Simply Self-Soothe by Patsy Ferrell & Jerry Leggett

Foreword

This teen crisis kit grows out of my work as a Crisis Mobile Outreach (CMO) supervisor for Child and Family Service on Hawaii Island.  As an on-call Mental Health Professional, it was my privilege to facilitate hundreds of face-to-face crisis interventions with teens and their caregivers.  The experiential exercises in this kit draw upon evidence-based, therapeutic resources much like those that our CMO team relied on.  They are meant to empower teens to find the satisfaction and comfort of being better able to manage their emotions and behavior in times of distress and changing circumstances.

Special thanks to Patsy A Ferrell, MSW, LCSW, who designed these simple, experiential exercises to help youth manage distress.  Patsy’s clinical work in the field of trauma for nearly two decades has given this resource the therapeutic depth that youth who are in crisis deserve.

We also express deep appreciation to the other mental health professionals and trauma-informed-care specialists on Hawaii Island who reviewed TPeace911 and kindly offered their clinical insight.

 This will continue to be a work in progress and we welcome your input for it’s second edition. 

Jerry Leggett, CEO & President, 21st Century Peace Literacy Foundation

Note: The “Simply Self-Soothe” Exercises in this kit may be valuable for adults as well as older children and teens.