Being the Best that We Can Be!

There may be lots of adjectives that might be used in my epitaph but one of them will not be 'an academic'!  Normally, you will not hear me talk often about reading research that resulted in a book and strongly recommend that book to you.  But this day will be different!

As many of our colleagues address the issues related to the provision of residential care for children and youth, and how best to do this within our Good Shepherd service philosophy, I have come to desire more learning about how trauma and resilience fit into that quest.  I have come to learn with them that the women who have inspired this service philosophy have been themselves inspired  by  the compelling life of their founder, Sr. Mary Euphrasia-Pelletier.  I will likely have much more to say about this in future posts and in a workshop currently being prepared about the role of trauma and resilience in the life of Mary Euphrasia.  I hope to present this workshop in the Fall.

Meanwhile I have discovered the work of a group of 'academics’ from Cornell University who, amazingly, have gifted us with their comprehensive book  "Children and Residential Experiences".  Published by the Child Welfare League of America and authored by Martha J. Holden, et al. the book is actually written in clear 'English' beautifully sensitive to the concrete thinking of most of us committed to youth care work.  In this writing, and between the lines, I have discovered the wonderful wisdom and clarity of Mary Euphrasia partnered, if you will, with numerous current experts in the field of looking after children in residential care. With integrity, there is a clear commitment to the principles of trauma informed care and resilience.

One of the bonuses I found in the lay-out of the chapters is that they lend themselves to chapter-focused study and reflection for teams in residential care to assist the development of reflective practice.  Taking individual chapters to study and discuss in team meetings might be a helpful process for a small group of care providers to collectively work on deepening their skills and abilities.  This written work calls us toward a practice that finds youth care workers developing themselves through purposeful reflection and feedback in order to use themselves differentially in important relationships with young people. Equally the rich content advises how best to structure programs, activities and individual therapeutic relationships using engaging language to help young people feel included, accepted and empowered to contribute to their own safety and future development.

Get my gist?  I truly love this work and strongly recommend it to any of you seriously interested in deepening your own sense of competence. Likewise, the reflective practitioner will want to learn more how this all relates to being more 'Good Shepherd' in our work with young people.  And if some of you wonder what I mean about being more 'Good Shepherd' in the work, then send your comments, ideas and questions by commenting below.  I can write all day on this and would like to help clarify the subject.

Children and Residential Experiences,  by Martha J. Holden, et al.  can be found and ordered through Amazon. ca.