A PB-base Summer Read?

I'd like to thank Judith Staff for bringing my attention to Katie Wrench’s latest book
Helping Vulnerable Children and Adolescents to Stay Safe: Creative Ideas and Activities for Building Protective Behaviours.
This book was released on 18th August 2016 and I believe Judith was invited to review it, prior to publication, which no doubt provided an opportunity for some feedback on some of the subtleties of the PB Strategy called Language of Safety :lol:
Like many of the resources currently available there are some inconsistencies with the Protective Behaviours process in terms of the language used and also some activities, for example asking a person to recall a time when they did not feel safe is not consistent as it could lead to them feeling unsafe with us. However, I think Katie has done a fantastic job pulling together so many other tried and tested activities that could help people with vulnerabilities feel safer and more empowered by believing they have a right to feel safe even when not physically feeling safe. I particularly like the activities that focus on what Safe feels like and the idea of a Sensory Book of Safety (p74)
The section on establishing personal networks, (p64) highlights how important it is to identify people with the right set of qualities and the need to *review this regularly to ensure it is fit for purpose. Young people are also encouraged to *persist to build a network and *risk on purpose by having a go at talking with (to) people about anything, even if it feels awful or small. Like Katie, I really like to use singing to reinforce learning with young children so will add Katie’s 'Old Macdonald' Network song to my repertoire alongside my revised ‘Feeling Happy/Sad/Angry/Worried and You Know It’ & PB Theme Reinforcement Chant/Rap sing and signing songs :woohoo:

So, I would like to say a big Thank You to Katie for making the time to write this book which goes a long way, in my opinion, to highlighting how the Protective Behaviours process can be introduced in both creative and fun ways. And I’m reminded of some words used by Di Margetts in that “Serious work can be done while having fun!”

(*Network Review, Persistence & Risking on Purpose are 3 more of the 7 PB Strategies and Katie’s book also includes examples of using One Step Removed, Theme Reinforcement and Protective Interruptions as tools for empowerment).

More information about Katie's book can be found at bookshop.theguardian.com/catalog/product/view/id/424326/

I'd like to echo Sally Ann's comments in her review. There are definitely elements which are not Protective Behaviours consistent but nevertheless a useful resource for practitioners. If anyone trained in Protective Behaviours would like clarification about any aspect of the suggested practice I'd feel happy to discuss reframing where necessary. Katie has done a great job in bringing a 'toolbox' to people who may need additional resources to supplement their current 'kit-bag'.