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Reflexions
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'Ours is a critical time in which the process of growing up and assuming adult status is no longer a self-evident given in society but a difficulty that has to be explored with new energy, compassion and insight.' David Tacey La Trobe University
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Articles: Reflexions in many contexts Reflecting with Reflexions By Damien Vahlis
I work as a student teacher in 'special needs' for four hours a week at a private catholic college in South Australia. Since the start of this year I have worked with a Year 8 boy, who has trouble understanding 'social norms'. For example when a child brushed past him in class one day, he felt attacked so reacted by punching him back. Most of my work with him takes place in the classroom but once a week we go to a LAP room.
One particular day, the student (who we'll call John) was very upset about me helping him. He was displaying anger, frustration, confusion and I wasn't sure if this was because of me or if other stuff was going on. We made our way to the room, and I said we need to talk about this. He said he didn't want to, that he was just 'not happy'. On our way through, I found the packet of Reflexions cards that had been recently purchased by the school's LAP coordinator. I brought these out onto the balcony and sitting together I opened them up and asked John to go through the cards and pick out all of the ones that represented how he was feeling. I was thinking 'Gosh, he's going to have so many that he picks. I'm sure he'll pick angry, frustrated, disappointed, confused, sad, lonely, etc.' To my surprise, he picked out only one card. It read 'Different'.
For 30 minutes we talked about the crux of his feelings. He hated feeling different to everyone else. I was both touched and amazed at how just these simple cards had allowed John to convey his deepest feelings. It also opened up for us a space in which we could tackle some of the issues surrounding "Difference". I would never have suggested that he would be feeling that way, but on reflection it makes perfect sense. This also seems like an opportunity we may not have had otherwise.
The Power of Imagination: Working with young people considering leaving school early By Chris Collins, Project Officer, Gold Coast Youth Commitment
'A key aspect of our work is assisting the young person to appreciate their own strengths; leading to their empowerment and the development of hope for the future.'
The Gold Coast Youth Commitment is a network of agencies committed to finding ways to support young people complete twelve years of education, or its vocational equivalent. We have found St Luke's Innovative Resources' materials to be fantastic in working with young people who may be considering leaving school early.
In September last year we received funding from the Department of Family and Community Services to facilitate four trials under the Innovative and Collaborative Youth Servicing Pilots. These include a free 1800 information and referral number for young people living in the Gold Coast area, a resource pool, a mentoring program and a career development program.
Struggling with personal, relational, or educational issues As a part-time project worker I felt that the concept behind St Luke's strengths approach was very important in working with young people who may be struggling with personal, relational or educational issues, or who may have low self-esteem. Some of the young people we are working with are homeless, some have been suspended or excluded from school, while others may have experienced bullying or may not see the link between school and future employment. Others just require some direction and encouragement. Whatever the issues are for the young person, a key aspect to our work is assisting the young person to appreciate their own strengths, leading to their empowerment and the development of hope for the future.
Career development program Our project team has integrated Reflexions, The Bears and Strengths Cards into our work and we have found these card packs to have several different applications. They have been especially useful in the facilitation of a six-month career development program, using both individual and group work. The program aims to assist young people identify their skills and abilities, gain awareness of options in study or employment and gain confidence in continuing their schooling. The project team developed a program manual (called the PLAN) covering issues such as responsibility and respect, communication, bullying, choices and decisions, and goal setting. It also addresses individual skills and study or career options.
The Strength Cards were used to help the young people involved in the program identify their personal strengths-strengths which can assist them in combating some of the barriers they may experience in their education or future career. We have found it easy to create experiential activities relevant to work and study through the use of the cards, and have used them in individual and group work.
Facilitating young people's participation An important aspect of the trials was the facilitation of young people's participation. The stickers published by St Luke's Innovative Resources were used to assist communication and to open up dialogue. Team members also used the resources in a training program aimed at assisting at-risk young people to learn about tenancy issues, rights and responsibilities. The Reflexions cards really helped a group of homeless young people open up and express their feelings about their current situation and the challenges that they were experiencing.
Overall, the St Luke's cards and stickers have enabled us to deliver our programs to young people in a respectful, non-intrusive and fun way and to facilitate rapport and relationship-building between members of the groups and with the workers. The card packs and stickers are great resources which are only limited by our own imagination!
Reconnections and Reflexions
There is a particular phrase that resonates throughout one of E. M. Forster's well-known novels. The phrase is 'Only Connect' and over the years, countless first year university students majoring in English have reflected on what it means. While reflecting on the meaning of a phrase in a book might be a highly academic pursuit, the experience of connection and the feeling of belonging are central to the well-being of everyone.
Reconnect Program The importance of creating pathways for young people to reconnect is reflected by the title of an early intervention homelessness prevention program offered by St Luke's in four Central Victorian secondary schools. It is called the 'Reconnect Program' and it targets young people (Year levels 7-9) who are at risk of becoming disconnected from school or family. Some of these risk factors are non-attendance, truancy, low self-esteem, poor connections, etc. Sometimes there are family issues that are impacting upon a young person's capacity to connect with school life in a positive way.
'The Reconnect Program uses a solution-focused approach, which respects the young person's uniqueness and complements the skills of that particular individual and their school, family and community,' says Steve Phillis who is the Senior Reconnect Worker.
Reflexions Cards During the program Steve has been working with Innovative Resources' Reflexions cards. These cards were designed with young people in mind and each card presents layers of graphic images and photos around a particular theme. The images are arresting and thought provoking. Steve said that he has been carrying a pack of the cards around with him so that he can experiment spontaneously with them as the opportunity arises.
'I have been working recently with a young person who is refusing to attend school, has low self-esteem, has few friends and who has been falling behind in her work. Our second visit occurred in her family home, together with her mum, dad and sister. I scattered the cards on the floor of the lounge room and my first question was: 'Would you like to pick out three to five cards which may reflect how school is for you at the moment?'
OK Dad, pick a card! 'The client's father showed a lot of interest in the cards, so I said "OK Dad, pick out some cards that reflect how you feel at work!" This stimulated lots of discussion, broke down boundaries and really loosened us all up. Very soon the sister also picked out some cards. It was so great when this happened because it helped to normalise what the young person was going through.
'The client then selected four cards that represented how she felt about school. She selected Frustrated, Different, Lonely and Sad. We placed these to one side in a column and then I asked her to think about the exceptions to these. Was there anything good or even a bit OK about school? She then selected four more cards that reflected more positive moments (or even seconds!) at school. These were Easy Going, Excited, OK and Brave. We placed these in a column and talked about each of these little positive glimpses. We then returned to the first set of cards she had selected and explored these 'negatives' for a while.
Moving towards solutions 'I then asked her to select cards that represent how she would like school to be. These cards frame the goal for our work together; they represent where we are heading. The three cards she selected were Happy, Hopeful and Fun. We placed these in a column also and then I asked her, "Can you see a card that will help you make a transition from here (indicating the first column) to here (the last column)?" The client selected the 'Able to Change' card.
We then looked at concrete things that we could work on together to address the present frustrations, to foster more of the positive moments and to build towards the final goals.
'I really enjoyed the sense of connection with the whole family that arose through the process of working with the cards. And speaking of connection, there was an extra sense of fun too when the young person in question recognised some of the faces shown on the Reflexions cards!'
Journeys of Potential-A life skills program for adolescents
High school teacher Jeanette Pritchard writes about a program she is developing to support emotional health and wellbeing among adolescent students in her school.
For many young people in our society adolescence is a minefield. After 25 years' exposure to adolescents as a teacher, I am convinced that there is much we can do to help them traverse the difficult terrain they travel. The education system delivers a curriculum based on 'key learning areas'; its stated aim being the preparation of young people for adult life. Whilst many students do make it safely into adulthood without too many mishaps, there is, due to our fractured society, a growing number that find the journey more difficult and so stumble on the path. This is reflected in rising statistics in clinical depression and other areas such as substance abuse and attempted suicides.
In May this year Michael Carr Gregg, a leading adolescent psychologist, told a conference of Queensland principals that today's teenagers are more prone to depression and have less support than in any other generation. This is the only age group in Australia whose health status has not markedly improved over the last 40 years.
Skills that empower and enrich In an attempt to address these issues in October last year I introduced a pilot life skills program for Year 10 at Baimbridge College in Hamilton, Victoria. I called the program Journeys of Potential. I based it on the premise that students can be taught skills that will empower them, give them greater understanding of themselves and consequently, a greater sense of control of their lives. These skills are:
The period of adolescence provides a wonderful opportunity for teaching these skills. By this stage of development young people have reached a stage of maturity where they can be self-reflective and, consequently, can learn new ways of thinking and responding to the world around them. It could be called a 'second chance'. Given this help, rather than being passive victims, they can start to take more control of their lives.
Coaching approach In developing my program I took what I called a 'coaching' approach to the students. I assumed that participants already had many strengths and coping strategies, so the aim of the sessions was to uncover untapped potential for developing new skills. I regarded them as having challenges rather than problems.
The aim of the process was to empower the students through a greater knowledge of themselves. They could learn how and why they behaved and reacted in certain circumstances and become aware they had choices.
Today many students come from situations where there is not a predictable means of support from their families. Others, perhaps from more stable backgrounds, experience problems in communicating and not feeling heard. Much current research shows that boys particularly feel a sense of alienation and many present with a wide range of problems in the system.
Before starting the program, each student completed a simple survey form in which they were able to identify the following areas of concern to them:
Adolescents, particularly boys, have great difficulty in speaking openly about their lives and their true emotions. To help them explore their lives in a different way I used methods I had learnt in a course on expressive therapies with Mark Pearson and Helen Wilson from Turnaround Queensland. Mark and Helen are both qualified therapists and trainers who have worked extensively with adolescents and have published several books through The Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) [Their books are available from St Luke's Innovative Resources]. The methods come from the Jungian, Gestalt and Reichian schools of psychology.
The methods I used were:
Outside traditional therapeutic settings Although these modalities are usually applied in a therapeutic setting, I wanted to test whether they could be used in a different way, namely, helping students to become more self-aware and develop the life skills that I had identified as desirable and beneficial.
The first two sessions were one-to-one with the students and the third and fourth were in small groups. In these sessions I found the resources from St Luke's to be invaluable. I use:
Young people have stories The students responded very positively to these resources. Over the term of working with the students, it emerged that each of them had a 'story'. I discovered a wide range of pressures which beset them. Among external pressures were family breakdowns, financial stresses within the family, parents suffering from depression and responsibility for younger siblings before and after school. Internal pressures included self-doubt, confusion, poor self-image and a general sense of powerlessness.
At the end of the pilot program the students completed another survey which included asking if the program had been of value to them. Feedback was most encouraging. Students reported experiences such as: increased self-confidence; ability to identify strengths and weaknesses; awareness of how to improve communication; greater understanding of negative emotions and how to deal with them; and, awareness of the power to make choices around responses to situations. All of these are extremely beneficial and valuable life skills for youths-for anyone-to acquire.
The pilot program was accepted by the school and I have continued to work with it. The project work is a richly rewarding experience and I believe that it continues to make a positive contribution to the lives of the students with whom that I have worked.
Strengths in the Kimberley By Kate Gillespie
I am a teacher at Yiyili Aboriginal Community School located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and have found Strength Cards and Reflexions cards very useful for working with the young people in my high school class.
Thinking abstractly about feelings is a difficult step for indigenous students to take and these cards provide them with the means to access more complex moral ground rather than dichotomic (good/bad) type thinking.
We use them in a wide variety of ways:
The photograph of our masks shows how cards were used to think about animal characters that students are enacting in a hip hop and break dance performance for Crocfest Rock Challange. The traditional Gooniyandi story The Bat and the Crocodile inspires the performance. Two teams fight over who is the best dancer and teasing leads the bat to spear the crocodile. The cards help students decide what colours and lines would best reflect their character's personality. They also help students to imagine how they would interact on stage in telling this story.
My thanks to Innovative Resources for these great tools for working with young Aboriginal people.
Art Therapy
Most of us can recall a moment of exhilaration, a flash of creative pleasure in relation to a piece of artwork that we ourselves have created. Perhaps it was many years ago in kindergarten. the thrill of primary colours smeared on a simple piece of butcher's paper. Perhaps it was a particularly delicious mud pie that had just the right consistency for the conical shape your hands wanted to feel. Even the dreamy art of the doodle while you are on the phone can give rise to a surprising little cartoon character or a shape that could belong on a tile in a Persian mosque.
The creative spark There is something so deeply vitalising and life giving about the experience of the creative spark in whatever form it arises. But unfortunately for many of us, that tiny little spark of creativity in relation to art has been dowsed by an inappropriate word of judgement from someone or perhaps even our own self doubt has closed us down to the experience. Perhaps we were simply never taught to value it and left it behind in the whirl of 'more important' matters. Or maybe we simply never had the opportunity to discover this form of communication that can reveal so much about ourselves to ourselves.
Recently, Robin Syme has been bringing the experience of art therapy to St Luke's clients and workers as a member of our Youth Division team. Robin has a Graduate Diploma from the Melbourne Institute of Experiential and Creative Art Therapies and she says, 'The practice of making and reflecting upon our artwork is a way of coming to know ourselves. In art therapy, clients paint, sculpt, or draw as part of the therapy process. Using these art forms for self-expression allows the client to release difficult and confusing feelings in a safe and non-threatening manner.'
Personal belief systems 'As you create an image, personal belief and value systems become infused into that image, and by dialoguing about the artwork, the client and the worker both get a sense of what is contributing to the issues at hand. Artwork is a very personalised form of expression and often we represent more than we are intentionally aware of. This is very special because sometimes we cannot talk about an issue, let alone own it, but as soon as there is a picture out there, there is a process of externalisation and we can start talking about the image.
'This allows us to explore the dynamics of the image and encourages the client to move towards statements of meaning that are personally relevant. This is important in the therapeutic process because the creator may gain a very significant insight that leads to a breakthrough in their understanding, and a more direct ownership of the issue that they have presented.
'Many clients may have had other people (such as parents, workers and other professionals) framing their 'story' in various forms such as reports and case notes for many years. A lot of their privacy has been taken away. So it's really important to find ways that the therapist and the client can be open to each other in a creative way. Through art, the clients have an opportunity to tell their story non-verbally and in their own way. The artwork provides the client with the opportunity to see and understand their issues in new ways.'
Towards a reflective process 'Here at St Luke's, I have been working with adults, children and teenagers. Before I meet with the clients, they have already expressed an interest in working with art. The approach of the art therapist varies according to the client. With an adult who is aware of an issue and who wants to work with that theme, we will begin talking about it straight away and the artwork will arise out of a significant point that emerges in the conversation.
'When the client is unsure about where or what they want to start with, I may suggest that they begin by experimenting with the different art materials to find a medium that they enjoy using. At other times, we simply start by making our own pictures and talking about them. Sometimes, I may use a story to start the art making/self-reflective process. 'Once, after a young girl I was working with had produced a number of pieces of art, we put all her pictures up on the wall and together we discovered a theme that was common to all of them. We were then able to move into a therapeutic conversation about how this theme related to her.
'This is an example of how the art therapy process can move from initial engagement, to literal or external representations of an object or situation, to insight about how this relates directly to the client. Doing the artwork itself is therapeutic in the sense that it allows for expression but for it to be of true therapeutic value, there needs to be a reflective process around the artwork as well.'
Reflexions cards in art therapy Robin is currently focussing on working with adolescents at risk and she is intending to introduce Innovative Resources' Reflexions cards into the art therapy setting. The Reflexions cards consist of multi-layered images around a particularly loaded key word. Robin intends to ask the kids to choose a card that is relevant to them in some way, initiate some discussion around that theme and then ask them to do a painting that represents their own personalised interpretation.
Because the cards function as prompts and the stories embodied within them are externalised, the person is able to discuss key issues without claiming those issues as their own before they are ready. Robin also feels that the cards will be useful when a client draws a blank in response to a therapist's questions.
Robin has also provided some art therapy information sessions for the caregivers of young children. She emphasises the importance of encouraging creative expression in kids, and the healing power that the experience of creativity offers to everyone.
'When you have a blank piece of paper and some crayons, it is about change. You change the blank paper into something else and you create something where you can see and reflect upon that change and upon yourself.' |
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The Reflexions Designer Top Graphic Design
Reflexions-ways of seeing ourselves differently. This is the evocative title for our set of 32 cards which is designed to be used as a tool that promotes personal change. Each card takes a single theme and using a combination of type, image and colour design, the card presents a montage of stories and visual approaches to that particular theme.
A tool for young people While Reflexions can be used by people of any age, it was designed primarily as a tool for young people who, in the process of growth towards independence, are creating their own identities. Reflexions can challenge the images or stories that young people have created around themselves and it can also be a reminder that we are not just the passive recipients of identities imposed on us by others. We can constantly make choices about how we want our lives to be.
One person who has made such a choice about how he wants to live his life is the very talented Tim Lane, designer and graphic artist for Reflexions. Tim is one of a growing circle of very gifted people who have made choices to live and work from the country. Tim works from his studio at home in Baynton, in Central Victoria and he tells us that while Baynton is more of a location than a town, it does have a 'pole'. This, of course, is significant-email can trundle down the line (and so all business can take place) courtesy of 'the pole'.
Woosh Creative Tim has a background in industrial design and worked in a variety of product design studios before making his country version of a 'sea change' and beginning his own business called Woosh Creative. Almost two years ago Tim began the initial conceptual work for Reflexions and he has patiently nurtured the ideas and given creative direction to the project throughout its gestation period.
The gestation period was full of adventure, it seems. To create the photomontages, Tim went to various locations in and around Bendigo with groups of young people and other photographers. As is the way with such things and allowing for the pleasure of hyperbole, it was apparently overcast for the entire two years! However, reels and reels of film were shot. Tim and his camera were inseparable and even his outings to the footy furnished some photo opportunities.
Photomontages and technodesign Some of the images in the cards were drawn from other sources and together with colour and other design layers, Tim has created some stunning and exciting montages. The graphic style that Tim has achieved has many techno design features and by incorporating feedback from young people with whom the cards were tested, Tim has created a very contemporary feel for the cards.
Tim spoke about the challenges of avoiding stereotyped images for such words as 'honest' and 'assertive' and at the same time showing the many layers of a word such as 'careful'. For example, 'careful' has flavours of doing very intricate, detailed work such as painting. At the same time it has other meanings such as being careful with one's own health, being careful with other people's feelings and nurturing a more fragile person or thing.
Cutting edge graphics Tim spoke of the professional and personal pleasure that it was for him to be given the creative freedom to produce these images for the cards. 'There was some creative risk-taking in producing these cards,' he said. 'They go beyond a mere token response to youth issues. While they are on the edge of design, we wanted to create a certain classic quality so that the images, colour and vibrancy tell the stories in a way that will, hopefully, continue be relevant as fashions change.' |
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Using the Tool Reflexions-Ways of Seeing Ourselves Differently
Reflexions are a set of cards that at first glance might suggest have little to say about strengths. Compared to many of our card sets they appear dark, angst ridden and the opposite of cute. And the words on the cards don't sound like strengths either: 'confused', 'frustrated', 'angry', 'disgusted' etc. But none the less, these cards are strength cards by another name.
Every card names a feeling. Feelings are feelings, they are not inherently negative or bad. But by naming feelings with which we are sometimes uncomfortable, we are able to bring to the surface discussion about how these feelings translate into actions.
Originally designed for adolescents, the 32 Reflexions cards use the busyness and realism of photo montage design to talk about the emotions, the issues and the experience of young people. While more visually confronting than the cards that use illustration, Reflexions also speak to many adults who in their own way face the same issues suggested by the cards.
It was a group of young peer educators at St Luke's who helped shape the cards and provided most of the models for the photo shoots. The ongoing success of the Reflexions cards is largely due to the ability of this group to tell us what worked and what didn't.
As a photography-based resource there were certain challenges. For example: How to avoid stereotypes of age, race and gender, how to avoid current fashion trends giving the cards a limited life span, and how to speak to a broad range of adolescents, young people and adults. Now, over six years old and well into their fourth print run, Reflexions have proved to be a useful tool for many workers.
Getting the Feelings Out
For many young people finding the words to describe their feelings, and having the confidence to use them are great challenges.
Feelings can be difficult to put a name to. It is easier to resort to simple, global words to talk about feelings rather than try to separate out the tangle of different feelings we may have at any one time. And all human service workers (and parents!) know the difficulty of trying to get more than monosyllabic responses from many of our adolescents. The first and most basic use of Reflexions is to simply provide a vocabulary and a means to articulate feeling about anything of significance in the young person's life. Reflections was designed as a tool for young people who, in the process of growth towards indiendence, are creating their own identities. Becoming an independent individual can be a difficult jounrey in our society. Dealing with the pressures of families, schools, peers, authorities and even the media is a difficult undertaking at a time when hormones are raging and there is a constant urge to experiement with all aspects of what life has to offer. For young people, Reflexions can work as a mirror that helps them to look at themselves from different angles and to see how others, such as parents, friends and teachers, see them. Reflexions can challenge the 'images' or 'stories' youn people have developed about themselves. It can also be a reminder of how we actively create our own identities. We are not just the passive recipients of identities imposed on us by others. We constantly make choices about how we wnat our life to be. Reflexions provides a way of considering both how we are seen by others and the choices we ourselves make about our own feelings and thoughts. Young people faced with daily choices about how they shape their own identiies and how they build independence acn find their dominant story about themeslves to be limiting, and at times very painful. Depression, low self-esteem, destructive and self-destructive behaviour, bullying and suicide are all consequences of young people becoming 'stuck' in negative dominant stories about themselves. Reflexions is no panacea for these rampant social problems. However, positive interest in the cards are signals that it is OK to name the issues that are confrontingus and that it is possible to tke contril ovetr these causes of pain and despair. Reflexions does not preach or patronise, but does open up possibilities for honesty and straight-talk. While primarily designed with young people in mind, we also believe Reflexions can work as a tool for change with anyone of any age. Anyone who is unhappy with an aspect of his or her life may find Reflexions to be a new and powerful window for change. At Innovative Resources we strongly believe that the end of adolescence dodes not signify the end of identity building. We believe that we continue to shape our lives until we die. The way we story our lives is constantly open to revision and there are opportunities to re'story' our lives no matter what our age.
Building Conversations Around Reflexions The Reflexions cards act as a mirror to our feelings and our thoughts about ourselves and the behaviours that enact these feelings and thoughts. While the cards can be used by individuals in private, their ability to promote change is magnified when they are built into therapeautic or change-focused conversations. These conversations may be between friends or colleagues, a supervisor and staff or worker and their clients. These clients might be individuals, family grioups or even organisations and community groups. The ability to use a tool in these various ways and settings is called 'parallel process'. We believe that when a tool demonstrates parallel process, it adds to its significance and power. Therapeutic conversations can never be scripted. They are intriguing and exciting due to the unlimited pathways these conversations can take. The use of strength-based materials in therapeutic conversations allows for an intricate dance between the stragetic uses of questions and metaphors. Below is an attempt to list some of the many possible questions that can be built into strengths-based conversations using Reflexions. The timing and the manner in which the cards are introduced can only be determined by the creativity of the worker using them. These are suggested questiuons only and, like any other intervention, must be used carefully and respectfully. When using any of the Reflexions cards, it is generally better to spread them out onto a table or on the floor so that the choice of any particular cards or sorting activities can be accomplished while scanning the entire set. Working with Individuals When working with an individual client, Reflexions can be used by asking:
Working with Families When working with families, Reflexions can be used by asking:
Working with Groups Teachers, youth workers and others who work with groups can structure discussions around the cards by asking:
Using Reflexions with Other Strengths-Based Materials The Reflexions cards can be used effectively by themselves or they can also be combined with other strengths-based materials, depending on the age, maturity and interest of the individual or group. For example: When used with The Bears The bears represent an entire range of feelings, attitiudes adn personalities. They contain no words adn can be used to complement the Reflexions cards with questions like:
When used with Scales and Scales 2 Any of the 32 Reflexions cards can be scaled. Each can be rated against a scale of 1 to 10, changes monitered and strategies for change discussed. Some appropriate prompts may be:
When used with Strength Cards To enact any of the Reflexions thoughts and feelings well requires strengths? Strength Cards, Strength Cards for Kids, I Can Monsters, and Strengths in Teams can all act as prompts to identify, label and mobilise our strengths:
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