Growing Resilience

Many people have never heard of the child life profession; however, it has been around since the 1920's in North America.  Although this profession is predominately in North America, it has reached 26 countries throughout the world.  Child life specialists traditionally worked in hospitals to improve the healthcare experience for children and families.  Today, you can find child life specialists in non-traditional settings like outpatient clinics, dental clinics, schools, national emergency relief efforts, hospices, court systems, private practices and more.  Child life specialists are trained in human development, child development or a related field with a specialization in supporting children and families through healthcare experiences and challenging life events.  They use evidenced based approaches that are therapeutic, educational, and developmentally focused while promoting the psychosocial needs of patients and their families to reduce the impacts of adverse effects that are often associated with healthcare, illness, trauma, and life changing events.  Child life specialists are passionate and driven to enhance healthcare experiences for all involved.