ABS 200 week 2 discussion 2 Stress and Coping

ABS 200

October 27, 2016

Stress and Coping

Presentation Outline

By upholding a state of resilience, the girls will strive in moments of hardship. The wellbeing of young adolescent’s is crucial as they being to prepare, for their young adult lives. Breaking negative cycles will lead them down a path of achievement.

1. Identify specific characteristics of your target audience – Adolescents, 13 – 17 years of age, females, all living in a Group Home in NYC.
2. Briefly define stress and give examples relevant to your target audience – Stress for many of the girls can generally initiate when, they feel that everything seems to have become too much to handle. When they are encumbered and start thinking if they can cope with the pressures that are before them, especially being teenagers and in an environment, that they do not consider home. According to the text, stressis “a transaction between a person and his or her environment. More specifically, stress results from an imbalance between an individual’s perceived demands and perceived resources”
3. Some relevant example of stress within my audience – not being accepted by other peers their age, singled out as “bad girls”, bullied by others, peer pressure to act in ways they might not want to and poor academic progress.
4. Discuss at least two specific stressors relevant to your target audience’s primary concerns
5. two of the major points we will discuss in the presentation will be, the neglect that the girls associate, has driven them to behave in certain ways, that are unhealthy for them and can cause life time consequences and the “bullying’ that many are experiencing.
6. Describe healthy and unhealthy ways in which people may respond to the two stressors listed in#3 above –
   • Having one-on-one psychotherapy sessions, in which the girls could express what their true feelings are, without the fear of being ridiculed.
   • Bringing in motivational speakers to have group activities with the girls. The Blue-Ribbon Project reaches out to the youth offering support systems and programs that are based exclusively for children or teens that feel a sense of lost, due to neglect or abuse.
   • After school programs a local Boys and Girls Club and help the girls interact with other girls their age, in different activities such as, sports.
   • Unhealthy was to deal with stress–
   • Since many of the girls in group homes feel neglected, they look for the love and attention from people that can lead them down a negative path.
   • No one was ever home when they arrived from school, so they choose to stay out late hours of the night and many times never even went back home.
   • The constant violence being witnessed at home or that many endure, force them to accept that lifestyle and they start exhibiting these abusive behaviors with others, leading to possible altercations in school or in public places.
   • Not having the right guidance or support system, lead many to an early sexual active lifestyle, that many times spirals into numerous partners, unprotected sex, unwanted pregnancies’ and possible life threatening diseases.
   • One specific skill a mental health professional might teach to help individuals cope effectively with stress is, through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), by using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
   • Resilience is that inexpressible quality, that allows some people to be hit down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes. Therefore, being emotionally cooperative is crucial for resilience to work.
   • Identify at least three ways to build resilience –
   • Having young adults, who may have overcome these same type of issues, come in to the Group Home and give the girls motivational speeches, would be a great form to show them they are not alone in their journey. The girls will identify with women that have been in their shoes as well. Having a routine where the girls participate in activities that are centered around, showing support to one another. Building friendships, respecting and valuing one another can be key, during their stay at the Group Home. Group outings such as, hikes, walking which is a form of exercise, can also aid the girls release the added stress, that can build up from not knowing how to cope with their current situation. Having a dairy, where they can jot down how they are feeling, what triggers them to get upset, what made a one day better than the other, expectations and personal goals, can be beneficial. Channeling all these positive approaches will take the focus, away from the negative situations they have been facing thus far. This will give opportunity for the girls to feel a sense of belong.
   • Discuss the importance of flexibility in maintaining resilience –

   References

   1. List at least one online, print, video, and/or local resources in your community where participants may receive additional help in learning to effectively cope with life stressors and develop/enhance their resilience skills.
   2. Close to Home – allows youth who are deemed Juvenile Delinquents by the Family Court to be placed in residential programs closer to their families and communities. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/acs/justice/close-home.page
   3. Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan Borough – focuses on “providing life enhancing opportunities for children and adolescents who may not have otherwise had access to such life developing resources”.
   4. http://www.bgclubmanhattan.com/
   5. The Blue-Ribbon Project – they are committed to the prevention of both Child Abuse and Neglect.
   6. http://blueribbonproject.org/

   A Critical Look At the Foster Care System. The Group Homes. Rick Thoma. 18 Apr 1998. 23 Feb 2001.http://home.rica.net/rthoma/foster09.htm

   Mary K. Alvord, Ph.D, Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D., Jana Martin, Ph.D., and Ronald S. Palomares, Ph.D. Resilience in Teens Got Bounce? (May 2011) American Psychological Association. Retrieved 10/27/2016.

   McCarthy, C. J., DeLisi, M., Getzfeld, A. R., McCarthy, C. J., Moss-King, D. A., Mossler, R., Privitera, G. J., Spence, C., Walker, J. D., Weinberg, R. S., & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2016). Introduction to applied behavioral science[Electronic version].Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/