Integrating Evidence and Clinical Judgment

--> It is not ethical or compassionate for us, as service providers, to shape programs by our intentions when we lack evidence for our practice decisions (Rubin & Bellamy, 2012).

The Complexity of Resilience

Since resilience may occur in at least one domain (say, academic, social, emotional), it is possible for a child to be resilient and still suffer from the residual effects of trauma.

Evidence suggests that adolescents identified as resilient scored high on anxiety and depression scales and urban adolescents in particular scored high on emotional distress scales despite showing intellectual and social competence.

Whether social adaptation, operationalized in terms of success in meeting societal expectations of behavior, exacts an emotional toll or fails to ameliorate psychological dysfunction resulting from the experience of adversity is not clear.

Researchers have described resilience as a process that helps youth to mend, albeit with a cracked shell.

(Resnick & Taliaferro, 2011; Baum, 2004; Howard, 1996; Hunter, 2001; Howard, 1996)

Letting Go

Ex-Wife:  I'm glad I chose to love you, even though it broke my heart.  It's all good. Take care.

Ex-Husband:  Yes. That makes two of us.