The structure of the FRIENDS for Life Program is a multi-sessions course. Each session takes between 2-2.5 hours depending on the activities chosen by the facilitator:
Friends For Life
(Children)
FRIENDS for Life is a social skills and resilience curriculum, that has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as an effective tool set to prevent anxiety for children. It is proven to reduce anxiety and provide participants with strategies to rise to life’s challenges, and bounce back from setbacks and adversity. FRIENDS for Life also improves social-emotional skills, the ability to focus, confidence, the capacity to relax, regulate emotions, and develop empathy.
Challenges
Anxiety affects over 20% of children in this age group. If it is not dealt with appropriately, anxiety can severely impact a child’s development, and can ever create problems later in life. Anxiety causes a child excessive worry about things like homework, attending social gatherings, and even non-local events like natural disasters.
Empower
- FRIENDS for Life empowers participants to cope with the emotions of themselves and others by engaging with positive thoughts, emotions, and self-regulation strategies.
- FRIENDS for Life empowers participants to cope with the emotions of themselves and others by engaging with positive thoughts, emotions, and self-regulation strategies.
- Most importantly, FRIENDS for Life encourages smiling, happiness and bravery, and facilitates smooth transitions into adolescence.
Sessions
- The FRIENDS program
- Talking about feelings
- Body clues and relaxation
- Learning to pay careful attention
- Changed 'red' thoughts to 'green' thoughts
- Values based role models and support teams
- Coping step plans
- The 5-stage solution-finding plan
- Using the FRIENDS skills to help ourselves and others
- Skills for life - giving back to the community