This innovative program details 30 group sessions designed to help youth bounce back from the challenges in their lives by increasing confidence, self-esteem, self-control, and the use of coping strategies.

Group activities help develop the following specific protective factors associated with resilience:

Proactive orientation toward life
Self-regulation of attention, emotions, and behavior
Social connections and attachments
Achievements and talents
Community ties
Proactive parenting


Each session encourages self-awareness, flexible thinking, and social competence. Through discussion, role-play, and other hands-on techniques, group members learn about self-talk, personal space awareness, problem solving, anger/anxiety management, friendship skills, and other topics essential to well being and social success.

Relaxation techniques including calm breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, and yoga enhance self-regulation. And homework assignments, community field trips, and a parent involvement component help group members generalize what they learn to the world outside the group.

An accompanying CD with PDF files of all the reproducible materials is included with the book.