THE POSITIVE YOUTH-DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

Teens and youth face a lot of difficult choices as they make the transition from child to adult, choices that a parent, counselor, or trusted friend could provide a lot of help in making.  But, as most parents of a teenager might tell you, when some youth reach a certain age and level of independence, they tend to tune out the advice of others, even when they know that this advice is in their best interest.  So then, how do we break through a potential barrier preventing us from communicating effectively with the youth that are important in our life?

At Youth In Need, we employ the Positive Youth-Development Approach toward helping teens and their families to open up the lines of communication.  This technique is strength-based, meaning that it encourages working toward progress in a situation instead of dwelling on the difficulty of the problem at hand.  Therefore, we encourage parents to partner with youth toward achieving their goals individually and as a family.  In this type of forum, the teen or youth is given an opportunity to state his or her own opinions concerning the goals that they set for themselves.  

In order for the Positive Youth-Development approach to be successful, there must be plenty of trust; trust in our youth that they can be responsible for their personal development and the trust in their parents to believe in them.  So, we try to provide youth with the opportunity to make these important choices, while stressing the responsibility that goes hand in hand with it.  The Positive Youth-Development Approach teaches us to tell youth about what they can do and not about what they can't.  

As an organization, Youth In Need's role is to furnish youth and families with the right tools and training to make progress possible.  Furthermore, we can  provide a place where youth can feel as if they belong.  When we remain confident in our youth to make the right decisions, they very often can surprise us.  Youth In Need counselors avoid preaching or belittling clients and work to improve situations rather than searching for blame in them.  The program offers personalized in-home visits, information and assistance on life needs, and opportunities to share experiences with peers.  For more information please contact Youth In Need at (636) 946-0101.