Strength Cards

Understanding and identifying our strengths can be transformational for anyone. It can build resilience, confidence, and hope in times of struggle.

Strength Cards is a beloved resource and hands-on conversation-building tool for people of any age. This resource includes 54 beautifully illustrated cards showing playful animals in various emotional states. Interacting with the cards and characters encourages users to find solutions, achieve goals, enhance self-esteem and build strength.

Easy to use and flexible, these cards are ideal for multiple activities and environments. Along with the cards, a 38 page booklet is provided to offer helpful suggestions on how to spark life-changing conversations about our strengths.

Grounded in strengths-based theory, Strength Cards can open up conversations about the hard stuff in life and nurture new ways of thinking about life’s possibilities.

The strengths include:

• Forgiving
• Reliable
• Practical
• Caring
• Humble
• Skillful
• Committed
• Relaxed
• Wise
• Open
• Loyal
• Careful
• Thoughtful
• Fair
• Enthusiastic
• Protective
• Responsible
• Loving

The cards can be used for:

• Problem Solving
• Solution Finding
• Goal Setting
• Self-Esteem Building
• Risk Taking
• Undoing Stuckness
• Creative Writing
• Critical Reflection
• Values
• Exploration
• Re-framing
• Evaluation

Suitable for:

• Educators/schools
• Parents and carers
• Preschools
• Health services
• Child and Family services
• Social work
• Team building
• Justice settings
• Pastoral care

“They are quick and easy to use. When your role means you are mobile they can be kept in your bag and are available (at) any time.” Carol Barton, Pupil support, St. Bernadette’s School, Milton Keynes

“I love the Strength Cards and often use them in incredibly simple ways. In psychotherapy sessions I ask clients to pull out from the pack any strengths they recognise in themselves—there’s always far more than they imagine. We then spread them out over the floor and I ask ‘How often do you think of yourself in this way?’ The answer is often ‘never’, said with a certain amount of amazement. It is always an extremely powerful exercise. In couple therapy, I ask couples to choose the five strengths of their relationship. I find this helps to refocus couples on the positive aspects of their relationship and primes them for interacting in strengths-based ways.” Tiffany Rochester, Clinical Psychologist

“I used the Strength Cards in an introductory workshop I was asked to do at Leeds Metropolitan University’s festival for staff development. My session was on the subject of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership. I used the cards to help stimulate participants to identify five talents and to share these in small groups. This helped open up a discussion about why it is so hard to talk about what we do well and the implications of this for our management style.

I used the beautiful Picture This cards later on in the session when I asked the participants to identify images of self-control. The cards were great at moving them beyond the normal brainstorming of words into a more creative space—and the cards looked great as a display! I had to stop people taking them home with them. Several participants commented about how wonderful the cards are.

So a big thank you for producing such beautiful resources. I will be recommending and using them at the Advanced Facilitators programme I am running. I hope this will stimulate some more interest in the UK!” Christine Bell, Director, Real Life Learning (Leeds, UK)