Topic: A holistic look at what builds resilience for the young person in their world today – Diana Whitmore (Chief Executive of Teens and Toddlers UK) and Tina Paulo (a young person who has graduated from Teens and Toddlers and is now in their Young Leaders group)
Resources: You can download the slides.
Session Summary: This presentation will look from a holistic perspective at the principles and attitudes that actually build resilience in at risk young people. It will also look at the importance of them interfacing in a positive way with their communities and their place in the larger whole. After over 35 years in the field, Teens and Toddlers is the most effective vehicle that Diana has found to build the capacity for dealing with what life presents and effecting both personal, interpersonal and social change. The best experts on this topic are the young people themselves and Tina Paulo, one of the Teens and Toddlers (UK) graduates and Young Leaders group member will be with Diana for this presentation to speak from experience and add their own wisdom to our time together.
Biography: Diana Whitmore, MA Education has founded and directed two successful charities over a thirty-five year period. She has also designed and delivered professional training in the fields of business coaching, psychotherapy and counselling (University Validated) and youth work. As Chief Executive of Teens and Toddlers UK, her primary role is to provide leadership to the organisation and to take responsibility for its management and administration within the strategic and accountability frameworks established by the board of trustees.
Diana is Vice-president of the Board of Children: Our Ultimate Investment (USA), Chief Executive and a founding Director of Teens and Toddlers (UK). She currently runs Teens & Toddlers for young people, a resilience based youth development programme, which raises self esteem, aspiration and educational attainment whilst re-engaging young people with their communities.
She is founder, President and trustee of the Psychosynthesis & Education Trust. For twenty-five years she was Chairperson of the Trust, Joint Chief Executive, Head of Professional Courses and a Senior Trainer and Supervisor in psychosynthesis. Having practised psychosynthesis (a branch of positive psychology) for over 30 years, she has trained professionals throughout Europe, and consults on research and development of new projects in psychosynthesis. She is on the UKCP National Register of Psychotherapists, a BACP Accredited Supervisor and a founding member of the Association for Accredited Psychospiritual Psychotherapists. She is the author of two books, Psychosynthesis in Education: A Guide to the Joy of Learning and Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action.
Diana teaches Transpersonal coaching for The Performance Coach Ltd, MSc in Coaching and Development (Portsmouth University) and has a small coaching practice. She has been on the trustee board of the Findhorn Foundation since 1994. Her background includes didactic training with Roberto Assagioli, the founder of Psychosynthesis. She trained in Humanistic Psychology at the Esalen Institute, California and she has a MA in Confluent Education, University of California.
Who might be most interested: Academics, practitioners, researchers, students, parents, carers, community workers, volunteers, public sector workers, young people and service users.
Key Reading:
Ioannu, P. (2015, January 16). Reaching out across and age gap. TES Magazine, pp.44-45.
Humphrey K., & McDowell, A. (2013). Sense of coherence as a predictor of risky health behaviours amongst teenage girls on a targeted youth development programme. Journal of Public Mental Health, 12(3), 146-152. doi:10.1108/JPMH-10-2012-0009
Humphrey, K., & Olivier, A. (2014). Investigating the impact of teenage mentors on pre-school children’s development: A comparison using control groups. Children and Youth Services Review, 44, 20-24. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.05.018
This session took place on Wednesday 29 April 2015.
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