Strength Based Approach

When working with children and youth one has to be very culturally sensitive and respectful in identifying, acknowledging and working with strengths as a starting point for change (Rapp, 1998). In Ontario the Child and Youth Practitioners, Social Workers and Clinical Practitioners practice using the ‘Strength Based Approach’ to assist the children and youth by identifying the issues or the disorders and develop a treatment plan by valuing their insights and experiences and recognizing parents as supporters and collaborators of care for their children and youth (McCashen, 2008).

Past progression I have been employed in the Not-for-Profit Sector for over fifteen years and have worked my way up from being a Settlement Counselor, to a Manager

I was able to connect with a lawyer to help me understand my rights and was able to make the right decision. I became physically strong once I made the right decision, as I was able to eat right and sleep well. I became spiritual as I made time for prays which help clear my mind and was able to provide myself with self-care which was neglected in the past due to the abusive relationship. I am a pleasant personal to be around and this has been a positive impact on my three children’s happiness and social wellbeing. Socially, I am surrounded by family and friends who cared, appreciated, respected and supported my decision. I have always taken the holism approach and used the biopsychosocial model in my programs but before this first module I was not familiar with the term ‘holism’ or the ‘biopsychosocial model’. I always took into consideration the biological, psychological and social factors when I had to deal with a child or youth in my program. I tried the holism approach when dealing with the child or youth, but not in the exact format. I feel very grateful to be part of the studies and to gain the knowledge as moving forward I will develop and implement my programs using the holistic approach and the biopsychosocial

But it is just the beginning of work in progress which can only be successful if everyone from the individual, family, friends, community, medical practitioners, schools and faith leaders join hands and work together alongside each other than the child or youth will be healed otherwise we will be dealing with a growing pandemic of losing our children and youth to mental health and other disorders. Our children and youth are our future, we need to invest in our future and develop the best practices in order to support