‘ Give us a break! ’

Using a solution focused programme to help young people cope with loss and negative change

Bibliographic Data

ID20159504
AuthorsLisa Whitehead (0000-0002-6395-0279, Educational Psychologist, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, 23 Beckford Street Hamilton, Scotland, corresponding author), Marie Clare Allan (Educational Psychologist, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, Scotland), Kristen Allen (0000-0002-8520-7371, Depute Principal Educational Psychologist, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, Scotland), Valerie Duchak (Research Assistant, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, Scotland), Elizabeth King (0009-0006-9063-6791, Research Assistant, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, Scotland), Corina Mason (0000-0003-3105-6077, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, 23 Beckford Street Hamilton, Scotland), Lindsay Mooney (Principal Educational Psychologist, South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, Scotland), Scott Tully (Educational Psychologist, At the time of writing the author worked for the South Lanarkshire Council Psychological Service, UK)
Year2018
Volume37
Issue1
Pages17-27
Publication date2018-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBereavement Care (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0268-2621 • E-ISSN: 1944-8279
PublisherCruse Bereavement Care (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02682621.2018.1443597
OpenAlexW2802534648
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

This research evaluated the impact of Give us a break! (GUAB!) — a programme for children and young people who have experienced bereavement or negative change including the impact of divorce/separation; experiences around ill health and circumstances leading to individuals being ‘looked after’. A repeated measures design was utilised to measure the pre-post difference in the factors which contribute to young people’s resilience following intervention. Additionally, as the programme is based on a model of Solution Focused Brief Therapy — which aims to develop a positive orientation towards the future — optimistic thinking was closely evaluated. Young people completed the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (Prince-Embury, 2006 Prince-Embury, S. (2006). Resiliency scales for children and adolescents: A profile of personal strengths. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment. [Google Scholar]) and, to increase the rigour of data collection, parents/carers and teachers completed the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (LeBuffe, Shapiro & Naglieri, 2009). The findings provide evidence that the programme positively impacted on young people in terms of their Sense of Relatedness to others, Sense of Mastery, Social and Emotional Competence and Optimistic Thinking. Furthermore, these findings were not contingent upon the type of loss experienced (bereaved/non-bereaved). Some methodological limitations are highlighted and directions for future research considered

Developmental psychology · Psychological resilience · Psychotherapist · Rigour · Solution focused brief therapy · Family and Disability Support Research · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub