Using strengths when working with young people

When things are tough, we’re often told (or tell others) to “harden up” or “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” – but how often do we check whether there are any bootstraps to pull on?

At the Y we call those bootstraps “strengths”, and utilising them (“strengths-based practice”) is the foundation of how we work with rangatahi.

Strengths-based practice is more than cheap platitudes (“You can do it!”, “You’re so awesome!”). It’s an approach to working with young people that focuses on their strengths, assets, and potential, rather than their problems, risks, and deficits. It aims to empower young people to build resilience, enhance well-being, and achieve positive outcomes. Think of it as the glass half full approach versus the glass half empty. And an important corollary is that the glass is refillable, so we aim to fill it with positive relationships, hope, and goals successfully attained.

Some of the benefits of strengths-based practice with young people are:

• It helps young people to recognise and use their own resources and abilities to cope with challenges and pursue their goals.
• It fosters a collaborative and respectful relationship between the practitioner and the young person, based on listening, curiosity, and appreciation.
• It supports young people to develop a positive self-image and a sense of hope and optimism for the future.
• It creates a balanced and holistic view of the young person, taking into account their context, culture, and identity.

Conventional wisdom says that addressing our weaknesses holds the greatest opportunity for self-improvement, but we have found the opposite to be true. When problem-solving with rangatahi, we like to ask them what they have in their kete. Many rangatahi are constantly reminded of everything they are not – by parents, whānau, teachers, social media: not smart, not paying attention, not good-looking, not worthy, not working hard enough, not good enough. This can contribute to a negative self-image, lack of confidence and low self-esteem, and get in the way of making positive connections to others. Is it any wonder rangatahi come to believe they have nothing in their kete to draw on?

Nobody is good at everything, but everybody is good at something – often many things. In strengths-based practice we encourage rangatahi to name those things (“I’m funny”, “I’m patient”, “I love the outdoors”, “I’m good at…”) and really own them. Then we help rangatahi to reflect on those qualities and recognise them as powerful tools in their kete for when the going gets tough.

We also help rangatahi recognise the pitfalls of comparing themselves to others – which often results in rangatahi finding themselves lacking. Instead, we help them re-frame the comparison: What’s something positive I can learn from this person? How does their strength/talent/ability complement mine? Could we work together to achieve something neither of us could on our own?

Supporting rangatahi to recognise and leverage their strengths gives them a model for problem-solving, self-improvement and developing their potential they can use their entire lives – some pretty sturdy bootstraps.