scale helps teens become aware of how well they deal with change, and develop the skills necessary to accept change. By combining reflective assessment and journaling, participants will be exposed to a powerful method of combining verbalizing and writing to reflect on and to solve problems. Participants will become more aware of the strength and weaknesses of their resiliency and find ways to build and enhance their hardiness.