Building Resilience in Fragile People
- 1. Building Resilience In Fragile People Fiona Williams Educational Psychologist 04/10/11
- 2. Aims What are protective and risk factors and why are they important in understanding human development? What is resilience? Why are some people more successful than others at resisting and overcoming stressful episodes? How can we promote resilience in friends / colleagues?
- 3. Personal dimensions of mental, emotional and social health Self esteem Emotional wellbeing Thinking clearly Ability to grow Resilience Ability to make relationships Mental, Emotional & Social Health K Weare (2000)
- 4. COMMUNITY (including school / workplace / church) FAMILY CHILD ecological model of child development
- 5. Protective & Risk Factors What helps? What are the protective factors in life? Community Family Self What hinders? What are the stress factors in life? Community Family Self
- 6. Child Risk Factors Genetic influences Low IQ Learning disability Communication difficulty Difficult temperament Physical illness Academic failure Low self esteem
- 7. Risk Factors in the Family ° Overt parental conflict Family breakdown Inconsistent discipline Hostile and rejecting Unable to adapt Abuse Poor attachment resulting in poor internal model Death and loss Parental psychiatric illness Criminality, alcoholism or personality disorder in parents °Risk factors that existed in the past can still have adverse effects even if home setting has changed.
- 8. Internal working model The early emotional and social experiences that we have help us to construct an internal working model of relationships that affects the way we relate to the external world.
- 9. Internal working model Not all people will carry positive internal models in their minds and consequently may view the world as a hostile and threatening place and themselves as bad or worthless .
- 10. Risk Factors Environment Socio-economic disadvantage Homelessness Disaster Discrimination Other significant life events
- 11. Resilience Resilience:- With your neighbour take 5 mins what do you think this means ?
- 12. Resilience Normal development under difficult conditions
- 13. Three types of resilient individuals Those who do not succumb to adversity in spite of their high risk status Those who develop coping strategies in situations of chronic stress Those who have suffered extreme trauma and who recover and prosper Masten, A et al (1990)
- 14. Resilience Factors: In Child Secure Attachment Ability to plan & problem solve Religious beliefs & capacity to reflect. Easy Temperament Sense of humour Intelligence & communication skills Resilience
- 15. Resilience Factors: In Family Affection Authoritative supervision Support for education Supportive Marriage / partnership Absence of severe discord Unconditional love from one family member Resilience
- 16. Resilience Factors: In Environment Good housing High morale Environments with supportive policies Environments with strong academic/ non-academic opportunities Range of positive sport & leisure Opportunities for meaningful participation Resilience
- 17. Domains of Resilience Daniel & Wassell 2002
- 18. Model of developing resilience (Grotberg, 1997) ‘ I HAVE’ (external supports and resources which promote resilience) ‘ I CAN’ (social and emotional competencies) ‘ I AM’ (internal and personal attributes)
- 19. The Resilience-Building Environment In groups, focus on aspects of Grotberg’s model of resilience I HAVE (‘ secure base’, ‘friendships’ ) I CAN (‘education’, talents and interests’ ) I AM ( ‘positive values’, ‘social competencies’ ) For that particular aspect, think of ways in which you could promote resilience in your workplace / family etc