Foundations for Life: Exploring Adversity and Resilience

Snapshot of Content

• Early childhood and adolescence as important windows for development

• The impacts of adversity and stress on lifelong health

• Risk and protective factors across multiple contexts and levels: child, parental/caregiver, societal, systemic/structural historical

• Protective factors that can buffer negative effects, including the role of supportive relationships and environments to support resilience

• Reflective practice discussion

Description

This workshop explores how early experiences — positive or negative — can influence health and wellbeing across a lifetime. Drawing on research and practical examples, participants consider how adversity, such as stress, poverty, or systemic inequities, can impact development, and how protective factors can buffer these effects. The session invites reflection on how professional roles can help create safer, more nurturing environments that strengthen resilience. In the full-day (8 hours) extension, we further explore risk and protective factors, case studies, scenarios, frameworks, and models to inform reflective practice.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand how early experiences influence lifelong health and wellbeing

• Recognise different forms and impacts of adversity

• Consider individual differences, increased risks for certain groups, & broader factors like poverty and systemic inequities

• Deepen understanding of protective factors that support tamariki, particularly those facing adversity

• Explore opportunities in their role to contribute to supportive environments, systems and professional practice