REVIEW ARTICLE: RESILENCY
Journal Article Review: Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth
Taylor L. Harris
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
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Journal Article Review: Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth
The capacity to survive painful situations and recover from setbacks is known as
resilience. It is thought to be important to remember that resilience is a major factor in
developing a positive outlook. After experiencing trauma and misfortune, people can positively
turn into resilient and posttraumatic growers, which promotes further human development.
Resiliency can be attained in a variety of ways, including by cultivating a solid social network,
adopting an optimistic outlook, and continuing to use appropriate coping mechanisms. People
from a range of backgrounds, including those in the armed forces and the general public, exhibit
resilience. Another way to see resilience is from a biblical standpoint. Resiliency and
posttraumatic growth may be attained more readily by putting techniques like clinical areas of
fitness and adhering to a self-care thrive model into practice. It's also critical to recognize the
critical role counselors play in assisting their clients in overcoming hardships and developing
resilience.
Summary
Resilience is a fundamental requirement for improving mental health. Resilience,
according to Siang-Yang Tan (2013), is the capacity to respond to risk and misfortune in a
positive way. Fundamentally, it's the ability to confront and handle challenging circumstances as
well as recover from the traumas that life deals individuals. Tan (2013) draws attention to the
idea of posttraumatic growth and says that it is the positive transformations that occurs after
going through trauma and adversity and encourages further human development. People now
feel that resilience and posttraumatic development are more common than previously thought.
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However, resilience and posttraumatic development take time to materialize, and there are
several routes one might take to reach these goals.
Tan (2013) presents data in his research article that indicate around 60% of people will at
some point in their lives encounter a traumatic event of some form, including victimization,
accidents, natural catastrophes, and losses. While these tragic events have a profoundly negative
impact on people, research indicates that 70% of those who experience trauma go on to recover
and become resilient, while the remaining percentage experiences more severe consequences like
depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. According to Tan's (2013) research, regardless of
the population, a range of factors can lead to resilience and posttraumatic development. These
influential factors include, but are not limited to, facing life's challenges head-on, processing
trauma instead of neglecting it, having positive relationships and the capacity to control negative
emotions, having emotional and social resources, and participating in activities that uphold
values.
Tan (2013) examines a variety of demographics and describes how traumatic occurrences
are common for each of these groups and how recovery from these experiences is accomplished.
According to Tan (2013), almost 70% of returning soldiers are strong and resilient. They regard
their service as a commitment to protect their family and country. Even if they experienced
horrifying circumstances while in the service, veterans feel that these experiences have improved
their mental health and given them a sense of perseverance, achievement, and value. According
to Tan (2013), veterans may overcome hardship and achieve resiliency and posttraumatic growth
by adopting a healthy lifestyle, cultivating active coping skills, creating a supportive social
network, and thinking and feeling positively.
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In the article by Tan (2013), he summarizes how most people—roughly 50–60% of adults
—will experience some sort of traumatic event in their lifetime, and only 5–10% of these people
will go on to develop PTSD and other mental health issues. This review includes both men and
women who are not affiliated with the military. According to Tan (2013), 68 million women
have experienced victimization at some point in their lives. Of those women, 10% will
experience psychiatric problems that require further support for managing mental health
difficulties. The article continues by discussing the important traumatic events that American
teenagers may encounter by the time they are 16 and how research indicates that having good
parental support plays a critical role in assisting children and adolescents in effectively
navigating adversity.
The article by Tan explores the biblical perspective in which God promises that there will
one day be no more suffering or misery in heaven. All global religions highlight that although
suffering is an essential part of life, there is always the possibility of ultimate improvement or
reform. Stressful situations and trauma can lead to posttraumatic growth and resilience, which
can be linked to spiritual truths like sacrifice, suffering, and loss. Adopting a biblical perspective
has been demonstrated to increase resilience after trauma, according to Tan (2013). Scripture
provides direction on how to get beyond life's challenges and use them as chances for resiliency
and growth.
Finally, the essay describes ways to improve resilience, which may be used in practice
through various therapeutic procedures or applications. According to Tan (2013), all populations
may benefit from increased resilience using the six primary areas of fitness. Physical fitness,
emotional fitness, mental fitness, behavioral fitness, spiritual fitness, and interpersonal fitness.
Additionally, Tan provides a list of six indicators that support the encouragement of
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posttraumatic growth. According to the thrive paradigm, which emphasizes taking stock,
harvesting hope, reauthorizing, identifying change, valuing change, and expressing change in
action, these signposts are offered to support the development of improved posttraumatic growth.
Interaction
I was astounded by the findings and figures that were provided throughout this article
when I initially started reading it. Like most people, I was under the false impression that while it
is possible to become resilient after going through a terrible incident, it is not as easy to do so.
Tan (2013), however, provided a wealth of facts that clarify that, not only is resilience achievable
following a catastrophe, but it is also actually seen to be more reachable than suffering the
negative consequences of the traumatic incident. This article gives concrete examples of how
military veterans who were subjected to unspeakable acts of torture and trauma may overcome
their trauma and demonstrate resilience and transformation. According to the data in this article,
veterans are more likely to overcome these hardships than to get PTSD, a frequent disease that is
linked to veterans.
I selected this article because I understand how resilience affects mental health and how
crucial it is for people to overcome the challenges they encounter in life. In addition to providing
data demonstrating the attainability of resilience, this article offers the tools and procedures
needed to accomplish resilience with ease. The essay discusses the value of creating healthy
coping strategies, having a solid network of emotional support, and confronting trauma head-on
rather than running from it. Tan (2013) provides instances of the THRIVE model, which aids in
individuals' posttraumatic growth, and shows how putting the six areas of fitness into practice
can help create and gain resiliency.
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I have personally gone through a great deal of childhood trauma, which has caused me to
make poor lifestyle decisions. Nonetheless, I have become stronger and more resilient over time
because of my relationship with God and my capacity to receive forgiveness in my heart.
According to Walker et al. (2021), the process of finding meaning after trauma is associated with
positive outcomes, and this may be made easier by the upbeat outlook that is typically connected
to religion. I found Tan's (2013) argument in the article to be rather insightful on how God uses
suffering to fortify, hone, and keep us from falling. He also says that Christ's life is shown in our
mortal bodies because of his suffering. Romans 5:3-4 “Not only that, but weDrejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that sufferingDproduces endurance,and endurance produces character, and
character produces hope” (ESV).
For a prior class I had to read an article by Laura Upenieks, (2021). This article explores
the ways in which the phrase "childhood adversity" refers to a wide range of upsetting
experiences and circumstances that occur throughout the formative years of a person's life. These
include emotional and physical abuse, changes in the family structure during childhood (such as
parental divorce or death), and low socioeconomic position during childhood. According to
Upenieks (2021), experiencing maltreatment as a kid may serve as a catalyst for spiritual growth,
andDadds that two tools that may be used to help overcome the challenges of childhood trauma
are a strong sense of self-worth and a supportive social network. According to Tan's (2013)
article, several children will encounter severe trauma throughout their early years, and some may
have long-lasting detrimental consequences. Nonetheless, given adequate parental emotional
support, most traumatized adolescents will exhibit resilience. According to these two papers,
adopting a biblical worldview and having an adequate emotional support system can help
individuals become resilient in the face of catastrophic situations.
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Application
When it comes to achieving good mental health, resilience is essential. In my role as a
counselor, I would put strategies in place for overcoming hardship and building resilience. For
instance, I would put strategies into place to help a client who was a victim of domestic abuse
and was in a toxic relationship recover through her trauma. Tan (2013) lists many forms of
fitness that may be used to develop resilience in his paper. I would advise my client to begin with
maintaining her physical health by getting enough sleep and working out on a regular basis. It
will benefit my client's interpersonal fitness if I encourage her to rely on others and build a
strong feeling of social support. I would advise my client to practice thinking positive and
compile a list of uplifting things that make her feel content and happy. I'll remind her to think
constructively, to stay in the present moment, and to have reasonable expectations. I'll work with
her to help her grow spiritually and teach her how to forgive herself as well as her spouse. It's
critical that my client begins creating an autonomous identity apart from the confines of an
abusive relationship. She must come to terms with her value and cultivate positive cognitive
habits that will help her become resilient.
Since resilience is essential to a client's healing process, it may be developed in a variety
of ways. As a counselor, my role is to provide a wide range of strategies for overcoming trauma-
related barriers. Mendez and Hamby (2021) define resilience as the capacity to rise above
adversity and make use of one's strengths to produce favorable outcomes like post-traumatic
growth and subjective well-being. One of the helpful trauma-specific adaptations known as post-
traumatic growth that take place after an exceptionally stressful event is restructuring one's
priorities after an unfortunate tragedy. Counselors must use strategies that help clients understand
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the importance of resilience and how it is constructed in order to support clients in building and
sustaining resilience.
Conclusion
Resilience is the ability to endure hardships and unfavorable circumstances. Many
people think that developing resilience is more difficult and that experiencing the negative
effects of trauma is more common than recovering from it and being resilient. However, it is
possible to overcome trauma and build resilience if you have a strong social support system,
proper coping methods, healthy emotional thinking, and a strong spiritual growth. Counselors
must employ the appropriate strategies to help clients recover from trauma, develop resilience,
and achieve posttraumatic growth.
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References
Bible gateway passage: Romans 5:3-4 - english standard version. Bible Gateway. (n.d.).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A3-4&version=ESVD
Gonzalez-Mendez, R., & Hamby, S. (2021). Identifying women’s strengths for promoting
resilience after experiencing intimate partner violence.DViolence & Victims,D36(1), 29–44.
https://doi.org/10.1891/VV-D-18-00178
Tan, S. (2013). Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth: Empirical Evidence and Clinical
Applications from a Christian Perspective.Journal of Psychology and Christianity,32(4),
358-364.
Upenieks, L. (2021). Resilience in the aftermath of childhood abuse? changes in religiosity and
adulthood psychological distress.DJournal of Religion and Health.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01155-9D
Walker, H. E., Wamser-Nanney, R., & Howell, K. H. (2021). Relationships between childhood
interpersonal trauma, religious coping, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and
resilience.DJournal of Interpersonal Violence,D37(13–14).
https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260521991883D
