Life skills resources for mental health, transitional populations, and ADL
A New Freedom Life Skills Curriculum covers a wide array from developing coping skills and communication skills to vocational readiness,
stress management, anger management and money management.
These resources provide comprehensive programs for adults and juveniles to develop skills for daily living. The curriculum is designed to address critical life and
lifestyle issues. The overall objective is to help participants improve their general health and happiness as functioning members of society.
The skills and concepts taught here are the basics of a healthy and happy life. Each lesson comprises a lesson plan with a detailed narrative for the counselor or teacher, and a handout, worksheet,
or
other activity for the learners. Designed to maintain attention and promote active involvement, each hour-long lesson is based on identified behavioral objectives.
HYGIENE
- Introduction
- A clean body
- Taking care of your hair
- Taking good care of your face
|
Taking good care of your teeth
Taking good care of your clothing
Cleaning your clothes
Worksheet: Self-care (change) action plan
|
NUTRITION
- A simple and proper diet
- Going shopping for food
- Easy meals - breakfast
- Easy meals - lunch
|
Easy meals - dinner
Easy meals - snacks
Food storage and kitchen cleanup
Eating out
Worksheet: Shopping/nutrition action plan
|
PERSONAL ORGANIZATION
- Choosing your clothing
- Get yourself together
- Having a backup plan
- Making use of community resources
- Affirming yourself
|
Worksheet: Taking charge of your life: your mind, your body, your future
Worksheet: Purpose and direction
Worksheet: Taking the initiative
Worksheet: Turning points
Worksheet: What’s really important to me?
Worksheet: Making changes
|
PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH
- Visiting the doctor and other health care people
- At the office of your doctor or other health care professional
- After the visit
- Taking your meds
- How am I doing today?
|
What to do when you are having bad feelings
Worksheet: Stress and health
Worksheet: Making a choice
Worksheet: Where am I? (self-checklist)
Worksheet: Self-efficacy worksheet
Worksheet: Short health topics (*see list below)
|
MONEY MANAGEMENT
- Keeping track of everyday spending
- Travel expenses
- Clothing costs
- Household furnishings
- Summary activity
|
When you need more money
Becoming “Money Smart”
Your budget
Money action plan
Worksheet: Where are you now? Where do you want to be?
|
INDEPENDENT LIVING
- What makes a “home?”
- Safety in your home
- Safety in your neighborhood
|
Apartment living guidelines
Moving in
Keeping your apartment clean
|
LEISURE TIME
- Seeking happiness and contentment
- Identifying your needs and wants: for happiness, contentment, and comfort
- Making your dreams come true
- Increasing the joy in your life
- Your most important values
- Adding balance to your life with new activities
|
Worksheet: Dealing with crises
Worksheet: Taking the initiative
Worksheet: Joy and humor
Worksheet: New activities
Worksheet: The basic recipe for meeting new people
|
HANDLING THE TOUGH TIMES
- What’s happened to you?
- What pushes your buttons?
- Living smarter. Living longer
- How am I doing today?
- What to do when you are having bad feelings
- Get yourself together
- Making use of community resources
|
External supports
How to be good to yourself
Handling difficult situations
Worksheet: Your internal resources
Worksheet: The rest of your life can be the best of your life
Worksheet: Let’s check your confidence
Worksheet: Connections: a key protective factor
|
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Set 1:
- Introduction to Anger
- Basic skills for better communication - problem identification
- Basic skills for better communication
- Basic skills for better communication
- Becoming a better listener
- Becoming a better listener
- Becoming a better listener
- Becoming a better listener
- Learning to be assertive
- Learning to be assertive
- Learning to be assertive
|
Set 2:
Where does your anger come from?
Where does your anger come from?
Before you get angry
Where does your anger go?
How to keep out of fights
How to keep out of fights
When you are accused of something
When you are accused of something
Handling provocations
Handling provocations |
Set 3:
When someone else is angry at you
Preparing yourself for a stressful conversation
When you need to express a complaint
Handling peer pressure
Offering specific help
When you have made a mistake/When others have made a mistake
Assertion skills practice: broken record
Assertion skills practice: fogging
Protecting your boundaries
Protecting your boundaries - part 2
Conflict resolution practice
Refusal skills #1 - when you can be totally honest with them
Refusal skills #2
Refusal skills #3
Using your escape skills |
Set 4:
When you have set yourself up or embarrassed yourself by saying something
When you have set yourself up or embarrassed yourself by doing something
When you have not done well
Adding balance to your life with new activities
Introduction to stress management
What is stress doing to you?
How have you “coped” in the past?
Coping skill - Slowing it down #1
Coping skill - Warning yourself
Breathing skill for relaxation
Muscle Relaxation
Coping skill - slowing it down #2
Coping skills - the basic stop
Having a backup plan
|
PERSONAL PREPARATION PROGRAM (Job seeking/job maintenance)
- Getting started: developing a vision of what’s possible
- Let’s look at your skills
- What kind of work would you like to do?
- Job values
- Motivation: developing a positive attitude is a critical part of the process
- Thinking realistically about work
- Practical aspects of finding a job
- Personal marketing for jobs—one step at a time
- Have a “Data Sheet” you can bring to every contact and meeting
- Resumes for certain kinds of jobs
|
Interviews (typically provided over two sessions)
Keeping a job!
Common interview questions, part 1
Common interview questions, part 2
Your job success skills report card
Ideal job worksheet
Role play situations
Job ethics: discussion questions
Checklist for facing the future (optional lesson)
Summary checklist
|
COPING SKILLS
- 4-7-8 Technique
- Affirmations (optional skill)
- Anchoring
- Assessing your symptoms practice (FID)*
- Deep breathing for relaxation
- Distraction skills (3 parts)
|
Combined skills script
Creative visualization script
Muscle relaxation for relaxation
Self-soothing
Self-suggestion (for relaxation)
Thought stopping
|
SHORT HEALTH TOPICS
(Some are focused on the older population, others apply to everybody)
- diabetes
- asthma
- arthritic, bones, joints
- urinary tract; prostate.
- bowel problems
- cancers
- heart, circulation
- poor diet habits
- consequence of poor lifestyle choices before incarceration (smoking, alcohol/drug use/.abuse)
- lack of preventative and positive health care practices
- infectious diseases
|
preparedness for aging: anticipating possible cognitive changes (slowing down, dementia, etc.)
body changes with aging (sensitivity to heat, cold, pain)
eating issues (taste, dental, swallowing, gastrointestinal, weight loss)
risks and problems associated with falls
lower level of activity
lack of exercise
deceased muscle strength; fitness
increased amounts and types of meds
changes in the nervous system (tremors, dementia stroke, Parkinsons)
vision changes
hearing loss
|
A New Freedom • © 1995-2024 A. R. Phoenix Resources, Inc. • All Rights Reserved •Any questions? Contact us!
|
