Sanctuary's S.E.L.F. Framework

The S.E.L.F. framework is a tool within the Sanctuary model that can assist with challenges or conflicts and help us to work through issues more easily. It can help us get out of the maze of confusing problems, like a compass, pointing us in the right direction. S.E.L.F. stands for safety, emotion management, loss and future.

The framework is about constant movement through the four areas without getting stuck. Much of what we yearn for is just outside our comfort zone. One way to get there is to stretch. If you stretch, you get a glimpse of infinite possibilities for growth and change. Watch the video above, then identify an issue and move through the questions in the worksheet below to discover a new way forward.

The four key domains of healing:

• Safety: attaining physical, psychological, social, cultural and moral safety in self, relationships, and the environment
• Emotional management: identifying levels of various emotions and regulating emotion in response to memories, persons and events
• Loss: feeling grief and dealing with personal losses and recognising that all change involves loss
• Future: trying out new roles, ways of relating and behaving as a “survivor” to ensure personal, professional and organisational safety and to help others.