Taking Chances

Posted: 23/09/2019

Green Sea Turtle Using her hind flippers, the female buries up to two hundred eggs in the sand. After about two months, the hatchlings emerge and scamper across the sand, taking their chances on reaching the ocean as gulls and crabs prey on them. …Read more

Red Herrings

Posted: 22/07/2019

Red herrings throw us off the scent and distract us from what we need or want to be doing. What red herrings do you use? I picked up Inside Out: A journalling Kit and selected the card about red herrings. It made me think …Read more

‘POSTcards’ a Hit in Residential Services

Posted: 14/06/2019

We really appreciate stories from people who use our resources. This year at Resi Rocks, a professional development day for residential workers in Victoria, hosted by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, I had the pleasure of hearing about POSTcards from …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 is not quite as exhilarating, and definitely not like it ‘used’ to be. 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

How can optimism skills help people?

Posted: 26/09/2018

The research into the psychology of optimism is based on studies into a condition called ‘learned helplessness’. Psychologists and other researchers have discovered that people or animals show changes in behaviour when they decide they can do nothing to improve or change a situation they find themselves in. These changes include lowered …Read more

Self-Care: Not Just an Optional Add-on

Posted: 30/08/2018

Self-care should be seen by practitioners and organisations alike as a fundamental part of human service work, and not just an optional add-on. People in the ‘helping’ professions—such as social workers, counsellors, teachers, carers, and health professionals—juggle many potential challenges everyday including high workloads, …Read more

A Resource for Exploring our Darkest Moments

Posted: 27/06/2018

The stories of how people use materials developed by Innovative Resources never fail to inspire us with their practice wisdom. We received the following stories about using Shadows and Deeper Shadows in family violence situations: From Lili ‘I like Shadows and Deeper Shadows because …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

‘What Works?’ goes digital

Posted: 09/04/2018

Organisations that work well draw on a dynamic combination of strengths. What are the strengths of your organisation? How well does your organisation do with strengths such as planning, leadership, fairness, communication, role clarity, and creativity? What about managing change and resolving disputes? Which …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

The Power and Purpose behind ‘Next Steps’

Posted: 15/09/2017

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

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

Note to Self : Potential

Posted: 28/07/2017

Potential is commonly though of as one’s capacity for achievement. We’ve all heard talk of rising stars in the sporting arena; their limitless talent and ‘huge potential’ paving the way to unprecedented success. Note to Self invites us to think of potential more broadly …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

The Power of Symbols

Posted: 01/05/2017

‘We are surrounded by symbols. They are present in every facet of our existence. At a practical level, they point us in the right direction, they issue caution, they give us choices, and they limit our choices.     Symbols are necessary to navigate …Read more