The Languages of Apology

Posted: 22/01/2025

Have you ever said sorry to someone, and yet you know they have not experienced your apology as authentic? Somehow your sincere apology did not land. This may be more likely to happen when the offence is perceived as a grave one. But it …Read more

The Power and Purpose behind ‘Next Steps’

Posted: 01/01/2025

Every step we take follows another. Every step we take precedes another. The smallest shifts—doing some dishes, putting something away, stopping something, starting something, taking a shower—can all be significant events on a continuum of ‘next steps’, representing our unique pathways through life. ‘A …Read more

The Resonance of Opposites

Posted: 23/09/2019

  When it comes to emotions, body signals or moods, it is easy to assume that we feel one thing at a time. But even a cursory look inside ourselves using our amazing super power of ‘interoception’ (that’s our ability to notice what’s happening …Read more

Picture of the Future

Posted: 06/03/2019

Picture this: You are in a room with your extended family. It might be a celebratory lunch, a special birthday, Christmas dinner, or some other festive occasion. And yet, it’s not quite as exhilarating, and definitely not like it ‘used’ to be. The children …Read more

Self-Care at Work: Giving, Receiving and Balance

Posted: 15/02/2019

In our work, regardless of the industry, we often find ourselves being pulled one way and another … both at the same time. How do we look after ourselves so that we don’t ‘snap’ in half? Maybe it’s about balance. Whilst looking through the …Read more

Note to self: I am a Work in Progress

Posted: 23/01/2019

At this time of year we are often asked, ‘What is your New Year’s resolution?’ And, you know, that can often make us think that we have to change something, or that we need to ‘fix’ something about ourselves. I have chosen to believe …Read more

What’s different about the new edition of Reflexions?

Posted: 09/04/2018

If you are a youth worker, counsellor, mentor, teacher, chaplain or welfare coordinator in a school, chances are you’ve come across the Reflexions cards somewhere along the line. You may even have a set kicking around in your tool bag of resources. A new …Read more

One Step at a Time

Posted: 08/11/2017

Sometimes, when you’re feeling stuck, the best thing to do is to get really simple. It may be time to park the big goals, the grand plans, and the long timeframes for now, and come down to simple, practical steps you can take now, …Read more

Using ‘Paperworks’ in Strengths-based Practice

Posted: 31/08/2017

All of the tools published by Innovative Resources have grown out of, or are compatible with, strengths-based practice. Also known as the ‘strengths approach’, this is a way of working that focusses primarily on strengths and hopeful possibilities. It does not ignore difficulties or challenges but the …Read more

Choosing Strengths

Posted: 28/07/2017

The profound and very simple belief at the core of strengths-based practice is that everyone has strengths. What are our strengths and where do they come from? These two questions have fascinated philosophers, psychologists and everyday thinkers for centuries. At first glance many of …Read more

The Gift of Noticing Children’s Strengths

Posted: 05/07/2017

Children thrive when their strengths are valued. Often, the weight of a ‘problem’ can lift considerably when we think of it as a strength yet to be developed. For these reasons many family counsellors, welfare coordinators and support workers encourage parents and carers to …Read more

The Worlds in Which We Live

Posted: 14/06/2017

How easily we can forget that each person’s world is unique and even in the closest of relationships there will be differences in perspective, taste, reactions and desires. This is especially so within the world of home. Parents, partners and children can forget that …Read more

Reflexions – a Tool for Young People

Posted: 24/05/2017

‘The value of Reflexions is found in its ability to build … conversations in new and existing directions.’(Reflexions booklet, p8) Innovative Resources’ cards can act as ‘conversational prompts’. That is, when used in conversations with other people, they can suggest pathways of communication that …Read more

Building Strengths Cultures and Strengths Literacy

Posted: 31/03/2017

‘Everyone benefits in cultures where their strengths are appreciated and noticed. Children, in particular, blossom when they are held in positive regard by the people around them.’  We are surrounded by many different cultures—not only the obvious cultural differences between countries and peoples—but also …Read more

Client-centred, Co-constructed Records

Posted: 27/10/2016

Records have long played an important role in human service work.  Traditionally they contain assessments, plans, reports, letters, decisions and summaries, held in files by an organisation, and maintained by a worker about a client. Most importantly, traditional record keeping tends to focus on ‘the problem’ that …Read more