Building Blocks
Relationships take time to develop and generally develop in stages.
The Casey Foundation and the Justice Resource Institute developed ARC Reflections, a training curriculum to develop foster parents and caregivers’ understanding of traumatic stress, increase their own emotional regulation and provide tools to support their parenting skills. This session five guide emphasizes that we communicate our experiences in ways that go beyond language, learning someone’s language takes time and starts with curiosity, cultural beliefs and practices may influence how a person expresses his or her emotion and mirroring is a way of letting other people know you see them and understand their needs.
Every session includes a check-in to increase awareness and engagement of participants; a facilitator checklist of session materials; practice activities and take home log for participants; a representative case study to follow throughout the sessions; and reflective questions for participant growth and understanding.
Many ingredients go into a good relationship, including respect, joy, curiosity, acceptance, mutuality, repair and trust. Even when all the ingredients are in place, being in a relationship with children and teens is similar to riding a roller coaster. There will be moments or periods when you feel connected followed by moments or periods when you don’t. Remember that disconnection is about protection, not rejection.