Strengths-Based, Resilience-Enhancing Services: Key Components for Treating Youth Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences

Abstract

There is growing awareness and empirical support for targeting strengths and resilience when providing services to youth and families who have been impacted by adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and trauma. The purpose of this article is to highlight strengths-based, resilience-enhancing (SBRE) clinical applications that can be incorporated into ACE-informed therapeutic services. Twenty treatment components are described and organized into six main categories that chronicle the course of therapy: Relationship Development, Stabilization, Engagement, Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention. SBRE services assist youth in adaptively coping with life adversity, and acquiring the knowledge, skills, and strengths for leading psychologically healthy, resilient lives. It is hoped this article will stimulate interest from both clinicians and researchers regarding the SBRE model, which is being introduced here for the first time.