An introduction to ‘Five to Thrive’, a model, an approach and a framework which is helping practitioners across all sectors to deliver a consistent, science-based, and effective message when working with colleagues, parents, carers and children themselves.

More than 90% of what we know about the brain has been discovered in the last 20 years or so – research in neuroscience is transforming how we think about wellbeing and resilience. One of the key findings is that people need people.

Five to Thrive describes a neurological sequence of relational activities that can be observed every time humans connect to meet an attachment need in another person; young humans need connected relationships to build healthy brains, and all humans need connected relationships to maintain healthy brains and recover from toxic stress (trauma). The simple key words offer a bridge between the professional understanding of neuroscience and everyday experience.

Respond · Engage · Relax · Play · Talk

Five to Thrive:

• as a model supports the ‘noticing’ of connected relationships through strengths-based assessment
• as an approach supports ‘being’ a relationships-based human being
• as a framework supports the ‘teaching’ of how we can build and maintain connected relationships that meets the needs of others