Learners' Own Words

Toxic stress can manifest in many ways and negatively impact youth. It is vital for youth workers to recognize and respond to the manifestations of toxic stress to help youth build social emotional resilience. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), “social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” Youth workers who embrace SEL and engage youth in SEL, support them in developing real resilience.

Research confirms that you can learn to strategically “metabolize” or manage stress to cultivate self-awareness, emotional regulation, and compassionate connections. Your mental, social, and emotional health are critical and must be continuously stoked for effectively engaging youth in SEL. When you are intentional about your well-being you really hold space for engaging youth in this core practice to build resilience.

Through mindfulness-based activities and discussions, you’ll gain a greater understanding of yourself, the impacts of toxic stress, and how to use those insights to better serve youth. You’ll learn about the four core elements of youth worker mental and emotional well-being, SEL, and how to protect yourself from moral injury. You’ll explore a research-based four step process, the Infinite Well-Being Model^TM, to learn how to metabolize stress in a way that energizes instead of depletes you. You’ll leave with a toolkit of practices to help you and the young people you serve build resiliency and mindfulness to better handle stresses in the moment.

• Enhance your personal social emotional learning (SEL) skills to deepen self-awareness, emotional resilience, and social awareness
• Learn how modeling your social and emotional well-being supports “mirror neurons” that help youth regulate their minds and relax their body’s reaction to toxic stress
• Explore SEL strategies to help youth understand the connections between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
• Gain strategies you can use to continually stoke your mental and emotional health for resiliency and well-being

Each of YIPA’s trainings are designed around a broad framework of eight youth work competencies. The competency focus of this training is: MENTAL HEALTH BASICS.

Build your understanding of prevalent mental health issues among youth today, learn how to connect youth with appropriate mental health resources, and practice good self-care strategies.