The Resilience Project

A Community Health Initiative from the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The Resilience Project is an innovative school and community-based program that promotes the emotional health and well-being of children, teens and those who support them.

Support for students, parents, educators, counselors and communities

Our team of mental health specialists partner with parents, caregivers and schools in the greater Newton-Wellesley Hospital community. We provide educational programming, expert clinical consultation, and targeted resources to reduce stigma, increase access to high-quality mental health care, and empower young people to become more resilient. Learn more and follow us on Facebook.

Current Parent and Caregiver Workshops

Our “Raising Resilient Teens” and “Raising Resilient Kids” workshops are seven-week skills-based groups for parents that we offer throughout the year. The workshops provide education on normative child development and different ways parents can foster the parent-child relationship and support resilience-building in their kids and teens.

"Raising Resilient Kids" is designed for parents and caregivers of school-aged children (grades K-5/6), while "Raising Resilient Teens" is designed for parents and caregivers of tweens and teens. The total cost of the 7-week workshop is $160 and covers up to 2 parents/caregivers per household. If a parent/caregiver in another household would like to participate, they will need to register and pay separately; they will be mailed their own set of resources and materials. Email NWHResilienceproject@partners.org with any questions.

Annual Educational Summit

Our 8th Annual Educational Summit will be held March 8, 2024

Every school year, The Resilience Project hosts a professional development conference for school personnel and community partners to learn from leading experts in the fields of mental health, education, and child and adolescent development and collaborate with colleagues about specific school innovations, best practices and future directions. Continuing Education credits are offered for some professions and are announced at the time of registration.

Why Resilience?

Good mental health is not just the absence of illness, but instead the presence of well-being. Resilience – the ability to cope and adapt in the setting of adversity – is one measure of mental health. Every individual has a capacity for resilience, but it needs nurturing and cultivation through childhood, and into adulthood. Parents, peers and other caring adults play vital roles in helping to cultivate resilience in children and adolescents.

Make a donation to the Resilience Project

Why Schools?

We recognize that schools are where children and adolescents spend most of their waking time, and are the place where they connect with peers and caring adults other than their parents. Beyond academics, schools play a leading role in each child’s emotional, social, behavioral and cognitive development. Schools also serve as important resources when our youth are managing mental health challenges.

Why Parents?

This goes without saying: parents have a pivotal role in building and supporting healthy habits, resiliency and positive coping in their children. We recognize the powerful ways parents shape their children, as well how difficult it sometimes is to be a parent: managing conflict, having difficult conversations, knowing when and how to set limits, even worrying about how to best support a child. The Resilience Project is designed to complement schools in providing education and support to parents in their efforts to raise healthy, resilient children.