Description
Teenagers now face a different world than they would have twenty, even ten years ago. Confronted with new choices and challenges, they grow up exposed to influences both positive and negative. Issues that can arise in high school—fights, sexual abuse, eating disorders—can be overwhelming, and, when teens look for advice, volunteers need to know how to help.
In this video (guide sold separately), Van Pelt and Hancock recommend and detail a program for dealing with crises in a way that will be most helpful for struggling teens. They’ve divided their approach into four stages:
- Understanding various crises and their potential consequences.
- Spotting crises by learning to recognize signs and get the whole story.
- Responding to crises by initiating contact, managing confidentiality, and taking follow-up steps to ensure teens receive professional help as necessary.
- Preventing crises by creating a safe environment and sharing information with teens.
As confusing as life can be for teenagers, it can be just as difficult for volunteers to understand and help them through life’s darker times. Van Pelt and Hancock have compiled a helpful, comprehensive guide invaluable to anyone working closely with teens.
Designed for use with The Volunteer's Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis Participant's Guide (sold separately).
About the Authors
Rich Van Pelt trains thousands of educators, counselors and youth workers each year in adolescent crisis intervention and teen suicide prevention and response. His expertise springs from more than three decades of youth and family work, including ten years with incarcerated youth in the Colorado Department of Corrections. He is president of Alongside Consulting, a Denver-based leadership development organization, and is national director of ministry relationships for Compassion International. Often called on to offer counsel and direction after major teen incidents, like the Columbine shootings, Rich is also the author of Intensive Care: Helping Teenagers In Crisis and co-author of The Youth Worker's Guide to Helping Teenagers In Crisis.Jim Hancock invested two decades as a church-based youth worker. Now he spends his days writing and creating digital movies and learning designs for youth workers, parents, and adolescents. He's the author of many youth ministry resources including How to Volunteer Like a Pro and The Justice Mission, and co-author of Good Sex 2.0 and The Youth Worker's Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis.