The Volunteer’s Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis: A DVD Study

Teenagers now face a different world than they would have twenty, even ten years ago. Confronted with new choices and challenges, they grow up exposed to influences both positive and negative. Issues that can arise in high school---fights, sexual abuse, eating disorders---can be overwhelming, and, when teens look for advice, volunteers need to know how to help. In A Volunteer's Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis , Van Pelt and Hancock recommend and detail a program for dealing with crises in a way that will be most helpful for struggling teens. They've divided their approach into four stages: * Understanding various crises and their potential consequences. * Spotting crises by learning to recognize signs and get the whole story. * Responding to crises by initiating contact, managing confidentiality, and taking follow-up steps to ensure teens receive professional help as necessary. * Preventing crises by creating a safe environment and sharing information with teens. As confusing as life can be for teenagers, it can be just as difficult for volunteers to understand and help them through life's darker times. Van Pelt and Hancock have compiled a helpful, comprehensive guide invaluable to anyone working closely with teens.
01 Understanding Crisis How to see and respond to crisis as a 'dangerous opportunity' for growth in the lives of adolescents and youth groups 02 Spotting Crisis How to become the sort of youth worker kids turn to in a crisis How to get the story behind the story separating superficial 'presenting problems' from the 'core issues' in a crisis How to assess and respond to suicidal language and gestures 03 Responding to Crisis How to initiate an appropriate, proportional response to help a kid in crisis How to refer a teenager to a skilled helper (without leaving the kid feeling abandoned) How to manage confidentiality, parental notification and legal requirements How to do whatever you can for as long as you can to help a kid in crisis 04 Preventing Crisis in Your Group How to stay alert for early crisis warning signs How to create a safe place to talk about unsafe things How to address signs of addiction in teenagers How to help kids understand that discipleship is communal