Resiliency Coaches
| Program Manager Resiliency Coach Schools | ||
| Tara Schneider-Pichette | 403.952.9661 | tara@ourcollectivejourney.ca |
A resiliency coaching approach focuses primarily on building resilience in adolescents by seamlessly integrating the foundational neuroscience principles outlined in the "Brain Story." Adolescence is a crucial developmental phase marked by significant changes in the brain's structure and function. Understanding these neurodevelopmental shifts is pivotal in tailoring effective strategies to foster resilience. Adolescents undergo synaptic pruning, where unused neural connections are refined, leading to more efficient brain circuitry. Simultaneously, emotional responses intensify, driven by the maturation of the limbic system. Importantly, the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and impulse control, is still developing. These neurobiological changes influence adolescents' behaviors, emotional regulation, and decision-making.  An essential aspect of our approach is acknowledging the potential impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on adolescent brain development. Chronic stress and trauma can disrupt neural connectivity, affecting cognitive growth and emotional well-being. Through the utilization of the Resiliency Scale, we assess the presence of both adverse experiences and protective factors in adolescents' lives, enabling a comprehensive understanding of their unique circumstances. Our coaching approach is anchored in several core principles. Firstly, a person-centered methodology places adolescents at the heart of the coaching process. We respect their autonomy, validating their experiences, and fostering a safe environment for open dialogue. Secondly, we emphasize strengths-based strategies, identifying and leveraging their innate strengths, talents, and positive qualities to promote empowerment. Given the potential impact of trauma, our approach is inherently trauma-informed. We create a supportive space that recognizes the potential effects of trauma on adolescents' lives, prioritizing safety and trust. Additionally, we employ motivational interviewing techniques, aiming to elicit intrinsic motivation, explore goals, and address ambivalence, thereby facilitating positive behavior change. Within our coaching sessions, we directly apply neuroscience principles. Collaboratively setting meaningful goals, we help adolescents understand how achieving these goals can lead to positive brain adaptations and improved well-being. Stress regulation techniques, such as mindfulness and deep breathing, are introduced to manage stress and enhance emotional regulation. Positive visualization exercises guide adolescents in visualizing success and positive outcomes, stimulating neural pathways associated with optimism. We continuously monitor progress through the Resiliency Scale, tracking shifts in red and green boxes, and celebrating achievements and positive changes in their resilience journey. Family and community involvement are integral to our approach. We engage parents, guardians, and the broader community, educating them about adolescent brain development and the significance of a supportive environment in fostering resilience. In conclusion, our coaching approach draws inspiration from the "Brain Story" principles, offering a comprehensive framework to empower adolescents in building resilience. By seamlessly weaving neuroscience insights with person-centered coaching strategies, we aim to equip adolescents with the tools they need to navigate challenges, harness their strengths, and cultivate resilience for a brighter future. | ||||||
Our Collective Journey (OCJ) Background: OCJ started 3 years ago as a response to the mental health crisis impacting our community. Members of OCJ have lived experience that gives them the innate ability to connect with individuals experiencing similar situations, reassuring them that they are not alone. Systems are often at capacity, leading to lengthy wait times or often the individual is not ready to seek professional support at all. This is where OCJ is able to take action, fill gaps, and immediately offer support on their journey; the recovery coach program encompasses these. OCJ Recovery Coaches (RC) must complete 40-hour intensive RC training from a training provider that is recognized by the Canadian Addiction Counselling Certification Federation (CACCF). Once training is complete, coaches attend a monthly Recovery Coach Community Meeting online, along with weekly supervised practice sessions in-house, to continue honing their skillsets. The training providers that OCJ utilizes are Optimal Recovery Coaching Associates and CCAR, you can check out their programs using the following link:
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much money was allocated to Our Collective Journey for this project?
While the scope of our mental health project grant came in at just over $2 million, across three school divisions, the work being completed by OCJ is only a very small part of this larger, robust plan. The majority of funds from the grant have been allocated to staffing (i.e., Family School Liaison Worker (FSLW), Success Coaches, Psychology, behaviour support), professional learning, and resources. Approximately $100, 000 each year for two years was set aside for addictions related work.
How was the decision made to select OCJ? Was there an RFP process and were other agencies invited to apply?
- One of the core elements of the grant proposal was to find a partner in the community that we were not already involved with and that was unique to our community. We work closely with a number of community partners already including AHS, McMan, Bridges, Sanare, Miywasin, etc. and so we were tasked with finding an organization that was specific to our community and was working in an area others were not. OCJ met the grant proposal criteria and were excited to expand their work towards youth.
- OCJ started 3 years ago as a response to the mental health crisis impacting our community. Members of OCJ have lived experience that gives them the innate ability to connect with individuals experiencing similar situations, reassuring them that they are not alone. Systems are often at capacity, leading to lengthy wait times or often the individual is not ready to seek professional support at all. This is where OCJ is able to take action, fill gaps, and immediately offer support on their journey; the resiliency program encompasses these.
What is the role of a resiliency coaches?
Resiliency coaches are trained to work with individuals to determine their “recovery capital” – the personal, interpersonal, and community resources that can be drawn upon to begin and sustain addiction recovery. They are there to empathize, encourage, and connect individuals to formalized pathways of support when they are ready to do so.
Our goal in schools is to provide three types of support:
- Professional learning to staff around addiction, recovery and resiliency
- Educational information for youth on the impact of addiction and the supports available in community
- Individual support as a connector – we want students to feel comfortable as a result of seeing resiliency coaches around the school to reach out, make a connection, and get connected to formalized supports.
Isn’t AHS already doing this work?
AHS Addictions and Mental Health provide counselling and therapeutic supports in our community and are a valued partner. We refer students and families to them as a support regularly. What we were noticing was a decrease in willingness to get to those supports – a systemic barrier or a perception that it wasn’t the support they were looking for. The goal with OCJ, is to use lived experience and relatability as a way to create a connection to formalized supports. Through sharing their story and discussing the ways in which resiliency coaches found recovery, our hope is to get more youth and families connected to a formal support such as AHS.
What is the training that resiliency coaches have and isn’t is risky to have “untrained” counsellors providing counselling support to students?
- Resiliency coaches are not counsellors and aren’t engaging in this work. They leave the work of counselling or therapy to our FSLW team, community professionals, and AHS. While they might meet briefly with students individually (if students seek them out), the goal is to bridge a connection, hear their concerns, and use their “recovery capital” to get them connected to the right supports.
- Coaches support relationship building, harm reduction, behaviour change and system navigation; acting as pathfinders. They provide a place to get useful information and develop connections to other school supports and community agencies that can help them long term.
- Resiliency coaches must complete 40-hour intensive recovery coach training from a training provider that is recognized by the Canadian Addiction Counselling Certification Federation (CACCF). Once training is complete, coaches attend a monthly recovery coach community meeting online, along with weekly supervised practice sessions in-house, to continue honing their skillsets. The training providers that OCJ utilizes are Optimal Recovery Coaching Associates and CCAR, you can check out their programs using the following link:
- Optimal Recovery
- CCAR
- School resiliency coaches have combined training in the following areas:
- CCAR Recovery Coach Training
- Addiction Community Service Worker
- Management Skills for Supervisors
- Art and Science of being an Effective Team Leader
- Motivational Interviewing & Assertive Engagement Training
- Ethics Course
- Trauma Informed Care
- Compassion and Fatigue Training
- ASIST Training
- Non-Violent De-Escalation Training
- Crisis Intervention Training
- FOIP Training
- Registered Social Worker Degree
- Child Psychology Course
- The Psychology of Drugs and Behaviour Course
- Psychology of Families & Parenting Course
- Ethics in Addictions Counselling Training
- Understanding Adolescents & Addiction Training
- Addiction & Concurrent Disorders Training
- Trauma Responsive Care
- Adolescent Development Course
- The Brain Story certification
What processes have been used to determine that these staff in our buildings are safe and caring adults?
- Criminal record check and the vulnerable sector screening are mandatory for OCJ resiliency coaches. OCJ resiliency coaches are under supervision of OCJ director of programming who is a CACCF certified Addiction Counsellor and CACCF certified Recovery Coach. Each coach is bound by CACCF code of ethics and follows FOIP requirements.
- The team at OCJ is committed and dedicated to supporting others through recovery and come from a place of compassion and care.
What will classroom presentations look like, and do I have the option to excuse my child from participating?
Parents have the option to excuse their child from an OCJ presentation occurring in the classroom. Families will receive a notification if a member of the OCJ team will be speaking in your child’s classroom, so you can make the best choice for your family. The content of the presentation will include basic information about addiction, age appropriate story of their personal recovery, resiliency and supports available in our community. The teacher and a member of our social-emotional team will be present during class discussions.
Are resiliency coaches available to students 24 hours per day?
- No, resiliency coaches will be present on school days in our middle and high schools. Connections to resiliency coaches are made through a staff member (i.e., counsellor, FSLW, teacher, administrator). If your child needs support outside of school hours, we would recommend connecting with another support such as a crisis line, local mental health support, etc.
- While OCJ have a telephone number that can be accessed at any time by those in community, that is not the intent of this program and school based resiliency coaches are not accessible to our students in the middle of the night. Therefore, students are asked not to reach out to OCJ to access support outside of school. Resiliency coaches do answer their phones for adults in the community and if a student calls or texts they will be referred to a crisis supports as mentioned above.
What happens with the mental health grant funding runs out?
To be honest, we don’t know what that will look like yet. Many of our social emotional support projects come from grant funding. In some cases, a tool, strategy, or support is so successful, we need to find a way for it to continue after the funding is gone. In other cases, the tool, strategy, or support has met the intended goal and is no longer needed. We will track the data on the effectiveness of our overall mental health plan, including the project with OCJ. As we come closer to the end of the project, it will be clearer if this is something that we need to sustain or whether we have met our goals.
Which schools will have resiliency coaches?
The school resiliency coach program will be available to all middle and high schools. Admin teams and teachers will work to determine how often they will be in the building and what involvement might look like. If you’d like to learn more about what is happening in your child’s school, reach out to their homeroom teacher or an administrator to ask questions.