Turning point for young people: New program helps residents!

Turning point for young people: New program helps residents!

In residential youth welfare facilities, young people often have to struggle with difficult realities of life that are shaped by traumatic experiences. In order to process these life stories, the “Arrival” program was developed, which offers young people between the ages of 12 and 17 a platform to reflect on their history and make it easier for them to arrive in their new surroundings. How KU reports, the project was designed and evaluated by scientists from Ulm University Hospital in close collaboration with youth welfare specialists.

The program consists of eight sessions and aims to provide youth with information about their rights and the out-of-home care process. An essential component is the biography work, in which the participants can enter into a dialogue with their own history. During these sessions, loyalty conflicts and stigmatization are also discussed, culminating in the creation of a personal “cover story”. This approach is intended to help you deal with the many challenges that come with the new life situation.

Space for reflection and exchange

The program not only offers young people a framework for reflection, but also enables exchange with their peers, which is considered extremely valuable. The positive response from specialists who bring their own ideas and rituals into group work strengthens the young people's trust in the supervising employees. A pilot study that included 115 young people in 18 facilities in southern Germany showed that young people with low self-esteem and high psychological stress in particular benefited from the program. Participants reported improvements in their self-esteem as well as a decrease in symptoms associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder Net Magazine.

“Arrival” is designed as an educational group program and does not have the character of therapy. The low entry threshold is a crucial factor; The young people know the local specialists and have already built up a certain level of trust. This is particularly important because many of them have experienced trauma such as violence, neglect or loss of attachment, as well as from Häfner is described.

A future-oriented concept

The hope is that the program can be further disseminated via a handbook and thus encourage other institutions to implement it. What's interesting is that a children's version for 7 to 11 year olds is also available; Both manuals are available as a free e-book. The positive implementation of the “Arrival” program in many facilities shows how important and valuable biography work is for young people in youth welfare. The approach not only promotes trust in oneself, but also helps to better understand and classify difficult chapters in one's own biography.

In conclusion, programs like “Arrival” provide essential support for the young people affected and help them emerge stronger from their past while at the same time arriving in their new life situation.