Helping Foster Youth Build a Sense of Self Through Mentorship

Many children who have experienced foster care, adoption, abuse, neglect, or abandonment haven’t had the opportunity to discover who they are or what they’re good at. Instead of exploring interests and strengths, they learned how to survive — often by giving the “right” answer rather than the true one.

In this episode, we talk about why developing a sense of self is so important for children with developmental trauma and how mentors can support strength-building in safe, relational ways. We share practical strategies mentors can use in sessions, including Stable Moments’ All About Me activity, and why noticing and naming a child’s strengths in real time can be life-changing.

Whether you’re a mentor, foster parent, or professional supporting children in care, this conversation will help you better understand how identity, confidence, and self-worth develop through consistent, trauma-informed relationships.

Topics covered include:

• Why kids with trauma often believe they’re “not good at anything”
• How survival behaviors impact identity development
• Helping kids answer “What do you like?” authentically
• Using the All About Me activity to support self-discovery
• Why naming strengths builds confidence and trust

#StableMoments #TraumaInformed #Mentorship #FosterCare #Adoption #ChildDevelopment #HealingRelationships