Teen Teaming

An individualized teaming program, based on “best practices” and resiliency theory, designed to assist young adults and adolescents who are struggling with direction, life circumstances, and exhibiting symptoms of trauma from sexual abuse. The objective of this program is to provide an avenue by which sexually abused youth can build caring relationships, learn to navigate the system, maintain a positive trajectory, and attain a dignified independence. This program utilizes the specially created “Charting Your Goals: Life-Planning Guide For Teens” workbook by Dan Dahl and Randolph Sykes as a therapeutic tool to help the youth pinpoint their life goals. The youth take in-depth looks into their past, present and future in order to create a strategic plan for their life, concentrating in five areas: health, relationships, personal growth, finances and career. We use volunteers and experts in the community to collaborate as a “team” to provide the practical guidance needed to achieve the goals; and act as the support network that is customarily present in stable families. This approach is fashioned on the belief that positive outcomes for young adults who have experienced abuse are influenced by having healthy interactions with adults. These interactions will provide experiences that instill self-worth, reinforce a sense of achievement, encourage healthy attachments, and offer a sense of belonging to counteract abuse symptoms of loneliness and depression.