We all want to be “client-centred”. Responsive to the unique individual who’s sitting in front of us. Yet, despite our best intentions, sometimes our programs and practices get rigid. Expert-driven. Built and centred around a model or framework for helping, instead of centred around the needs of the client or person being served. In this…
Consider the following example; A sixteen year old male is mandated to residential treatment for addiction. His file is read aloud at the weekly case consultation that all staff attend. Staff find out that this youth’s mandate comes after two years of escalating behaviour involving substance use, deteriorating relationships and criminal activity. He’s mandated to…
“Good intentions aren’t enough. Our impact matters.” Everyone in the helping professions, from teachers to psychologists, youth workers to leaders, has good intentions. A strong desire and passion for making the lives of the people they serve better. We start every workshop with the same set of four questions, one of which is a version…
If you’ve done any Trauma-Informed Practice training, or any reading about things like anxiety and behaviour management in children, you’re probably familiar with the “Fight, Freeze, Flee” model. From AnxietyCanada.com: “F3 or the Fight-Flight-Freeze response is the body’s automatic, built-in system designed to protect us from threat or danger. For example, when you hear the words,…
If you’re a helping professional, chances are high that you struggle with helping your clients set and achieve meaningful goals. There are a lot of reasons for this (including the First Problem, which we’ve written about previously), but chief among them is that it’s just a really hard process. Taking this big thing called “life”,…
When it comes to our jobs as helping professionals, the very first problem that we encounter with a client is how we define the problem, and who gets to define it. That can seem like a bit of a lofty statement, so let’s break it down a little bit. But, before we do that, it’s important…
It’s a well-earned truism that helping and educational professionals enter their fields because of a strong sense of care and responsibility. Such is the nature of care, however, that when professional practices come into question, as is absolutely necessary if one is to provide effective service, it can often feel as though care and intention…
This short video is part two of an ongoing series called “Beyond Anxiety”, where we explore the Responsive Approach through the lens of anxiety, a prevalent concern of parents and caregivers everywhere. If you haven’t watched Part One…go there first! In this video, Jeff explores the basic wiring of the brain, and why anxiety makes…
When it comes to the possible reactions of our clients, students or children, we typically think that the loud, violent or defiant responses are the worst. In this short video, Jeff explains why, out of several possible reactions, we should prefer the loud ones!
Jeff gave this TEDx talk out in Canmore, AB in 2017. In it he describes his journey towards understanding addiction not as choice or disease (the two prevailing schools of thought in society currently), but as a fundamental part of our wiring, our human operating system. Enjoy! Enjoyed this? Sign up so you don’t miss…