In this episode Julie and Ginger interview ATN’s dear friend, Dr. Melissa Sadin. Melissa teaches us about Hope Theory based on the work of Gwinn and Hellman and their book Hope Rising. You can check out Dr. Sadin’s books and work here: http://www.traumasensitive.com/, https://a.co/d/9x4lPtk.

What is the definition of hope? Hope is setting a goal that you desire, creating a pathway toward the goal, and utilizing the willpower necessary to achieve the goal through connection to another person.

Dr. Sadin further states that Hope Builds Resilience and Resilience Builds Hope. She tells us that through the following three-step process we can build hope and resilience in our children at home and students at school:

1. Set an achievable goal

2. Set the pathway -the WAYPOWER

3. Get a cheerleader- the WILLPOWER, who will help revise and check-in

Melissa teaches us that:

- Hope builds executive functioning capacity

- Students with high hope have better attendance than students with low hope

- Students with high hope have better academic outcomes than students with low hope- despite cognitive ability

- Students with hope are more likely to find success in career or college sooner than students with low hope

Listen in and join us in building hope!