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My FRIENDS

Friends Resilience Pty Ltd

My FRIENDS Youth builds resilience and coping skills for handling stress, anxiety, and peer issues.

  • Online

Pricing: Paid

Origin: Developed in Australia for Australian schooling contexts

Affiliations: Approved elsewhere: AIFS, SA

Product type: Program; Posters; Online resources (e.g. videos, games, tools, readings); Activity sheets; Student activities; Professional learning; Whole school approach or initiative; Learning modules; Class lesson plans

Contact details

Friends Resilience Pty Ltd
ABN: 52 112 233 566

https://friendsresilience.org/myfriendsyouth

licensing@friendsresilience.org

Focus areas

  • Positive relationships

  • Belonging and inclusion

  • Bullying and cyber-bullying

  • Mental health literacy and life skills

  • Self-regulation and engagement

  • Resilience and optimism

  • Self-esteem and body image

  • Respectful relationships and consent education

Curriculum alignment

  • Health and PE

Prospective users

Audience: Whole school universal (Tier 1), Whole class universal (Tier 1), Targeted small group early intervention (Tier 2)

Communities: Diverse cultures or language groups

Context: School or centre-based, Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)

Main beneficiaries: Year 5, Year 6, Year 7, Year 8, Year 9, Year 10

Delivery style: Classroom teacher is trained

Aims & approach

My FRIENDS Youth is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioural program for young people aged 10-15 that focuses on self-confidence and positive communication, supporting healthy relationships and strengthening mental health through adolescence and beyond.

Adolescents who complete My FRIENDS Youth are expected to show improved emotional regulation, enhanced coping skills, stronger self-esteem, and healthier peer relationships. The program equips participants with tools for better decision-making and greater resilience.

Facilitators follow the FRIENDS curriculum sequence to support effective skill development:

  • Feelings: Recognising emotions by tuning into body cues and identifying when to self-soothe and self-regulate.
  • Remember to Relax: Practising relaxation techniques to manage intense emotions effectively.
  • Inner Helpful Thoughts: Challenge negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones to build confidence.
  • Explore Solutions and Step Plans: Using step plans and problem-solving strategies to set realistic goals and evaluate solutions to navigate challenges.
  • Now Reward Yourself: Learning to acknowledge and celebrate efforts and successes.
  • Do It Every Day: Integrating skills into daily routines.
  • Stay Strong Inside: Identifying personal strengths and maintaining confidence and self-esteem to stay motivated. Encouraging them to seek support from trusted or like-minded individuals when needed.

The program includes 12 sessions, each approximately one hour in length with flexible delivery duration. The program combines interactive activities, discussions, practical exercises, and home-based tasks. Each student requires their own activity book to support personal engagement and practical skill application.

Allied health and educational professionals can deliver My FRIENDS Youth after completing self-paced online training, which includes modules on theoretical frameworks, content structure, and adherence to the program sequence for effective delivery. After completing the training and passing a short reflective quiz, facilitators receive a certificate and access to essential resources that support program preparation and help ensure a high-quality learning experience.

Parent sessions offered before and during the student program introduce parents to FRIENDS techniques, enabling them to reinforce FRIENDS skills at home, creating a comprehensive approach to resilience building.

Implementation support

  • Access to professional facilitator, instructor or mentor
  • Implementation training webinars or modules
  • Ongoing helpdesk, email or phone support
  • Regular webinars or access to community of professional practice

Evidence

My FRIENDS Youth is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles, emphasising the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours to enhance emotional well-being. It is also built around CASEL's five core social and emotional competencies, incorporating activities that enhance self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

The impact of the program is evidenced by evaluations across various geographical and cultural contexts, references for which include:

  • Kozina, A. (2020). School-based prevention of anxiety using the 'My FRIENDS' emotional resilience program: Six-month follow-up. International Journal of Psychology : Journal International de Psychologie, 55 Suppl 1, 70-77. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12553
  • Maalouf, F. T., Alrojolah, L., Ghandour, L., Afifi, R., Dirani, L. A., Barrett, P., Nakkash, R., Shamseddeen, W., Tabaja, F., Yuen, C. M., & Becker, A. E. (2020). Building Emotional Resilience in Youth in Lebanon: a School-Based Randomized Controlled Trial of the FRIENDS Intervention. Prevention Science : Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 21(5), 650-660. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01123-5
  • Kozina A. (2018). Can the 'My FRIENDS' Anxiety Prevention Programme Also be Used to Prevent Aggression? A Six-Month Follow-Up in a School. School Mental Health, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-018-9272-5