A short introduction to promoting resilience in children - Colby Pearce

A child's capacity to cope with adversity and 'stand on their own two feet' is seen as critical to their development, well-being, and future independence and success in adulthood. Psychological strength, or resilience, directly affects a child's capacity to cope with adversity.

This book provides a succinct, accessible and clear guide on how to promote resilience in children and achieve positive developmental outcomes for them. The author covers three key factors that affect resiliency: vulnerability to stress and anxiety, attachment relationships, and access to basic needs. For each, the author presents practical advice and strategies, such as how to regulate children's stress and anxiety, how to encourage and maintain secure attachments, and how to assure children that their needs are understood and will be met. The model presented will help parents and carers ensure their children grow up happy, healthy and resilient.

This book will be invaluable for parents, carers and practitioners in supportive roles caring for children.

Colby Pearce is Principal Psychologist at Secure Start, a private psychology practice based in Adelaide that provides assessment and psychotherapy services in the areas of child protection, inter-country adoption, refugees and community child and family psychology. He has extensive experience in the teaching and training of psychologists and other professionals particularly in relation to insecure and attachment disordered children.

As an introduction to the subject of resilience in children the work provides a useful and straightforward guide for parents and caregivers in providing some practical advice and guidance and could be a useful tool for professionals in the training of foster carers.
Seen and Heard

The book is replete with easy-to-read examples, taken both from the author's personal experiences as well as clinical and hypothetical examples. The examples are simple, conveying his meaning clearly.
metapsychology online

In his clear and accessible style, Colby Pearce defines the value and significance of resilience as an essential aspect of psychological survival. He traces the origins of resilience in the early relationships which shape our emotional and social development and describes processes and responses that enhance resilience for children who have had a less than adequate start in life. This is a valuable book for anyone involved in children's emotional well-being, from parents and community to schools and policy makers.
Dr Heather Geddes, Educational Psychotherapist and author of Attachment in the Classroom

Pearce (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) is a necessary and succinct guide in a market a little too full of lengthy texts but an area, too, where much is said but how to achieve the objectives is not always understood... this is a book helpful for parents, carers and professionals.
Terry Philpot, Young Minds