‘Coaching’ for youth and children expands to include ‘smart holidays’

In Portugal, the provision of coaching for children, young people, parents and schools has expanded, and already includes workshops on “smart leisure” for children and adolescents led by psychologists, as well as a national meeting of professionals in September, open to the public.

The Férias Inteligentes workshop, which celebrated its seventh edition in July, is led by clinical and educational psychologists from the Belong Institute, created by the psychologist of the Municipality of Oeiras in Lisbon, who work with each child and young person (up to 15 years old) with a notebook/reflection guide dedicated to the development of emotional intelligence.

The goal, the organization explains on its website, is to develop skills among young people to cope with socialization issues, manage emotions or control behavior.

The studio encourages emotional vocabulary, empathy and social behaviour, as well as increasingly effective expression of feelings and needs, understanding and justifying emotional states and developing emotional self-control, especially emotions such as anger, rage and frustration.

Also with the aim of promoting true transformation in the lives of children, young people, families and schools, the non-profit association APCIJ – Associação Portuguesa de Coaching Infanto Juvenil was created in January 2021, which is holding its second national meeting in Porto on September 21 and 22, opening the second day of the event to the public.

The non-profit association, as one of the people in charge, Erica Cruz, explained to Luce, arose from the need to promote the practice, progress and dissemination of youth, parent and school coaching, proposing to regulate the professional activity through a code of ethics and support for professionals in their development and career advancement.

Coaching is an activity that is already consolidated in Portugal, but still lacks national or global regulation, said Erica Cruz.

This second meeting will focus on issues related to the emotional, social and educational development of children and young people, and the importance of recognising and investing in effective strategies that promote student wellbeing and success.

These meetings provide an opportunity for parents, educators, teachers and the general public to expand and share experiences on how to create a positive and supportive environment for children and young people, the association says.