Strength-based & Resiliency-based Approaches with Peter Thorburn

Identify what is going well, do more of it, and build on it. It builds trust and resilience in our people, that they can take charge of their own treatment and nurtures empowerment within our whanau. We take the positives in people and their surroundings because they are important aspects that contribute to our wellbeing. Anyone can recover and take control of their life; they just need to be surrounded by the right people and have the necessary resources to heal.

Resilience is the ability to not only survive but thrive. It’s an important attribute to have so you can bounce back when facing challenges in life. Resilience is the ability to get back up after being knocked down. Resilience is built over time, as a response to both environmental and individual factors.

On the 15th of September, we had Peter Thorburn guide us through why strength-based approach builds resilience when working in our communities. We had over 60 people mainly from Tamaki attend our zoom training to learn how they can apply these principles to their mahi. Peter took us through various scenarios to identify and discover the strengths within people, so that they are at the centre of the care that they need and how we can help them build resilience.

Utilising a strength-based and resilience framework when responding to the needs of communities is key, because a lot of the time only they can heal themselves. This also encourages korero and building relationships based on trust, knowing that we will be playing into the strengths of our people, rather than exploit their weaknesses.