Relationships

Focus for February: Relationships

An important part of growing up is finding good friends. In fact, having at least one good friend can actually improve your health. NBC News Learn explains what a healthy friendship looks like and how to avoid a relationship that isn’t good for you.

Explore resources for how to maintain healthy relationships:

FAMILY

All families are unique. Supporting families involves recognizing that they come in all shapes and sizes, with different needs and circumstances. Family members may not necessarily be biologically related or even live with the child or young person all the time. Some individuals may have one or several parents or caregiver, including grandparents, step-parents, same-sex parents, aunts and uncles, foster parents or adoptive parents.

In healthy family relationships, people trust and rely on each other for support, love, affection and warmth. Families often share common goals and work together to reach those goals. Family members feel safe and connected to one another. Strong family relationships also are a source of comfort, guidance, and strength that you can draw on in times of stress. Likewise, they provide a sense of belonging and unconditional love you are not likely to find anywhere else.

Videos

Organizations

FRIENDS

A healthy friendship is one that is a positive influence in your life. It is a relationship that encourages you to be your best, supports you through good and bad times and allows you to blossom. An important part of any healthy friendship or relationship is the ability to talk and listen to one another. Friendships help people learn to listen and share their feelings. Friends feel safe together and are an important part of each other’s lives. Healthy friendships mean learning to respect and trust each other. Friends are respectful of who each other is and can be themselves around each other.

Organizations

Women’s & Children’s Alliance

Articles

10 Rules for Health Friendships
- Mallory Herrman
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Friendships
- Dr. Jane Bluestein – Instructional Support Services, LLC
Friendship and Mental Health
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Coping with Cliques
- Teens Health
Making Good Friends
- HelpGuide
Healthy Friendships and Relationships
- Connecticut’s Official State Website
Friendships: Enrich your life and improve your health
- May Clinic
Healthy Friendships
- Youth First
Setting Boundaries with Friends Isn’t Easy, Here’s How to Do It
- MyDomaine

Toolkits/Activities

Videos

- 4 Differences Between Good Friends and Toxic Friends (5:32)
  - Psych2Go
- What Teens Think About Healthy Relationships (2:03)
  - My Health for Teens & Young Adults
- What Makes a Relationship Healthy? (2:16)
  - National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- 10 Differences Between Good Friends and Toxic Friends (5:30)
  - Bright Side
- Healthy v. Unhealthy Relationships (2:16)
  - AMAZE Org
- Working Toward Healthy Relationships (2:54)
  - Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart
- Four Types of Boundaries – Healthy Relationships (3:37)
  - - Dr. Ashley Solomon
Books
- - The Teen Girl’s Survival Guide: Ten Tips for Making Friends, Avoiding Drama, and Coping with Social Stress
    by Lucie Hemmen, PhD
  - The Friendship Formula
    by Kyler Shumway, MA
  - Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: The Real Deal Friends: Best, Worst, Old, New, Lost, False, True and More
    by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Deborah Reber
  - Peer Pressure vs. True Friendship! Surviving Junior High: A self help guide for teens, parents & teachers
    by Orly Katz
  - I Hear You: The Surprisingly Simple Skill Behind Extraordinary Relationships
    by Michael S. Sorensen

COMMUNITY

Being part of a community gives us a sense of belonging. It enables us to share personal relatedness and support perpetual growth of each other, ourselves and our environment. Community relationships embrace spirit, character, image and pride and are a vital element of a healthy community. It is a feeling that people within the community matter to one another with a shared faith that their needs will be met through commitment and togetherness. Being a part of a community can make us feel as though we are a part of something greater than ourselves. Community relationships provide unique opportunities for people to learn from each other. They give support and encouragement and are an invaluable part of joining forces with our peers.

Organizations

Articles

Fostering Intergroup Contact in Diverse Schools
- The Century Foundation
Learning by Design: Inclusive Relationships
- Meteor Education
The Importance of Building a Diverse Community
- Think Bilingual
Community Relationships and Resources
- Impact on Health & Wellness
Native American Communities
- love is respect
The Value of Inclusive Education
- Open Society Foundations
Getting Along with Your Teachers
- Teens Health

Videos

Toolkits/Activities

Let’s Talk: A Teaching Tolerance Guide

What is a Welcoming and Inclusive Community?

Books

ROMANTIC

Like other relationships in our lives, romantic relationships play an important role in fulfilling our needs for intimacy and social connection. Humans have an inherent need to build relationships, and when these relationships are healthy it can lead to better mental health and emotional wellbeing. A positive relationship can be shared between any two people who support, love, and encourage each other. Being in a loving and healthy romantic relationship can give a person a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

If you are concerned that your or someone you know is in an unhealthy relationship here are hotlines that are free, private and available 24 hours per day:

National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673)

National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233)

ChildHelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4663)

Love is Respect 1-866-331-9474 (1-866-331-8453 TTY).