from YAPRap October 2006
Getting Along and Keeping Cool is one of Bega Reconnect's early intervention programs tailored for young people aged 12 - 18 years. An anger management and behaviour modification program, Getting Along and Keeping Cool has been developed by the WA Centre for Clinical Intervention, and is available for download via their website (see below).
As adolescence becomes more complex, with greater expectations and broader cultural influences, some families require assistance in behaviour modification techniques. Group work recognises the beneficial peer influence amongst adolescents and targets behaviours and emotions known to be problematic within certain cohorts.
Identified as a major behavioural issue amongst Bega youth, emotional dysregulation* has the potential to impact upon an individual's educational, familial, community, and social functioning. Early intervention seeks to educate and normalise emotional responses in young people, and in doing so, can minimise family discord, criminal behaviour, early school leaving, and domestic violence.
Anger management courses such as Getting Along and Keeping Cool address these issues in an environment which is peer-friendly and sociable. The pilot program, run in conjunction with Links to Learning, was delivered in a bushland setting rather than a classroom environment. Suicide awareness and prevention strategies are also addressed within the anger management program.
Reconnect has developed different group and family therapy programs in response to gaps in service delivery throughout the Bega region, and following referrals from agencies including local schools and Centrelink. The anger management program recently received funding through CDSE (see below) to assist in the medium-term provision of resources and materials. However, ongoing funding is vital if the young people of Bega are to retain such programs.
Reconnect works with young people who are at risk of homelessness, and in doing so, targets those identified as being at risk for involvement in the early intervention programs, which include anger management and resilience-building group work. It is envisaged that Reconnect will soon be able to provide evidence-based group therapy to young people throughout the Bega Valley Shire addressing a number of youth-related behavioural issues. Such programs are delivered as fee-for-service and are tailored to meet the specific demographic and psychosocial needs of the participants. Due to the socioeconomic needs of the region, fees are kept to a minimum and cover the cost of course materials only. Parenting programs aimed at behaviour management techniques and adolescent awareness are also planned. Reconnect also has the capacity to work with individuals and their families within a mediatory setting.
More information
-
Getting Along and Keeping Cool package download
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/minipax.cfm?mini_ID=18 -
Reconnect Bega
reconnect@auswideprojects.com.au
02 6491 8500 - CDSE funding
www.clubsnsw.com.au/default.jsp?xcid=306
*Emotional dysregulation
mental health term - an emotional response that is not well modulated... an individual does not respond ... in a manner that would generally be considered within the normal range of emotions... [wikipedia]
