Life Skills

Life skills are abilities that enable us to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject of life skills varies greatly depending on social norms and community expectations, but overall, skills that function for well-being and aid individuals to develop into active and productive members of their communities are considered as life skills.

While certain life skills programs focus on teaching the prevention of certain behaviors, they can be relatively ineffective. Based upon their research, the Family and Youth Services Bureau, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advocates the theory of Positive Youth Development (PYD) as a replacement for the less effective prevention programs. PYD focuses on the strengths of an individual as opposed to the older decrepit models which tend to focus on the "potential" weaknesses that have yet to be shown. The Family and Youth Services Bureau has found that individuals who were trained in life skills by positive development model identified themselves with a greater sense of confidence, usefulness, sensitivity and openness rather than that of the preventive model.

Looking for additional life skill training videos to enhance your program? View our collection of digital download or streaming products specific to life skills for adults. If you need more assistance or have specific questions about your life skills treatment program, please contact FMS Productions at (800) 421-4609.