FINALIST 2023
Relationship breakdown is the leading cause of youth homelessness in Scotland. Our work is dedicated to strengthening relationships within families by sharing with young people, parents and carers, and the professionals and practitioners who work with them ideas on how to reduce conflict. One approach we've taken is to look at the science of conflict; by centring family arguments as part of a normal developmental cycle, it takes out some of the judgmental aspect of family disputes that makes conflict resolution difficult.
Our latest project The Three Brains is a psychoeducational resource exploring the importance of the mind-body connection.
The ‘three brains’ in question are your gut, your heart and your actual brain. We’re not claiming that the body has any more actual brains than the one found in your head. When we talk about the body’s ‘three brains’, what we are referring to are the ‘neural networks’ in our brain, heart and gut that communicate with each other via the vagus nerve.
Our mind-body connection is how our head, heart and gut work together to process how to react to the world around us. Our physical and mental health are connected and affect our emotions – with the reverse true too. A better understanding of the mind-body connection can lead to clearer comprehension of how to regulate one’s emotions, and so diminish conflict within the home.
To bring The Three Brains to life, each of the ‘brains’ – actual brain, heart and gut – are transformed into and personified as members of a rock band. The ‘actual brain’ is lead guitarist, the ‘heart’ is the drummer and the ‘gut’ is the bass player. A band was chosen as a metaphor because, like a band, the three parts of the mind-body connection need to be in sync to get the best out of them.
The Three Brains brings together music, science, film, and illustrations for a quirky, entertaining look at emotional regulation and wellbeing. The pages on the SCCR website include an interactive quiz and a look at the science behind The Three Brains. The quiz uses music business scenarios to get young people thinking how they would react in different circumstances.
Conflict as a way of life has become normalised yet it is not the normal way of nurturing and growing human relationships. It happens in all our lives for a myriad of reasons, sometimes with minimal consequences but at times its impact can be devastating and debilitating, making life seem impossible and the future impenetrable.
The SCCR’s ambition is to be a National Resource Centre for best practice in conflict resolution, mediation and early intervention work. We acknowledge the support of the Scottish Government through a CYPFEIF and ALEC Fund Grant.
Built on partnerships with a wide variety of colleagues and collaborators across the country, the SCCR focuses on early intervention with young people and their families experiencing difficulties and conflict that is affecting their relationships and lives.
We align with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
