Ms. Bhagyashree Life Skills.pptx,,,,,,,,

life skills

1. PROMOTING EMOTIONAL WELLBEING IN ADOLESCENTS THROUGH LIFE SKILLS

2. What according to you are Life Skills? Can you name some?

3. The World Health Organization defines Life Skills as “ adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal with life efficiently with the demands and challenges of everyday life” Core life skills for the promotion of child and adolescent mental health include: decision making, problem solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, effective communication, interpersonal relationship skills, self awareness, empathy, coping with stress and emotions. What Are Life Skills?

4. So, since we agree that these are skills everyone must develop, are these just a bunch of skills? Or do they play different roles in various contexts?

5. Just a bunch of skills...or do they have to have a context to be meaningful? Assertiveness skills: a child with disability versus for a child who has been sexually abused? Problem solving skills: a child who has substance abuse and is in conflict with the law versus for a child who has substance abuse following her mother’s death? Decision-making/ Critical thinking: in the context of sexuality i.e. Taking into consideration readiness for relationships i.e. taking into consideration other people’s feelings, social norms, consequences of certain actions...?

6. So, Life Skills for Whom? ... Where? ...In What Types of Situations/ Experiences? ... Addressing which problems and vulnerabilities?

7. Person Contexts: Children in Difficult Circumstances Children with various disability Children with school-related vulnerabilities (learning issues/ bullying/ drop-out/abuse…) Orphan & abandoned children Street & working children HIV infected/ affected children Children affected by gender & sexuality vulnerabilities Children in conflict with the law Children affected by disaster/armed conflict

8. Contexts of Spaces: Government schools Vulnerable urban and rural communities (children within families from low socio-economic strata) Observation Homes/Remand Homes/Transitional shelters/State and NGO Residential homes Bus-stands/Railway Stations, Streets, Raid-Rescue spaces (trafficking)

9. Context of Experiences: Single parent families Rejection & abandonment Illness and disability Parental marital conflict Loss & Grief (Death of Parents and/or other Attachment Figures) Alcohol dependency in parents Parent with mental illness/ disability Physical, sexual and emotional abuse (violence). Child labour and trafficking School drop-out/ learning problems Conflict with the law Political violence (ethnic cleansing/ genocide/ communal conflicts)

10. Emotional & Behavioural Consequences of Vulnerability & Risk (Contexts/ Experiences) Internalizing Disorders: Anxiety (incl. dissociative disorders, bed-wetting) Adjustment Disorders/ Dysphoria/ Depression PTSD Externalizing Disorders: Runaway behaviour Self-harm Anger/ aggression Substance abuse Life Skills Issues Sex and sexuality issues Bullying (perpetration and victim)

11. Life Skills Framework: Implementing Life Skills Interventions Contexts of Application Life Skills Experiential Methods of Learning

12. Use of Life Skills Methods for Preventive, Promotive & Curative Purposes In vulnerable children (and others) With children who may be orphan/ abandoned/ chronically ill/ in conflict with the law... Who may have no psychiatric issues i.e. no severe emotional/ behaviour problems (or have mild issues) but are still at risk. Assuming that all children, even those not living in (obviously) vulnerable contexts need life skills—in the absence of which they will be rendered vulnerable. Children with psychiatric problems, including developmental disabilities.

13. Using the Life Skill Lens to Address Psychiatric Problems (Curative Purposes) Therapeutic goals for child & adolescent psychiatric problems...to enable children to acquire certain life skills so as to overcome their emotional/ behavioural problems Internalization Disorders: Anxiety/ Depression Coping with stress Coping with (difficult) emotions Decision-making Communication Problem solving Externalization Disorders: ADHD/ Conduct Disorder Critical thinking Empathy Inter-personal relationships Problem-solving Decision-making

14. Life Skills Approach to Problem Issues: Discourse Mode Conversations Discussions Encouraging opinions, debate, perspective-taking Not providing value-based judgments/ opinions/ answers

15. How Life Skills Teaching Works All participants are learners. All participate in and contribute equally to the production of knowledge, which is a continuous dialogue. The learners are the subject and not the object of the process.

16. Experiential Methodologies Theatre Narratives Story-telling Art Work

17. ACTIVITY: ·The Uniqueness of Me·

18. Content (depending on context/ needs of group) Method- slogan, movie, theatre-role play-proximal development. Involvement of children Discussion What’s happening here? What are the feelings of the people involved…? How else could the situation be resolved…? What to Consider when Teaching Life Skills?

19. Dos and Don'ts Dos Don’ts Provide opportunity to all children to express their opinions Don’t interrupt or discard any opinion without responding. Active Listening Never judge children’s responses Validate and Acknowledge children’s emotions immediately Never force a child to respond Always engage with children as if you are one amongst them and not the facilitator Never compare one child in the group with another Always provide response to children’s questions and queries. If you do not have a response/ answer tell them you will get back to them later. Never laugh or pass a comment on a child’s response Use different methodologies If children are not responding, never be critical- change your method, engage children in activities that grab their attention Paraphrase/ summarize periodically Offer different ways of responding – writing, drawing, using a peer/ gestures etc. Plan an activity where all children can participate actively.

20. THANK YOU