1. Individualized Resilience Plan: Blueprint for Success
Richard Shepler, Ph.D., PCC-S
Director, Center for Innovative Practices
Begun Center for Violence Prevention, Research, and Education
Case Western Reserve University
Contact Information:

2. Youth and Family Definition of Resiliency
“Kids can walk around trouble if there is some place to walk to and someone to walk with.” Ex-Gang Member, Tito
Resiliency is an inner capacity that when nurtured, facilitated, and supported by others– empowers children, youth, and families to successfully meet life’s challenges with a sense of self- determination, mastery, hope, and well-being.
Nurtured
Facilitated
Supported
Resiliency is systemic and is dependent on and interactive with:
The youth’s inherent resiliencies and vulnerabilities;
Family resiliencies (nurturance, supports, structure, and resources) and vulnerabilities (stressors, risk factors); and
Community resiliencies (supports, opportunities, accommodations, resources, and services) and risk factors (crime, poverty, substance use, etc)
Family, Faith, & Friends
Community Education, Opportunities, Resources, & Safety
Services, Supports, & Accommodations

3. Resiliency Consensus Statement
Basics Needs, Safety, & Supports
Courage & Confidence
Validation & Valuing
Positive Connections
Sanctuary
Expectations that maximize potential
Justice
Contributions & Participation
Competencies
Hope
Self-Wisdom
Sense of Meaning & Joy
Copyright 2006, 2009 Resiliency Leadership Ohio

4. Risk and Resiliency Research
Skills, Competencies & Abilities
Increase Promotive Factors in Multiple Environments
Contribution
The more assets
the better
Futures orientation
Resiliency
Safe Neighborhoods
The more protection the better
Increase Protective Factors in Multiple Environments
Supportive family
School Connectedness
The less risk the better
Risk generating people and environments
Reduce Risk Environments and Behaviors
Family conflict
Truancy
Safety and Basic Resources are Foundational
(Shepler, Adapted from Mannes, 2008 and Masten and Tellegen, 2012)

5. Shepler, 2010; Center for Innovative Practices
Individualized Resilience Plan: Blueprint for Success “Children do well if they can.” (Ross Greene)
Like a mental wellness “IEP” that follows the child. What does each person, who touches the life of that child, need to know about him/her to facilitate their success?
Guided by youth and family expertise: main informants
Identify challenges that need supported: Behaviors; emotions; skill-deficits and delays; vulnerabilities; trauma reactivity, etc.
Identify facilitative responses and supports that promote successful functioning across life domains (emotional support; accommodations; realistic & achievable expectations, collaborative problem solving etc.).
Resiliency Plan: Positive connections, relational supports, skill sets, competency promotion, opportunities for contribution, and strategic accommodations that facilitate success
Shepler, 2010; Center for Innovative Practices

6. Both the Person and the Context Matter
School
Informal Supports + +
Family - + -
Youth -
Peers
Community + +
Both the person and the context matter: Avoid either only focusing on building young people’s skills or only changing the environment or contextual variables; the best results occur with simultaneous efforts to do both.
Build assets across settings (Peter Benson et al., 2006, Search Institute). Build in redundancy - - +
+ = Protective Factors -
- = Risk Factors
Center for Innovative Practices, 2006, 2009
Work

7. Identify Challenges to Success
Internal Challenges:
Those attributes of the youth that need supported: behaviors; emotions; skill-deficits and delays; vulnerabilities; trauma reactivity
External Challenges:
Interactional and situational triggers: List of responses and situations that do not help and may accelerate the behaviors: triggers, emotional accelerants, unhelpful responses, certain environments, risk factors (e.g. drug using peers)
Copyright 2010, Shepler, Center for Innovative Practices

8. Emotional: trauma reactivity; limited emotional regulation skills
Behavioral: poor impulse control; risk taking
Cognitive: maladaptive thinking patterns
Developmental: skill set deficits; disabilities
Internal Challenges

9. People: Negative peers; family conflict; unhelpful responses
Places: limited functional success (e.g. school); triggering environments
Things: Substance use
Safety & Trauma
External Challenges

10. Identify Helpful Responses and Supports
Copyright 2010, Shepler, Center for Innovative Practices

11. Behavioral Escalation
Unhelpful Responses
Behavioral Escalation
Challenging youth beyond their ability
Reactive response; intensify situation
Making it and/or taking it personal
Not letting go: Extending the negative interaction
Convincing
Piling on consequences
Ineffective communication
Use of force, fear, threats

12. Helpful Responses and Supports
Adaptive Behavior
Facilitative; Assistive; Accommodations
Emotionally Supportive; Validation
Flexible; Adaptive
Focus on understanding the behavior; Collaborative Problem Solving
Realistic & achievable expectations
Consistency & predictability
Effective Communication
Fairness

13. Resilience Plan Components
Accommodations
Regulating Activities
Safety & Resources
Opportunities & Futures Orientation
Skills & Assets
Supportive Connections

14. Individualized Resilience Plan
Basic Needs and Safety
Safety & Resources
1) Physically and emotionally safety
2) Reduce risk generating situations
3) Basic needs & resources
Sanctuary
1) Planned Respite
2) Access to safe/calming space
3) Self-care
Accommodations and Supports Across Settings
Accommodations
1) Calm, non-reactionary communication
2) Cueing; Predictability
3) Achievable goals
Supports; Connections
1) Family & youth peer support
2) Positive connections (youth and family) across settings
3) Positive family relationships, structure & adaptability
Competencies and Skill Building
Competencies; Skills
1) Problem solving
2) Conflict resolution
3) Communication 
Regulating Activities
1) Calming activity: Yoga/ Mindfulness
2) Physical activity:
Sport activity
3) Sense regulation: Art, Music
Wellness and Developmental Growth
Asset building
1) Identify and support talents & interests
2) Build assets in multiple domains
3) Build internal and external assets
Futures Orientation
1) Identify future goal
2) Identify supports needed to reach goal
3) Identify opportunities

15. Implications for Practice
Change our perceptions
Cultural humility
Hope and positive expectancy
Never give up on youth and families
Realistic expectations based on abilities
Change our focus
Focus on adaptation, functioning, compensatory strengths; abilities; talents; etc.
Change what we offer
Resources, supports, activities, opportunities, physical and sensory regulation
Change how we serve
Access: Home and community-based
Availability: 24/7
Responsiveness: services and supports matched to needs
Expand who provides the help
Peers; Informal supports; Mentors; Faith community; etc.
Change how we support families
Validation and valuing
System navigation and advocacy
Parent peer support
Examples include: To conclude: As with facilitated recovery, resilience may need to be facilitated with SED Youth
“The problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small.” (Mother Teresa)

16. Translating Resiliency into Practice
Asset Building, Futures Orientation, and Meaningful Contribution
Establish Positive Connections & Functional Success through Relational Supports and Strategic Accommodations
Build Adaptive Skills & Emotional Coping Across Settings
Wellness & Resiliency
Validation and Valuing
Strengthen Family Structure & Relationships
Safety, Stabilization, Risk & Symptom Reduction
Basic Needs, Resources, and Supports
Shepler (2014), Center for Innovative Practices