Life Skills for Teens
School based programme to inspire youth to become resilient, hopeful, creative and mindful young adults
Vision
We wish to inspire Youth today for a better world of tomorrow.
Mission
Teaching Youth basic life skills in order to become resilient, creative and mindful young adults
What
The coherent, Irish developed, holistic program empowers youth communities to learn for life. The program is aimed at 11-15 year old students and taught in a 12 week course (1 lesson per week) to 6th class primary school and 1st and 2nd year secondary school students as well as in youth organisations. The teaching modules focus on the areas of optimism, self-awareness, coping and resilience, empathy and compassion, courage and creativity and all consistently use mindfulness and mediation as a key resource.
The program has been implemented in several pilot schools across Ireland by experienced facilitators in partnership with class teachers over 2 school years. The positive impact of the program has been evaluated and we are now ready to roll it out across Ireland. Co-Authors of the program are a group of enthusiastic and experienced therapists, counsellors, teachers and parents.
The problem
Today’s teenagers live in an ever more challenging environment, with an overwhelming multitude of choice, a large influence of social and other media which creates a general lack of orientation and lack of compassion for themselves and others, and the inability to relax and just be with themselves.
A large proportion of teenagers are at risk of severe mental health problems and substance abuse which will present important obstacles to a happy adult life. These troubled youth also have a large negative influence on their peers. The growing number of suicides and at risk behaviours plant seeds of despair and hopelessness in young people that are growing at an alarming rate.
The solution
Together with a team of therapists, youth workers and experienced teachers we have developed a series of 12 workshops to run as a school based or youth organisation program . The tenets of BiBo offer hopeful futures and creative possibilities in adversity. These values offer alternative to the hopelessness and lack of choice experienced by youth when facing mental health problems. Positive psychology and mindfulness offer choice and hope in the face of life's dilemmas.