Strengthening Family Resilience: Nurturing Growth Through Adversity

1. Strengthening Family Resilience Facilitating Healing & Positive Growth From Adversity Centro di Psicologia e Analisi Transazionale Milan, Italy ~ June 25, 2012 Froma Walsh, PhD Co-Director, Chicago Center for Family Health Firestone Professor Emerita, The University of Chicago fwalsh@uchicago.edu www.ccfhchicago.org

3. Myth: Healthy Families are Problem-Free

5. Chronic Stress -- The “New Normal”

6. ResilienceStrengths in the context of adversityThe ability to withstandand rebound from stressful life challenges ---emergingstrengthened and more resourceful

7. Crisis = Challenge + Opportunity ! ResilienceHow we Deal with AdversityCoping + Adaptation + Positive GrowthMore than Surviving: Ability to ThriveTransformation

8. Varied Images of Resilience ~Popularview: “Just Bounce back!” ~ “A tree that bends in the storm but does not break” ~ “Suffering that is deep but not without hope” ~ “Fall down 5 times; get up 6 times!”

9. Many Varied Pathways in Resilience: Positive Development ~ Future Life Vision

10. Myth: The Rugged Individual Invulnerable Self-Reliant

11. “We encourage people to rescue themselves”

13. Studies of Resilient Youth: Models and Mentors

14. Resilience is Nurtured in Relationships: To thrive, Individuals need “Relational Lifelines”: Supportive Bonds, Models & Mentors who: • Believe in their Worth and Potential • Draw out, Affirm Strengths, Abilities • Inspire Hopes and Dreams • Encourage Best Efforts • See Failures as Opportunities for Learning, Growth • Celebrate Successes

15. Nourishing Bonds

16. Relational Resilience: Mutual Support

17. Identify and Draw on Extended Family Resources

18. Guardian Angel

19. Multigenerational Family Tree

20. Family Photos, Stories of Resilience

21. Bonds with Companion Animals

23. Pet Role -- Child Resilience in Family Transition

24. Strengthen: Family Community Cultural & Spiritual Resources

25. Strengthening Resilience: Relational Lifelines~~~~~~~~~~ Facilitate coping and positive growth Through Vital Connections: • Family network • Social and community • Cultural and Spiritual

26. Family Resilience Team EffortCollaborationMutual Support Leadership

27. Walsh Family Resilience Framework • Integrates 3 decades of research on resilience & effective family functioning to inform, guide clinical & community-based services, prevention programs • Identify & strengthen key family processes & multi-systemic resources for coping, adaptation, and positive growth • Use in Community-based settings; wide range of applications, formats: • Family Consultation; Brief Counseling; Family Therapy • Multi-family Groups; Workshops; Community Forums

28. Family ResilienceStrengths & Resources for Families to Thrivein the face of AdversityRebound from Crises Navigate Disruptive Changes Weather Multi-stress Conditions Overcome Obstacles to Success

29. Chicago Center for Family HealthResilience-Oriented Program Applications • Recover from Crisis, Trauma, Loss • Traumatic Loss; Community Disaster • Refugees; War-related trauma; Military families • Navigate Disruptive Life Changes • Migration; Separation / Divorce; Foster Care • Cope, manage Multi-Stress Conditions • e.g. Chronic illness, Disabilities • Financial strain, Unemployment • Ongoing complex trauma; Neighborhood blight • Overcome Barriers to Success • At-risk youth: Family - School Partnership; • L.A. Gang Prevention / Youth Development

30. KEYS TO FAMILY RESILIENCE Belief Systems 1. Making Meaning of Crisis & Challenge 2. Positive Outlook: Hope – Master the Possible 3. Transcendence & Spirituality Organizational Resources 4. Flexibility / Stability 5. Connectedness; Leadership 6. Kin, Social, & Economic Resources: “Lifelines” Communication Processes 7. Clear, consistent messages 8. Emotional Sharing; Pain /Humor / Joy /respite 9. Collaborative Problem-solving / Proaction

31. Belief Systems The Heart and Soul of Resilience Rooted in Cultural & Spiritual Heritage Multigenerational Legacies Dominant Society Norms, Values, Biases Past Experience & Future Expectations

32. The Power of Beliefs Seeing is believing ~ Western view We must believe in something To be able to see it ~ Native American view We do not see things as they are -- We see them as we are. ~ The Talmud

33. 1. Meaning -Making • Encourage Relational View of Resilience • Normalize, Contextualize Distress, • De-pathologize •  Blame, Shame, Stigma, Guilt • GainSense of Coherence • ViewCrisis as Shared Challenges: • Meaningful, Comprehensible, Manageable • Appraise Situation; Options: Facilitative vs. Constraining Beliefs: • Explain Events, causal: • Future expectations / catastrophic fears: What can we do? Active Agency

34. 2. Positive Outlook • Instill Hope; • En-Courage; buildConfidence • Affirm Strengths, Abilities; • Build on Potential • Active Initiative & Perseverance • Seize Opportunities • Master the Possible Accept what can't be changed Tolerate uncertainty

39. Master the Art of the Possible:Do all you can With what you have In the time you have In the place you are

40. 3. Transcendence ~ Spirituality • Larger Values, Purpose • Spiritual Resources: Faith, Practices, Community, Nature • Inspiration: Envision New Possibilities • Aspirations: Role Models, Life dreams • Invention; Innovative Solutions • CreativeExpression--writing, art, music • Transformation:Learning, Change, & Growth • Redirect life priorities; deepen bonds • CompassionActs to Benefit Others • Service, activism, social justice

41. Spirituality: a Dimension of Human Experience We are Bio-psycho-social-spiritual Beings ~~~~~~~~~~ • Streams of influence flowing through all aspects of life • Family & Cultural Heritage • Transcendent Beliefs, Spiritual Practices, Community • Within or outside religion: we can express: • humanistic values, nature, the arts, social action • Fosters Meaning, Wholeness, Harmony • Deep Connection within Self & With all Others • Influences Suffering; Promotes Healing & Resilience

42. Family Organization Relational Shock Absorbers • 4. Flexibility -- to change, Adapt • ProvideStability --Structure, Reliability • Leadership - Nurture, Protect, Guide • 5. Connectedness-- Mutual Support • Commitment, collaboration, caregiving • Social, Community, Larger Systems Workplace, Healthcare, Child / Elder care • Overcome odds / Change odds to thrive

43. Communication Processes 7. Clear, consistent messages -- Information: Truth seeking / speaking 8. Share Feelings; Respect Differences -- Suffering, Struggle, Fear, Regrets -- Pride, Appreciation, Joy, Humor, Fun -- Respite: Refuel Energies & Spirit 9. Collaborative Problem-Solving -- Build Resourcefulness -- Celebrate successes; learn from mistakes -- Be Proactive: Planning, Preparedness

44. Families are Sanctuariesof Life and Love

45. Family Resilience Practice Framework • Shift Focus from family Deficits, Limitations • to Strengths, Potential, Hopes & Dreams • Developmental, Systemic Perspective • Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Influences • Family Challenged by Adversity –timeline: stress events • Family Response: Facilitates Adaptation • of all Members, Relationships, Family Unit • Relational View of Human Resilience • Resilience-focused genogram: identify kin, social, community, spiritual resources • Recruit models, mentors • Build relational life-lines, teams, networks

46. Varied Challenges and Pathways in Resilience: • No single model fits all families, their values, situations, & challenges • Prevention: • By strengthening resilience, • families and their members become more resourceful • to meet future challenges.

47. Facilitating Family Resilience : Practice Guidelines • Core Conviction in Strengths, Potential of all Families, • alongside Vulnerabilities, Limitations • Language, Framing to Depathologize, Humanize • Contextualize Distress; Decrease Shame, Blame • Compassion for Suffering, Struggle, Losses • View Crisis as Opportunity: Learning, Healing, & Positive Growth • Shift Focus from Problems to Possibilities • for Mastery, Thriving, Relational Repair • Steps toward Future Vision: Hopes and Dreams • Integrate Challenges and Resilience into the Fabric of Personal & Relational Lives.

48. Guidelines to Facilitate Healing, Resiliencefrom Complicated or Traumatic Loss Start by grounding in their family, community, cultural, & spiritual connections. Invite them to share their loss experience. Offer compassionate witnessing of recent (& ongoing) losses, hardships, or injustices suffered. Draw out, affirm strengths in coping efforts; Link with kin, community resources Re-member persons & relationships lost; Continuing Bonds: Spiritual connection, Stories, Deeds Future orientation: renew / revise hopes, dreams

49. Resilience of the Human Spirit Let nothing dim the light that shines from within ~ Maya Angelou

50. The Power Of Connection