As time goes by in our personal practice of working with youth and families, I find it uncanny how we figured things out intuitively. As we went along teaching the social competencies of the PREPARE Curriculum this intuitiveness seemed to become part of the underlying theory of why we do what we do, now even more evident ten years later!
Recently, as I read Cecylia Bieganowska’s 10 Lines, “How to get a D.O.S.E. of Effective Reducers” , I found myself saying “Oh yeah…I knew that!” and yet never saw it so cleverly and carefully explained as the theory behind how we do what we do!
In response to a serious challenge of young suicidal indiginous girls arriving at our residential treatment campus north of Montreal, my ART partner and Family TIES co-author, Kim Parker and I attempted to administer a “D.O.S.E.”, similar to that which Cecylia talked about in her 10 Lines article.
In our journey in the ART/PREPARE Curriculum family of practitioners we were exposed to a childcare approach know as the “Circle of Courage” based on the knowledge of the Lakota tribe of indigenous peoples in the Dakotas in northern U.S.A. We learned that, according to their model, the 4 stages required for successful progression in human development were: Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity. This theory had provided us with a powerful set of tools to intervene with our youth in serious trouble with fantasies of suicide.
Four young girls, from a northern community bordering Hudson Bay, arrived at our childcare residential campus having made a suicide pact. Since their arrival they refused to do much more than stay in their rooms, talking and eating little and not engaging with anyone trying to help them.
After brainstorming with Kim and Larry Markowitz, the childcare worker who worked directly with the girls, I realized we needed to find a way for them to be involved in acts of generosity.
The Circle of Courage model and the congruent writings in psychology and treatment of troubled youth in Deep Brain Learning (Brendtro et al. 2009) pointed clearly to activity-based programming as the antidote for youth and families in need. It was during or after acts of generosity when the love hormone “oxytocin” was most abundantly secreted and individuals achieved their greatest sense of well being.
Having these girls feel that love or well being was the thing we hoped would give us a chance to get them to emerge from the severe dark place they were in. Together we came up with a plan that would engage these depressed girls and hopefully move them out of their physical and emotional trauma into the light of hope and daylight.
At the time we were not referring to this activity as a means to get a D.O.S.E. as Cecylia so accurately describes. But that is exactly what we were trying to do for these troubled young girls. What better way than an activity to release the “love hormone” oxytocin, as Cecylia identifies it, with a little of the others for good measure. Hence, the feeling I had when I read her article …. “I Knew That!”
The activity used to achieve a sense of well being was to have the girls sew and create artifacts which they could then donate to children less fortunate than themselves. They sewed little dolls, made amulets and wrote letters offering comfort and encouragement to send to other indigenous children who also were experiencing difficult times. These unfortunate children found themselves far from home receiving medical treatment for serious illnesses at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. We called this program “Get Well Soon”. They tie-dyed pillowcases to put their crafts, gently used books and their letter in. All were delivered and they were shown a picture of those who received their generous gifts.
No doubt these girls were able to get a D.O.S.E. experiencing the secretion of the “reward” hormone Dopamine when they came out of their self darkened rooms into sunlit work areas, designing and creating treasures for less fortunate children and reaching the completion of these objectives in the project. The overwhelming feedback they received from the children, families and medical staff at the hospital who received the treasure sacks provided a dose of Oxytocin through the love they sent. Another benefit from these activities was the Serotonin and Endorphin D.O.S.E. released by the physical and creative energy of doing these activities and other group activities together in a social environment.
for more information on these hormones go to: Literature then 10 Lines
Seen as an opportunity to practice many Character Traits, this program grew further to involve other children in our residential treatment facilities: “Sleep Tight” was created to help children being placed in foster care. Gently used toys, books, toothbrushes and toothpaste were put in tie-dyed pillowcases, along with a letter of encouragement written by youth who could empathize.
It is interesting how the instinct to create and put into practice meaningful interactions for our troubled children to engage in, worked to give children a boost or what Cecylia calls a “D.O.S.E.” Now we can think to ourselves, “Intuitively, I knew that!”
References:
Brendtro, L., Mitchell, L., & McCall, H. (2009) Deep Brain Learning: pathways to potential with challenging youth. Albion, MI: Starr Commonwealth.
Brendtro, Larry K.; Brokenleg, Martin; Van Bockern, Steve (1990). Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree.
Goldstein, A.P., &Martens, B. (2000) Lasting Change: Methods for enhancing generalization of gain. Champaign IL:Research Press.
Robert Calame is a former Board member of PREPSEC International and co-author of Family TIES and the Problem Solving Training Implementation Guide.