For over 25 years, recreational therapist Christin Santiago has dedicated her career to working with young people who have been labeled by society such things as “dangerous,” “aggressive,” or “problematic.” In her TED Talk “Empowerment Through Understanding,” she discusses her work with teens and kids who present with challenging behaviors such as tantrums and disruptive behavior, all the way through verbally aggressive, physically aggressive, and violent behavior.
Throughout her career, Santiago has seen the profound impact of negative labeling on young clients. She has noted that labels such as “difficult” and “aggressive” not only affect how mental health professionals behave towards clients but also how the clients themselves adopt the labels and act in accordance with them. The labels become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Santiago shares this observation through the story of “Moore,” a 17-year-old resident of a treatment facility who had been labeled “dangerous.” To others, this label seemed justified:
“Certainly, on paper, Moore has done dangerous things. Moore has thrown chairs, punched people, and said some pretty awful things. So, Moore is definitely living up to this dangerous label.” – Christin Santiago
Santiago emphasizes the importance of shifting from negative perspectives such as these to recognizing and nurturing the positive attributes of young individuals. Santiago encourages professionals to concentrate on “the 95% of the time that the kid does well.” This approach helps identify strengths, abilities, and talents that can be built upon rather than defining young people by their worst moments.
But how do we move beyond labels? Santiago suggests it starts with validation—truly hearing and acknowledging the client’s experience without rushing to fix it. In her TED Talk, she explains:
“So often the person sitting across from us is sharing that they are struggling with something, that they experience a problem that they need to help solve, and all we want to do is solve it for them…Except so often what they just want is someone to listen, someone to be present, someone to be safe, and someone to validate their experience.”
Validation, she says, is both easy and hard. As helping professionals, we are naturally inclined to assist, offer advice, and strive to improve situations. However, it can be hard to sit with people who are struggling. Often, our eagerness to fix things can prevent us from truly understanding what’s happening beneath the surface.
In Moore’s case, Santiago took the time needed to understand and validate Moore’s experience and listening revealed that these dangerous behaviors were rooted in food insecurity. As a child, Moore’s family was poor, and dinners were scarce and frequently involved competition and physical altercations with family members. Once this was understood, the facility’s staff could address the underlying need rather than just react to the behaviors that the “dangerous” label predicted. They found that having nutritious food available all day led to a decrease in Moore’s altercations.
Santiago’s message in both her TED Talk and professional training is clear: labels can become self-fulfilling prophecies, but through understanding and validation, we can help young people write new stories about who they are and who they can become.
“Empowered kids and teens have a positive self-identity. They see themselves as worthy. And isn’t that the best label we could give to someone?“
Learn more about Christin Santiago and available training opportunities here: https://safersociety.org/christin-santiago-ctrs/