Sam Goldstein - Tenacity in Children: Nurturing the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Success

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During their remarkable, respective careers, two psychologists in particular have had and continue to exert an astonishing influence on the diverse fields of child development, clinical treatment of children, parenting, and education. Drs. Sam Goldstein and Robert B. Brooks build on their pioneering work and writings on resilience in children in their latest book, Tenacity in Children: Nurturing the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Success. These pioneers were among the first to identify the traits and qualities of resilient children, and how teachers, parents, and therapists can nurture and facilitate the development and strengthening of these assets. In the evolution of their work, they followed with an integration of findings regarding a fundamental building block of resilience: self-discipline whether in the context of the home, school, or psychotherapy. Once again, parents, teachers, therapists, and most of all children were the beneficiaries of their research, writings, and frequent lectures and presentations throughout the USA and internationally.

Of merit is their emphasis in recent years of the mindset of adults capable of fostering strengths and optimism in children. One of the compelling features of their research findings and writings about resilience is its transtheoretical nature; thus, a resilient mindset can be adopted by a parent, a teacher, and/or a psychotherapist regardless of any particular approach to which we adhere. A resilient mindset is adaptable to context and a wide range of settings such as home, classroom, psychotherapy office, soccer field, or dance stage. Not only is the concept of a resilient mindset transtheoretical, but it is also trans-contextual.

The emphasis of Goldstein and Brooks in prior writings and teachings on the identification and strengthening of islands of competence is a concept that holds the power to inform our work with children regardless of context. Originally introduced by Dr. Brooks as a metaphor to seek strengths in youth as a clinical strategy, such a guiding principle can inform and empower the work of all who interact with children in any substantial way. Children validate over and over the wisdom of this construct; we simply progress further by accentuating strengths in children rather than pouncing on deficits. This concept most certainly has served as a powerful force in my work.

Frequently, I sit in Treatment Planning meetings regarding children during which the vision of team members is obscured by all that is lacking in the child. The majority of their efforts are focused on defining what is wrong with the child rather than identifying and reinforcing what is right. This narrow approach impedes their ability to observe the amazing talents and creativity in the child. A recent example of the robust excitement and advantage of pursuing islands of competence emerged in the context of an initial interview with a youth admitted to the emergency group foster care program at the agency where I serve as Clinical Director. During the interview, this 15-year-old, who I will call Jenny, shared the story of her tumultuous family life that ultimately led to her running away from home. Jenny suffered other traumatic losses and betrayals adding up to a very elevated score on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire and a diagnostic picture of complex interpersonal trauma. I appreciate the broad clinical expertise of the authors over careers spanning five decades as reflected in their description of working with youngsters like Jenny: We discovered that some children demonstrated the travails of biblical Job.

Jennys somber mood dramatically changed, however, when I inquired about her interests and talents. This chronically depressed adolescent became animated, energized, and enthused while talking about her passion for cooking. She described in exquisite detail her specialty dishes ranging from seafood to a variety of ethnic foods. I asked if she would like to cook a special dinner for her cottage. She responded with a genuine smile. She asked enthusiastically to do so as soon as possible. After walking Jenny back to her cottage, I spoke to one of the senior Youth Counselors about Jennys avid interest in cooking and her desire to make a special dinner for her peers and staff in the group. The Youth Counselor committed to working with Jenny to go grocery shopping and obtain what was needed to cook her dinner. The next day, I delivered a stack of culinary magazines that my wife, Mary, was ready to part with to provide Jenny with material to reinforce her interests. Pursuing Jennys