FRIENDS for Life 7-12 Years

There are three developmentally tailored versions of the FRIENDS programs – Fun Friends for 4-7 year olds, FRIENDS for Life for 7-12 year olds and My FRIENDS for 12-17 year olds.

FRIENDS for Life is a cognitive-behavioural program for children and adolescents developed by world-renowned child psychologist Professor Paula Barrett. FRIENDS focuses on teaching children life skills to help build resilience and prevent anxiety and depression.

Developed in Brisbane, Australia and used in schools worldwide, FRIENDS is the only anxiety prevention program acknowledged by the World Health Organisation for its 12 years of comprehensive evaluation and practice. Its strong evidence base demonstrates the program’s effectiveness in building resilience, and reducing the onset of youth anxiety and depression in a range of contexts.

The FRIENDS program is designed to build resilience, self-esteem and confidence, and to increase children’s ability to cope effectively with stress, daily challenges, and difficult life events. It is an empowering program for children, families and teachers. Some of the practical and useful strategies taught in the program include:

1. Recognising and managing emotions;
2. Social skills;
3. Relaxation;
4. Positive thinking;
5. Problem solving; and
6. Goal-setting.

FRIENDS is manual-based, and available for both primary (Child version) and high school (Youth version) students. The programs are well-matched to educational goals and curriculum guidelines, and the program complements and enhances learning in schools. Click here to see how the FRIENDS program fits in with the school curriculum.

The Pathways to Resilience Trust is a certified licensee of the FRIENDS programs, and provides facilitator training accredited by Pathways Health and Research Centre.

For more information on FRIENDS for Life, please visit the official program website: www.friendsinfo.net