Our Curriculum
Comfort is a human care behavior and teachable skill
The beauty of this skill is that it actually requires a compassionate connection between two individuals. The dangerous trends of anxiety, depression, loneliness, isolation, and self-harm are having devastating consequences on our collective mental health. At the current rate, without intervening, isolation and self-absorption will overtake our culture. There has never been a more critical time to teach this essential human care behavior. Through this powerful program created by Inspiring Comfort, students will learn to recognize and act to not only help one another, but also to define themselves as powerful agents of change in our society.
At the conclusion of the program participants will
Articulate the statement of comfort and the human characteristics this skill carries with it
Recognize the characteristics of dogs as teachers and emotional responders to humans in need
Explain The Awkward Zone™ and the 3 ways in which we can respond when we find ourselves stuck in it
Recognize the 20 barriers we experience to comforting others
Identify the 5 steps to comfort, using the circle of comfort for support
Recognize the 10 pitfalls of comforting
Explain the science behind the Circle and the skill of comforting another human in distress or need
Differentiate between the functions of the heart and the functions of the brain when caring for others
Identify the ways to recognize the signals of those in need of comfort
Identify all the verbal and non-verbal ways humans can use their bodies and their senses to initiate a comfort response
Apply the skill, by mapping out a personal plan of readiness in order to comfort
At the conclusion of the program participants will
Create
Create compassionate connections with 5 individuals whom they identify as in need of comfort
Blueprint
Create a personal comforting blueprint based on their own individual strengths
Action Plan
Commit to and implement a comfort resolution and action plan for the next 90 days
What we do
Teach and provide comfort through an evidenced-based curriculum
Where we work
Teaching and providing comfort to the next generation
We work directly with:
Public school systems
Private school systems
Home school communities
After school programs
Church youth groups
Troubled youth programs
Daycare programs
FCA groups
Summer camps
Special needs programs
Sensory rooms
Boys and Girls Club
Spotlight Story
Althea’s Story
A story of how 13-year-old Althea told Alby Comfort Dog a deep, dark secret that ultimately freed her from her abuser.