Sherry Blair

Tribal Warriors: Life Skills to Optimize Well-being for Teens / Creating Nurtured Heart Communities Sherry Blair

Publisher Marketing: This workbook moves beyond life skills as we traditionally know it and steps outside of the box to get middle and high school youth optimized in life and overall well-being. As an integrated model and grounded in the rigorously researched interventions and theories of positive psychology, this workbook introduces these concepts to youth to optimize their well-being. The evidence based model of REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy) is introduced to increase rational living and to teach all youth that making smart choices, decreasing self-defeating behaviors and unhealthy negative emotions can be done with practice and application giving them the tools they require to not only be successful in adolescence but as young adults. The Nurtured Heart Approach is included as the epoxy that ties all the concepts together but most importantly builds flourishing relationships at home, school and in the community. Section Two pulls the tribe together to stand against all types of bullying, hate crimes and violence in their schools and communities. It is the belief that before we can address bullying to increase peaceful relationships, we need to build up each individual, whether they have been victimized or have offended. All youth need the information presented in order to stand together to build peaceful Nurtured Heart communities. A note from the author: "For close to two decades, I have been personally working with children and youth in their schools, in their communities and in their homes. I have worked with both the victims and the offenders and at times have discovered that the victim is often the offender in another setting. For example if the victim is being bullied at school, he/she may come home and bully their families-either their parents and/or their siblings. Having had a background in domestic and family violence, my training allowed me to understand the psychological and behavioral effects on all parties involved in the deleterious cycles of abuse. My extensive work in Women/Gender Studies through the years as a student, practitioner, educator, and as a leader in executive behavioral health services has afforded me a different lens as it relates to all the "isms" in the world that lead to oppression and the coercive nature of power and control. Breaking down the barriers of racism, homophobia, sexism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, ageism is required. Teaching our youth to "see" each other at the heart and soul level rather than by our differences as in the color or our skin, gender, sexual orientation, etc. is the path that is required to move us toward a more humanistic and compassionate way of relating to one another without prejudice. We believe that building the individual "inner wealth" and increasing the tenets of REBT, specifically USA: Unconditional Self-Acceptance and UAO: Unconditional Acceptance of Others is the first step toward breaking down the cycles of abuse and bullying. This workbook is designed to "speak to" youth which allows them to develop the tools for self-help and improvement." The workbook is designed to begin with Section One and move through the lessons and then move on to Section Two. However, using the activities randomly is an option and comes with a caveat. Many of the lessons request reflecting back to previous lessons which is congruent with the psychology of learning and repetition. The Nurtured Heart Approach techniques are threaded throughout the workbook regardless of the lesson. When used in its entirety, Tribal Warriors is designed to be taught weekly with daily practice suggestions. For use in school and community based programs, it is suggested that Section One be taught first. The goal is to create leadership in schools and communities. Youth that complete the initial training participate as peer trainers in application and practice outside of the formal weekly sessions and move forward to assist as co-leaders in the subsequent years." Contributor Bio:  Blair, Sherry Sherry Blair inspires others by applying and encouraging positivity. Teaching others to speak from their hearts is a key constituent of the work she does. She is committed to nurturing a positive work environment that allows her team of committed professionals to serve children and families in New Jersey's Wraparound Sys of Care in their homes/communities. She has a BA in Psychology/Womens' Studies from Rutgers Univ. She obtained her MSSW in Policy Analysis/International Social Welfare from Columbia University. She is dually mastered in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology and holds her PhD in Management. Sherry is a New Jersey LCSW, a Board Certified Professional Counselor and holds Diplomate Status as a Professional Coach through the Int'l Assoc of Behavior Medicine and Psychological Counseling. She teaches Human Behavior in the Social Environment part-time for the Univ of Southern California, Graduate School of Social Work Virtual Academic Center. She is an Advanced Trainer/Certified Nurtured Heart Specialist and one of the first 300 in the world trained in Dr. Martin Seligman's Authentic Happiness Positive Psychology Coaching Program. Nancy Azevedo Bonilla Nancy Azevedo Bonilla was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey where her parents emigrated from Portugal. Nancy attended Newark Public Schools as a child and succeeded in all domains. Nancy obtained a BA in Human Ecology concentrating in Family Services from Montclair State University. She acquired a MSW with a concentration in Clinical Practice and an emphasis in children and adolescents from Rutgers University. Nancy has remained true to her area of interest, expertise and above all, her roots. Being a tri-lingual therapist, Nancy has dedicated her career to work with children and adolescents in diverse communities. Nancy is currently a School Social Worker and Anti-Bullying Specialist at the same elementary school she attended as a child within Newark Public Schools. In addition, she continues to work as an In-Home Therapist where she provides psychotherapy to children and adolescents with needs within the community. Nancy is the current Co-Chair for the Nat'l Assoc of Social Workers-NJ Chapter where she co-leads service projects, events, and with her unit, works to create change on a macro level. Remaining true to her roots, Nancy lives in Newark, NJ with her husband Sebastian. Her goal remains to deposit back into the heart of the community that deposited so much into her own.