We worked with the Merseyside Youth Association RAISE Team to develop a card game resource based on the Resilience Framework Model originally developed by Hart & Blincow with Thomas in collaboration with Liverpool primary and secondary schools and the MYA YAY Participation group

The game was designed to enable professionals to explain the resilience framework to children & young people in a fun and interactive way. The resource can be used together with the following website; www.resilienceframework.co.uk.

Each coloured card in the deck represents a different compartment of resilience, these include: Basics, Belonging, Learning, Coping, and Core Self. Underpinning all of this are the 4 Noble Truths, these encapsulate the underlying beliefs, values and attitudes needed to make the resilience therapy work.

Finally, rounding out the deck are the ResiliANTS. These ants embody resilience in different ways and can be used to discuss resilience with young children using the provided narratives. These cards also play a vital role in the ‘Chase the AnguishAnt’ game. The cards can be used in a number of ways, but the simplest is to work through the 42 resilience cards with an individual or group, asking them to put them into 3 piles representing; things they have, things that they partially have and things that they don’t have. This then acts as a starting point for work to build resilience, whilst also giving an opportunity to celebrate the resilient traits that they already have.

The project took 4 months to complete and has since been rolled out throughout the Liverpool City Region.