Vivian A. LeGrand, RN, MAC LPC-NCC, CFLE
Licensed Board Certified Counselor and Clinical Nurse
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Recover hope and self-confidence
Develop of sense of structure and safety
Accept and embrace change
Develop coping skills
Management stress
Increase personal insight and understanding
of self and to identify personal strengths
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Help define who we are.
Have a significant influence in our beliefs
and in our values system.
Create the type of person we dreamed we
could be.
We develop a mental picture of our world based
on interactions with the persons we know and
meet and the places where we live and visit.
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We also see ourselves through the
eyes of other people.
We as family members, parents, caregivers and providers
can be most effective when we personally subscribe to
the belief that life is good, for others, and for
ourselves—this positive attitude is necessary for the
healing process to begin.
But we live in stressful times.
Violence and unpredictable events pervade our
life and our entire culture.
No matter how hard you try, it seems like it’s
just not hard enough.
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In 2006, 7.9 million U.S. children received emergency
medical care for unintentional injuries (auto accidents,
falls, fires, dog bites, near drowning, etc.)
Over 400,000 of these injuries were due to violence.
Race and ethnicity, poverty, and gender had a direct
affect on the child or teen’s risk or likelihood of
exposure to trauma.
Significantly more boys than girls are exposed to
traumatic community violence and serious injury.
“There seeps in a gloomy
sense that. . .
It’s no use to set goals
It’s no use in risking failure,
again.
And as a result, kids,
parents, and families lose
hope in their own ability to
control their lives.”
(David B. Feldman)
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“The reason we lose a lot of kids is they
just kind of give up hope on themselves.”
Psychologist, Dr. Robert J. Sternberg explains.
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Dr. Sternberg’s research found that a
student’s ability or level of intelligence had
little or no connection with this ominous
outlook.
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With loss and change can come distress, despair
and uncertainty.
Severe loss and change can bring darkness,
feelings of abandonment, helplessness, and
hopelessness—
And sometimes the loss of the “will” to care,
survive or even live.
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Problems seem huge with no way out.
Why…Children and teens are not as able as adults
to express their emotions.
In fact, they may not even realize that something
is out of the ordinary.
Why…Children and teens live in a world controlled
by adults and can easily feel powerless over what
is happening to them.
Why…As caring adults, we can look for certain
signs of trouble and help our children and teens to
cope.
The Basic 4 Categories:
 Emotional signs
 Cognitive signs (those involving thinking)
 Physical complaints
 Behavioral changes
Important: Not everyone child or teen is going to
experience every symptom.
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Sadness – feelings of despondency; hopeless;
withdrawn.
Loss of interest – rejects activities or hobbies
that they have always enjoyed;
overt feeling of boredom
Anxiety – prolonged periods of anxiety, tension,
irritability, and panic
Turmoil – overly worried; brooding or lashing out in
anger
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Persistent negative view of self with self-defeating, irrational
thoughts.
Difficulty organizing thoughts; problems in school; inability to
complete homework or other tasks.
Helpless and hopeless; feels that there is nothing they can do to
relieve their sad or down feelings.
Feelings of isolation; finds excuses to avoid engaging in usual
activities with friends or family; spends more alone, sleeping, or
isolating in bedroom.
Worthlessness; obsessed over their perceived faults and failures;
increased vulnerability to emotional abuse and being bullied.
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Weight gain or loss; incontinent of urine or feces
Neglectful of physical appearance
Sluggishness
 Depressed children often talk, react, and walk
slower
 Less active and playful than their usual selves
Sleep disturbances
 Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
 Experience intrusive thoughts or fears
 They may wake too early or oversleep
 Have trouble staying awake during the day at
school
 Fear of the night
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Avoidance and withdrawal
May withdraw from friends and family—TV, video games
may become favorite activities for escape and solitude.
Self-Harm
Cause themselves physical pain or take excessive risks.
Self-injury: scratching skin till it bleeds, pinching, hair
pulling, extreme nail biting, cutting, alcohol, pills, and
tobaccos.
Restlessness
May develop behaviors such as fidgeting, acting out in
class, hypersensitivity or recklessness.
Clinging and demanding
May become more dependent on some relationships or
behave with an exaggerated sense of insecurity.
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“Best Practice”:
Share and discuss any concerns you may
have with parents or primary care givers.
Most pediatricians and family practice
providers recommend that parents schedule
an appointment for their child or teen to
have a complete physical exam and
evaluation.
Purpose: to rule-out any underlying physical
problems that might further complicate the
situation or the circumstances.
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Dr. C. R. Snyder conceptualized Hope as a
vital cognitive foundation to any type of care
model…
Identifying Hope has long been recognized as an
important component of successful psychosocial
growth and change.
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Giving Hope is a central role of the provider in
all aspects of physical and behavioral care.
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Energizing Hope is a necessary and crucial
outcome to any care plan.
The “Hope Theory” has led to the development of
specific interventions designed to increase hope in
clients by:
…Dr. Snyder’s Hope Theory
(Cheavens, Feldman, Woodward, & Snyder, 2006)
 Helping clients to identify low-elements and replace them with
positive, hopeful thoughts.
 Eliciting hopeful cognitions and reducing distressful, negative,
and irrational thought patterns.
 Assisting them to discover and utilize already-existing positive
psychological coping skills and personal strengths/gifts.
 Facilitating in them a heightened level of confidence with which
to apply these new strategies. Thereby, increasing personal
well-being, self-esteem, resiliency, and a strong belief that
they are capable of making Hopefulness Happen.
Hope:
 fulfills our most basic human instincts to
desire, with expectations, and receive what it is
that we wish for and need to sustain our health
and wellbeing.
 gives us confidence, trust and a strong belief
that…
what can be and
what needs to be,
most certainly will be!
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In order to recover hope, we must
first know where to find it.
 It is present in
everyone of us
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It is that child-like positive mental attitude that inspires
within us a life-force to survive.
At high enough levels, it helps move us beyond fear
to imagine something greater is achievable.
And yes, hope can be developed and nurtured.
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Overcoming fear
and creating hope is
necessary to our
survival.
Physiologically and psychologically, we are
programmed and have the capacity to:
 Create and generate hope in ourselves
and others.
 Nurture hope in its most abundant and
loving form.
Yes, it is possible to Restore Hope
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Simple yet effective interventions
have been successful in restoring
and rebuilding a level of hope that can:
increase self-confidence
 reduce anxiety, fear and self-doubt
 normalize emotions/feelings and reduce guilt
 reframe hopeless & helpless into hopeful & helpful
 return laughter and seeing the brighter side of life
5 Interventions that help Recover Hope:
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No-Talk Therapy
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Learning to Relax
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Mandala Art Project for Coping with Change
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Making it Better—Activities for Children
and Teens Living in a Stressful World
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Creative Journal Keeping
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In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning,
Dr. Viktor Frankl,
Holocaust survivor wrote:
“Man…determines himself
whether to give in to
conditions or stand up to
them.
In other words, man is ultimately selfdetermining. Man does not simply exist,
but always decides what his existence will be,
what he will become in the next moment”
(p. 206).
Evander was the youngest of 9 children raised by Annie
Laura, a single mom who worked cooking meals at a
restaurant. He explained, “As a young man I could have
gave up when things got tough, but my minister told me
I was better than that—it all begins with that level
of confidence and hope!”
In conclusion, by assisting those we care
for to regain a sense of hope we can assist
and motive them to make positive changes
in their lives.
Utilizing “Hope Recovery Interventions”
can assist children, teens and family
members to reclaim confidence and selfdetermination to imagine the best possible
life they could ever have!
Believe in miracles and never give up hope—
everyone deserves that kind of inspiration
and personal regard. (photo by: Joan Sorenson, RN-Cheboygan,
MI )
References
Brazelton, T. B. (1984). To listen to a child. New York: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company.
Conde-Frazier, E. (2011). Listen to the children: conversations with
Immigrant families. Valley Forge: PA: Judson Press.
Forman, S. G. (1993). Coping skills interventions for children and
adolescents. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Gauding, M. (2009). One Million Mandalas. New York, NY: St. Martin’s
Press.
Heegaard, M. E. (1992). Drawing out feelings. Burnsvill, NC: Rainbow
Collection & Compassion Books.
References continued
Hospice Foundation of America. (2008). Living with grief: children and
adolescents. Oregon, IL: Quality Books Inc.
Oehlberg, B. (1996). Making it better—activities for children living a
stressful world. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Schoeneck, T. S. (1995). Hope for bereaved—understanding, coping and
growing through grief. Syracuse, NY: Hope for Bereaved, Inc.
Straus, M. B. (1999). No-talk therapy. New York, NY: w. W. Norton
& Company, Inc.