Relationships in Practice supports ACE awareness with Resilience documentary screenings in 2023

Relationships in Practice supports ACE awareness with Resilience documentary screenings in 2023

Relationships in Practice, a programme that supports frontline practitioners to take a relationship-centred approach in their work, will run a series of free and facilitated online screenings of the award-winning documentary, ‘Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope’ in 2023.  To find out more about the documentary, please visit their website here. You can also view the trailer for the documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YZ2rn5R2M

As licence holders of the documentary, Relationship in Practice’s five online screenings via Zoom will form part of their advocacy work to help raise awareness of how positive relationships can buffer the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress.

A unique aspect of the screenings is that Relationships in Practice facilitates on-line break-out rooms to provide an opportunity for people to reflect on and absorb the impact of the contents on them.  There is a requirement of a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 30 participants to ensure maximum benefit to attendees.

Fern Higgins Atkinson, Relationships in Practice programme manager said:” We are inviting interested organisations within health, social care and education to collaborate with us to view the documentary in what will be safe and supportive online spaces. One of the key messages in the documentary is one of hope: quality relationships make a difference to those who have experienced adverse childhood experiences, acting as buffer and a protective factor in their lives. We want to share this important message with a wide range of multidisciplinary practitioners, many of whom are already well-placed in the community to support people with ACEs.

“Research shows that ACE awareness leads to a more compassionate and empathic approach where a frontline practitioner such as a GP, a healthcare worker, social worker or a teacher, might wonder what has happened to someone, rather than what is wrong with them. This element of compassionate curiosity can be powerful and transformative.”

Earlier this year, Relationships in Practice won the overall Grand Prix award and took Gold in the Best Community Health category of the All Ireland Community & Council Awards for its ‘Relationships matter: building ACE awareness in the community’ initiative.

They have shared the Resilience documentary with 625 frontline practitioners over the last three years. With an emphasis on early intervention, attendees have included early years professionals, teachers, youth & community development workers, family resources workers, healthcare and allied professionals, social care and social work teams, speech & language therapists and many more disciplines.

Any organisations or frontline practitioners interested in securing a place at one of the online screenings in 2023, please contact Norma Roche at norma.roche@relationshipsinpractice.ie or phone her on 085 8619463.