Caren Baruch-Feldman - The Resilience Workbook for Kids: Fun CBT Activities to Help You Bounce Back from Stress and Grow from Challenges

Its hard to be a kid today. Kids see more, know more, and do more today than ever before but some of what they see are bad examples, some of what they know is challenging to everyone, and some of what they do are what those bad examples encourage. This book is a practice field for good, showing children in a step-by-step way how to develop the flexible strength needed to prosper. If you love children, you will love the support for healthy growth this book provides. Highly recommended.

Steven C. Hayes, PhD , Nevada Foundation Professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno; and originator and codeveloper of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

This urgently needed workbook brilliantly engages young people to build their resilience skill sets. Theyll be better prepared to handle lifes curveballs and to get the most out of life in joyful times. I love that this work honors emotions and teaches kids how to own them, process them, and even celebrate that they have them. Critically, The Resilience Workbook for Kids will also prepare you to be the kind of adult who can nurture young people in their resilience journey. I genuinely believe this wonderful tool kit will change lives!

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MS, Ed , coauthor of Building Resilience in Children and Teens , and director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication at www.parentandteen.com

Resilience is more than a buzzword. Its a critical component of our health and wellness because it allows us to weather and withstand lifes challenges big and small. The Resilience Workbook for Kids is a beautifully written, inclusive, engaging, fun, work-as- you-go guide with relevant and sensitive examples that will help kids understand resilience and strengthen it within them. A timely must-read for kids, teens, and the adults who mentor, teach, and love them.

Julie Lythcott-Haims , New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult

Caren Baruch-Feldman and Rebecca Comizio have written a wonderful, science-based guide to help children manage their emotions and enhance their resilience. Authoritative, comprehensive, and accessible, The Resilience Workbook for Kids is a gift.

Ethan Kross, PhD , director of the Self-Control and Emotion Laboratory, and professor of psychology at the University of Michigan; professor of management and organizations at Ross School of Business; and author of Chatter

How do we help children build resilience? By giving them The Resilience Workbook for Kids ! This brilliant guide is professional and practical, timely and timeless, warm and wise. Children need to build their resilience muscles; Caren Baruch-Feldman and Rebecca Comizio have written the book that will serve as the perfect gym.

Lisa Damour, PhD , author of Untangled and Under Pressure

A fitness routine for emotions. A guide to beating stress. A road map to mental wellness. The Resilience Workbook for Kids is all of this wrapped into an exciting and engaging tool kit for young people facing emotional challenges. From introducing and teaching the science of resilience, all the way to practice and habit building, this book is a total wellness package.

Renee Jain, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Superpowered , and founder of GoZen!

This terrific workbook is filled with tips and techniques to help kids develop their resilience. The activities and reflections allow kids to be deeply involved in learning about themselves in a fun way. This is an invaluable resource for parents, teachers and counselors.

Lea Waters, PhD , author of The Strength Switch

The Resilience Workbook for Kids is filled with tons of rich ideas and creative strategies to help children develop resilience. The ideas are presented in ways that will work both for children and for the adults who work with them. The graphics, puzzles, and interactive features are quite attractive and make pursuing resilience fun. I heartily recommend this book to educators, caregivers, and kids!

Thomas R. Hoerr, PhD , scholar in residence at UM-St. Louis, and author of many SEL books, including The Formative Five

This book is a much-needed guide to help children navigate the world today. A highly creative, engaging, and enjoyable book for children, and one that can help all kids build their resilience.

Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD , humanistic psychologist; author of Transcend , Wired to Create , and Ungifted ; and host of the Psychology Podcast

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

INSTANT HELP, the Clock Logo, and NEW HARBINGER are trademarks of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2022 by Caren Baruch-Feldman and Rebecca Comizio

Instant Help Books

An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

The resilience survey in activity 1 of the Parents and Professionals supplement is adapted from THE RESILIENCE WORKBOOK by Glenn Schiraldi, copyright 2017 by Glenn Schiraldi/New Harbinger Publications. Used by permission of New Harbinger Publications.

The activity Self-Compassion Break in the Bonus Activities and Worksheets supplement is adapted from THE MINDFUL SELF-COMPASSION WORKBOOK by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer, copyright 2018 by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer/Guilford Press. Used by permission of Guilford Press.

Cover design and illustration by Sara Christian. Interior book design by Amy Shoup. Interior illustrations by Valeria Chipao. Acquired by Elizabeth Hollis Hansen. Edited by Gretel Hakanson

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file

She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.

Elizabeth Edwards

This book is dedicated to my mother, father, husband, and children. Dad, I miss you. I know if you were here, youd have loved the boat analogies. Thank you all, for your love and support. You have made me who I am.

Caren

This book is dedicated to my father, the man who taught me to always look at the bright side, be grateful for the little things, and keep working hard. Thanks, Dad, for giving me the best example of resilience a kid couldve had, and for looking out for your grandkids from where you are.

Rebecca

Contents

Foreword

Since I began my career in clinical psychology many years ago, I have witnessed several major changes of focus that have had a direct impact on my work. One of the most salient was a shift from a medical model, with an emphasis on identifying and fixing deficits, to a strength-based perspective that assumed, as a primary goal, recognizing, honoring, and harnessing each persons strengths, or what I have referred to since the early 1980s as their islands of competence.

This shift is associated with the emergence of the positive psychology field and an increased interest in defining individual and environmental forces that contribute to our ability to cope more effectively with stress and challenges, to thrive in the face of adversity, and to become more resilient. In my writings, especially with my colleague Dr. Sam Goldstein, we emphasize that specifying what is wrong with a person may yield information about that persons current life but that nurturing the strengths of that person in different domains will be much more pertinent to what they can accomplish in life.