Role of RCYCP PDF

Lesson 11 of 19 Role of the RCYCP The role of the residential child and youth care practitioner is so very important. An RCYCP’s knowledge, skills, compassion, and determination help to create relationships and an environment where positive change can take place for the children, youth, and their f...

Lesson 11 of 19 Role of the RCYCP The role of the residential child and youth care practitioner is so very important. An RCYCP’s knowledge, skills, compassion, and determination help to create relationships and an environment where positive change can take place for the children, youth, and their families. The residential environment becomes their new home and family, creating a new opportunity to establish healthy relationships that likely didn’t exist before. In this new environment youth can experience warmth, trust, and connection with others, thereby promoting psychological growth. It also allows interactions that teach youth how to regulate distance and closeness, understand boundaries, identify and solve problems, share responsibilities, develop interpersonal awareness and skills, share resources and turn taking, develop independence, and improve their ability to test reality and tolerate frustration. Nurturer The effectiveness of residential treatment is first and foremost the direct result of positive connections between the staff and the youth. When these connections exist, the youth develop a sense of trust and security that allows them to open themselves up for positive change. These connections are built by RCYCPs through:  Conveying caring and a willingness to work hard in the relationship especially when the youth is not making progress or is being defiant  Being positive, empathic, non‐judgmental, and nonrejecting  Helping the youth to believe that they are being accepted unconditionally – whatever traits, characteristics, and values the youth has are to be respected and regarded as valuable (even if their behavior is not)  Being available for the good and the bad  Engaging in discussions – not only about their challenges, but about their strengths as well – conversations that focus on things both related to their current situations as well as things that are un‐related (like hobbies)  Establishing good eye contact – this lets youth know that you are giving your full attention to them, as well as modeling healthy communication Our attitudes, values, and beliefs about young people significantly influence our interaction and therefore our success with them. By identifying strengths, providing opportunities, and giving support to them you are making a positive difference in their lives. Role Model, Leader, Facilitator Through engagement in activities and dialog, RCYCPs have the opportunity to model healthy skills for children in care, showing them how to function in a healthy and positive way. RCYCPs can model fairness and respect in interactions with all others (such as family members, staff, and other residents). RCYCPs can model “genuine behavior” interactions with others. That means that if you, the RC, are frustrated, or angry, or sad, you express those emotions, but it in healthy way that provides an opportunity to feel a genuine, caring relationship. RCYCPs can model being in control of feelings and taking responsibility for one’s own behavior. That means that even when faced with negative behavior you must remain emotionally available and reassuring rather than angry, distant, punitive, offended, or holding a grudge. Finally, RCYCPs can model how to develop a positive view, how to be flexible, and how to become more aware of your own thoughts and feelings as well as those of others. Helping Youth Manage Emotions and Behavior Most youth in residential placement have not developed the ability to understand their own or other’s thinking processes, and have trouble respecting the boundaries of others. These problems make the development of healthy relationships challenging. Nevertheless, most youngsters can be taught the skills that are important. With the guidance of caring RCYCPs, the youth have the ability to learn to open up, share, understand feelings, accept limits, follow directions, and live successfully in a social group such as a residential facility. In order to help children and youth work through feelings, RCYCPs work to encourage youngsters to voice their concerns, to discuss problems, to set goals, to choose activities, and so forth. Other ways that residential counselors can help youth to learn how to manage feelings, behaviors, and socialization is by: Helping to resolve conflicts when they arise (this can mean between residents, or residents and staff, or residents and others in the community). Teaching respect and fairness. Helping youth understand the consequences of behavior, not just after the behavior has occurred (like after breaking rules) but potential consequences of actions before they actually engage in those actions. Providing supportive confrontations, feedback, acknowledgement, and/or praise. These will help improve youth’s self‐understanding, communication skills, and interactions. Also, redirecting negative or reactive behaviors to become strengths. For example, when a youth experiences and acts out in anger, is the youth using that as a self‐protection mechanism? If so, RCYCPs can empathize with youth wanting to protect themselves, and then help the youth find out how that self‐protection can be accomplished in a productive and healthy way. Assisting youth in beginning to accept themselves and give up negative self‐beliefs. One of the most important tasks an RCYCP can do to help shape behavior is to emphasize strengths in the youth, particularly any positive and adaptive behaviors they see the youth engage in. Manager of Daily Tasks Residential counselors are the managers of everyday tasks, like doing homework or chores. This allows the youth to learn to function as a contributing member of the group, as well as of society. By managing these tasks, the RCYCP is lending importance to the process, as well as creating rituals and opportunities for positive events to happen. Developer of Structure and Ritual The RCYCP’s job is to help promote and reinforce the structure of everyday life. Remember that most of the residents have come from unhealthy and unstructured environments where they have not been able to meet their potential. Providing a stable, nurturing, and healthy living environment, where things are consistent and the youth know what to expect, is so important because it allows the residents to feel reassured and safe and to take positive risks, thereby having an opportunity to grow and experience positive change. Additionally, RCYCPs develop structure and ritual by:  Maintaining a positive and harmonious atmosphere that provides for resident’s physical wellbeing and emotional needs.  Enforcing and helping youth to conform to rules, schedule, programming, and transitions.  Setting behavioral limits which provide structure to the youth and help youth understand the consequences of their behavior.  Using discipline and consequences judiciously as a way to shape behavior and strengthen, rather than weaken attachment bonds between RCYCP and youths.  Actively working to diminish negativity, foul language, and glorification of violence, drugs, coercive interactions, and bullying.  Structuring the environment so that meaningful exchanges among RCYCPs, staff, and residents can exist.  Consistently reinforcing rules and limits so that youth know what to expect and have a sense of predictability.  And developing rituals that strengthen social bonds and mark the importance of life transitions, such as birthdays, holidays, special events, as well as the coming and going of residents. Advocate As an RCYCP, you are an advocate as well, especially early on in a resident’s stay. Initially it may be your responsibility as an RCYCP to act as the voice for the young people with others (other group members, staff, peers, family, community, school) to ensure their needs are understood and being met, so that eventually you can assist them as they speak for themselves. Engagement of Child as Partner RCYCPs involve youths in the decision‐making and treatment plan goals. This process of including the youths is beneficial because it: Empowers the youngsters Allows youngsters to take responsibility for their successes And helps to avoid power struggles over their treatment. Implementation of Therapeutic Interventions As a residential counselor, your role is important and varied. Within the broader context of daily activities, RCYCPs’ duties will include, among many other things, the following:  Re‐directing youths’ negative behaviors  Helping to enhance youths’ strengths while minimizing their weaknesses  Correcting youths’ distorted thinking (for example, “If I open up to people and show them vulnerability, they will hurt me.”)  Modifying youths’ maladaptive behaviors (for example, helping youth stand up for themselves in a socially competent and healthy way while minimizing aggression)  Identifying thoughts and feelings and how those influence behavior (for example, the thought “everybody is out to get me” causes anger, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness and in turn withdrawal behaviors like not wanting to participate)  Helping youth to process their feelings (for example, helping them to figure out what they are thinking and feeling)  Helping youth think about their past, present, and future  Eliminating negative thoughts (for example, “I am not good enough,” and “I will not succeed”)  And following the service plans set up for the youth in care, including making documentation (daily notes) on each youngster’s behaviors as they relate to the plan. Check for Understanding Which one of the following is not part of the RCYCP role?  Writing behavior plans  Nurturing youth  Managing daily tasks  Advocating for youth  Implementing therapeutic interventions Lesson 12 of 19 Skills for the RCYCP In the following modules you will learn content in the following related areas Click on the following skills to hear their descriptions: Communication Skills: In order for RCYCPs to be effective with children and youth it is necessary to have strong communication skills. Specifically, RCYCPs must have good verbal skills, be able to use language effectively, and be able to understand the feelings and meanings behind others’ language in order to be effective problem solvers. RCYCPs must also be mindful of their non‐verbal skills, which includes your energy and body language. Cultural Competence: It is important for RCYCPs to respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, and other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each. Child and Adolescent Growth and Development: RCYCPs need to understand the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur at the different developmental levels of the youth they are working with, as well as moral and spiritual development. This understanding is key to creating treatment plans that are appropriate to the developmental level of each youth. Life Skills Development: This is one of the most important learning areas for residential youth. RCYCPs need to know how to help youth with independent living skills, activities of daily living, job attainment skills, developmentally appropriate activities and recreation, as well motivation techniques and discipline. Legal and Ethical Issues: It is critical for RCYCPs to know about child abuse and neglect: recognizing it, reporting requirements, and issues of confidentiality Health and Safety: As an RCYCP you will need to know universal precautions and infection control procedures, health and safety issues including disaster safety, fire drills, life threatening situations, house cleaning methods, healthy food preparation, childhood illnesses, medications, and crisis management. Trauma: As an RCYCP you will encounter many children and youth who have experienced abuse and neglect. In this training you will learn about the trauma associated with family violence and how it affects children and youth. Life as an RCYCP Now that you know a little about your role as an RCYCP, let’s watch some people talk about their roles as RCYCPs. Youth Villages Residential Counselor: Turning Caterpillars into Butterflies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCcO6PIyUys Halifax Regional Centre for Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYkq8_N2ACg Rogers Behavioral Health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFJzVqyGAiM PART II Lesson 13 of 19 Individual Service Plans/Treatment Plans