Cover

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I - What We Can Learn from Resilient People

Chapter 1 - Understanding Resilience

Definitions of Resilience

Attributes of Resilient People

Coping with Stress as an Additional Aspect of Resilience

Examples of Resilient Responses of Traumatized Adolescents

The Qualities That Help Adolescents Survive

Humor

A Past, Present, or Future Orientation to Life

Religion and Spirituality

Empathy

Seeking Others for Help and Comfort

Talking about Traumas and Other Bad Experiences

Finding People Who Helped

Handling Stress

Summary

Part II - How Resilient People Use Culture, Spirituality, and Support Systems to Improve Their Social and Emotional Functioning

Chapter 2 - Resilience and the Impact of Spiritual and Religious Beliefs on Health and Mental Health

The Impact of Spirituality and Religious Involvement on Health and Mental Health

Some Dissenting Views

A Story about an Abusive Relationship That Ended after a Religious Conversion

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Why Religious and Spiritual Involvement May Lead to Resilience

A Story about the Impact of Religious Differences on an Intimate Relationship

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Should Issues of Religion and Spirituality Be Included in Our Work with Clients?

A Dissenting View

Summary

Chapter 3 - Helping Others as an Attribute of Resilience

Indigenous Helpers

Examples of Indigenous Helpers

Self-Help Groups and Indigenous Helpers

Attributes of Indigenous Helpers

A Story of an Indigenous Helper

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about an Indigenous Helper Starting a Self-Help Group

Summary

Chapter 4 - The Powerful Helping Impulse of Our Cultural Heritage: Examples from Three Ethnic Groups

Resilience in Latino/as

How Latino/a Cultures Cope with Social and Emotional Problems

The Importance of Cultural Metaphors (Dichos) in Latino/a Life

A Focus on Feelings

Cultural Issues That Affect Latino/a Resilience

A Story about How a Resilient Latina Copes with Life

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Resilience in African Americans

How Resilient African Americans Cope with Life

A Story about Abandonment by a Father

Another Story about Abandonment

Lessons to Be Learned from These Stories

Resilience in Ethnically Traditional Asian Americans

The Collective Self

The Importance of Family and Social Harmony

When Asian Americans' Resilience Fails

Issues That Test Resilience

A Story about James and Lisa, a Bicultural Couple

An Interview with James and Lisa

Summary

Notes

Part III - Examples of Resilience Across Areas of Psychosocial Difficulty

Chapter 5 - How Resilient People Cope with Substance Abuse

The Extent of the Problem

The Research on Resilience in Coping with Drug and Alcohol Abuse

A Story of Family Resilience and Alcohol Abuse

Lessons to Be Learned from Story

A Story of a Baseball Player and Attorney Jailed Because of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about an Adolescent Substance Abuser

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about Recovery from Substance Abuse: Mr. R. Changes His Life

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Summary

Chapter 6 - How Resilient People Cope with Mental Illness

The Extent and Impact of Mental Illness

Traditional Treatments of Mental Illness: A Research Review

Evidence of Resilience in People Diagnosed as Mentally III

Chronicity as an Incorrect Notion

The Consumer-Survivor Recovery Movement

Family and Spousal Resilience

A Story of a Spontaneous Remission from Mental Illness

An Interview with the Storyteller

A Story about Long-Term Emotional Problems

Summary

Chapter 7 - How Resilient Children Cope with Abuse

Resilience in Abused Children

A Story of a Child Coping with Abusive Parents

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story of a Resilient Child Coping with Adulthood

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Factors Predicting Resilience in Abused Children

Biological Factors

Psychological Factors

Factors within the Family

Factors Outside of the Family

Summary

Chapter 8 - How Resilient People Cope with Life-Threatening Illness, Disabilities, and Bereavement

Coping with Serious Illness

A Story of a Resilient Woman Coping with Breast Cancer

Further Thoughts of the Storyteller

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Coping with Serious Illness: Another View

Coping with Bereavement

Coping with the Death of a Loved One

A Story about the Death of Family Members

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Coping with Disabilities

A Case Study of Jack, a Man Coping with a Disability

Jack's Behavioral Chart

Summary

Chapter 9 - Resilience in Older Adults

Coping with Problems Related to Aging

Late Life Depression: The Case of Primo Levi

A Story of Resilience in Aging

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Case Study of Resilience in a Depressed Older Male

Discussion of the Case

A Case Study of a Depressed Older Female with a Substance Abuse Problem

Discussion of the Case

Summary

Chapter 10 - Resilience in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Individuals

Harassment, Homophobia, and Vulnerability

GLBT Resilience

A Story about a First Awareness of Being Gay

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about Coming Out

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about Confronting Homophobia

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

Summary

Chapter 11 - How Resilient People Cope with Loneliness, Isolation, and Depression

Why Resilient People Sometimes Experience Loneliness, Isolation, and Depression

The Prevalence of Depression

The Nature of Loneliness and Depression

Definitions of Mood Disorders

Definitions of Loneliness and Isolation

The Treatment of Loneliness and Depression

A Story about Loneliness and Isolation

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about Loneliness in the Company of Others

The Storyteller's Self-Analysis

Summary

Chapter 12 - Family Resilience

The Changing American Family

A Small Sample View of Family Life in America

Stories about Family Life

What These Stories Say about Family Life

Characteristics of Family Resilience

A Story about a Resilient Immigrant Family

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story That Needs No Explanation

Summary

Chapter 13 - How Resilient People Cope with Acts of Random Violence

Debriefing

Responses of Resilient People to Violence

A Story about Random Violence

Lessons to Be Learned from This Story

A Story about a Resilient Woman Coping with an Act of Terrorism

The Storyteller's Self-Analysis

Summary

Chapter 14 - Resilient Communities

Resilience and Healthy Community Life

A Story of a Resilient Community Constructing a Violence Treatment Program

The Results of the Program: An Interview with Members of the City Council

A Story about a Resilient Community Coping with a Devastating Flood

Summary

Part IV - Practice Implications

Chapter 15 - The Primary Behaviors of Resilient People: Application of Findings to Practice

The Attributes of Resilient People and Practice Recommendations

Additional Attributes of Resilient People

A Story about a Young Worker Finding Resilience in His Clients

Final Words

References

Index

About the Author