I Support My Friends
A training for children and adolescents on how to support a friend in distress
About
I Support My Friends builds on the principles of Psychological First Aid to equip older children and adolescents with the skills and knowledge to support their friends in distress, under the mentorship and guidance of trusted adults. The four-part resource kit has been jointly developed by UNICEF, Save the Children, the MHPSS Collaborative and WHO. I Support My Friends recognises the agency and capacity of children and adolescents, girls and boys, to develop the skills to support their friends and ensures that they can do so safely with close adult supervision and attention to child safeguarding. The training builds on existing evidence-informed materials as well as our global experience in working with children and adolescents. At its heart lies the globally endorsed principles of LOOK, LISTEN, LINK to guide a humane, practical response to people in distress, as described in Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers and the Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners. I Support My Friends empowers children and adolescents to identify and support their peers in distress whilst recognising the role that they naturally play in the protective networks of their peers.
