Emotions are powerful, but sometimes they can be difficult to process, particularly in the turmoil of adolescence, when intense feelings of anger, frustration, shame, anxiety, or sadness can threaten to overwhelm and confuse. Without the skills, ability or experience to express them verbally this can lead to outward displays of aggression or defiance, which can be difficult for adults to manage and lead to negative labels.
Whilst everyone’s experience and communication styles will be different, this workshop aims to look behind some of the more challenging behaviour young people can display to consider what is triggering it, the potential impact of childhood trauma and ACE’s, and how we can encourage ‘speaking out’ to a trusted adult instead of ‘acting out’ to feel heard, valued and better understood. With a focus on inclusion, empathy building and simple diffusion techniques, this is a CPD opportunity for frontline practitioners to reflect, share and learn together.
Learning outcomes
· Define what challenging behaviour is, and why some behaviour challenges.
· The function of anger and the ‘triggers’ that impact on how we cope with feelings of anger and frustration.
· The potential impact of trauma / ACEs and learnt behaviour responses to challenging situations.
· How to identify early warning signs and simple diffusion techniques to use in challenging situations.
· The importance of personal support and debriefs to learn and maintain emotional wellbeing.
