I Heart Resilience Article Abstracts

Assessing Strengths, Resilience, and Growth to Guide Clinical Interventions

Richard G. Tedeschi and Ryan P. Kilmer

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Recently, the field of mental health has incorporated a growing interest in strengths, resilience, and growth, psychological phenomena that may be associated with healthy adjustment trajectories and profitably integrated into strategies for clinical assessment and practice. This movement constitutes a significant shift from traditional deficit-oriented approaches. Addressing clinical practitioners, this article...

(a) provides a broad overview of these constructs and phenomena,

(b) discusses their relevance for clinical assessment and intervention, and

(c) describes selected strategies and approaches for conducting assessments that can guide intervention.

I am glad to see that the field of mental health is moving toward a strengths-based approach - a long-time hallmark of social work values and practice. I think it's interesting that the field of mental health has historically been a male-dominated field and social work has been a pink collar profession. I wonder if these gender differences contributed to why it took so long for the field of mental health to integrate strengths, resilience and growth with risks, deficits and pathology?

This reminds me that when you are not in a powerful position, have limited status, feel like a nobody-nobody in an audience of somebody-somebodies - it really matters to speak up. They don't know it all. And even if they know what they know well, they don't know what you know. They have never stood in your shoes and don't have your perspective. And the truth is, we all need to share our perspectives. Nobody sees the whole, everyone has a piece. The world is waiting for your piece of the puzzle. Share your perspective. Speak it. Louder.

And read this article! 8 pages to a more resilient clinical practice! That's good for both clinician and client! Who said social work can't be fun? Start your own resilience revolution...