ABSTRACT
In the resilience and mentorship literature, over and above anything else, an attachment, or connection, with at least one key person in the life of a child and youth can be transformational, especially if the child or youth does not have that critical bond with a parent or caregiver. This could be a teacher, a coach, a distant relative, a neighbour, or someone just to show that child or youth they are worth something. A criticism of strengths-based practice is that it simply reframes deficit and misery, suggesting that clients are not really expected 'to do the work of transformation and risk action. Rather they are required to reconceptualise their difficulties so that they are sanitized and less threatening to themselves and others'. The strengths-based perspective honours two things: the power of the self to heal and right itself with the help of the environment, and the need for an alliance with the hope that life might really be otherwise.
