The summer of 2025 was, for us, filled with trainings we organized for social workers, teachers, educators, and school counselors – professionals who carry the important responsibility of working directly with children and adolescents.
Some of them learned to practice the I Support My Friends methodology – an approach that encourages children and young people to pay attention to the needs of their peers and to support one another’s emotional wellbeing and safety.
This method is based on a simple but often overlooked reality: children naturally play an essential role in the protection networks of other children. Through interactive exercises, applied discussions, and case studies, participants explored together how to identify children in distress, how to provide safe and empathetic peer support, and what role adults have in guiding and encouraging this process.
We spoke with Ana Maria Gabor, a social worker at the Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection, Sector 6, and one of the participants in the “I Support My Friends” training, to learn what this methodology meant for her and how it could be applied to children and young people living in the state protection system.
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How do you think the I support my friends methodology could be adapted to the needs of the children you work with?
In the social field, the I support my friends methodology would be particularly useful in day centers or residential centers to create a supportive peer-to-peer environment. In our centers, children already know each other and there is always at least one informal leader within the group. This methodology would help them understand how they can support one another when facing age-specific challenges or socio-family difficulties.
Which activities or tools from the program do you think have the greatest impact on children’s emotional wellbeing?
From my perspective, all the information and exercises we practiced during the training have a strong impact, though I would adapt or prioritize them depending on the specific needs of each group of children.
I believe the activities focused on recognizing and validating emotions will be essential, as they help children become more attentive to the wellbeing of their group.
I also think the exercises about rescue interventions will have a powerful effect, as they allow children to reflect on the risks they may be exposed to.
In what way do mentoring and adult involvement contribute to the successful application of this methodology?
Adults who interact with children in day or residential centers are already their mentors. What “I Support My Friends” brings new is drawing the group’s attention to the importance of emotional safety as a stage of growth and personal development.
Mentors can empower children to become peer-supporters for their colleagues. In this way, the methodology helps adults model desirable group cohesion through responsibility, empathy, and trust-building between children and their adult caregivers.
It also supports the correct identification of the limits of children’s interventions and the key moments when adults need to step in.
Therefore, “I Support My Friends” is both a guide for exploring, accepting, and validating emotions and a way to create a safe environment – not only physically, but also emotionally – for children and their mentors.
The training attended by social worker Ana Maria Gabor is part of the Unity in Care project, co-funded by the European Union. The project introduces preventive support measures delivered by both mental health professionals and non-specialists, including local NGOs, with the aim of strengthening the resilience of vulnerable children and young people.
