The concept of resilience has only recently been empirically evaluated by researchers. Resilience is a complex mosaic that contains positive values, outlooks, and social support networks which piece together for the creation of a individually specific barrier against negative outcomes for those at risk. Once thought to be a rare adaptive phenomenon, resiliency is starting to be understood as a more common form of protection from the negativity brought on by traumatic experiences. A study conducted by George Bonanno demonstrated a surprising set of data that shows resilience, rather that recovery, as the primary common coping method (2005). These findings are not unusual when considering the tools that people already use to facilitate healthy psychological development in their lives before experiencing a tragic event. The contributing factors of a typical healthy development mirror the factors that are thought to promote resilience (Bonanno, 2005). The adaptation developed after a crisis event may be exaggerated forms of the factors that contribute to healthy human development. The Survival strategies displayed by trauma victims would, in some instances, be seen as maladaptive. However, their brief use as a way to cope after a crisis should be viewed as a means to buffer oneself from the overwhelming stressors that accompany traumatic events. Instead, resilience strategies such as the transcendence of negative emotions is often, erroneously interpreted as a defensive denial of painful feelings (Bonanno, 2005). It is judgmental interpretations of some authorities in the field that are holding back the evolution of human experience towards a more positive construct. Bonanno defends his conclusions regarding the adaptive nature of adult resilience by pointing out the highly stable functioning of people with resilient coping skills. Blissfully ignorant of outside criticism, some resilient adults remain stable and functional (Bonanno, 2005).

Resiliency is not only useful in buffering against psychological distress. In his article Thomas Miller posits that the increasingly chaotic nature of society on a global scale will inevitably result in new psychological and physiological health concerns being presented to helping professionals (2007). Miller posits that the social, political, and environmental turmoil faced by humanity are the direct cause of increasingly complex health problems. This negative trend is likely to worsen without a consorted effort of professional psychologists and other mental health professionals to improve elevate the status quo on a global scale (2007). The solutions proposed by Miller seek to break down the ineffective diagnostic and treatment strategies that are currently in place. Innovation is needed to build new systems in place of the ones which are not salvageable, such as the education system. Unity is needed to break down the boundaries that keep the advancement of human societies confined to small areas and to remove the shroud of ignorance that creates the fear and hatred brought by ethnocentrism (Miller, 2007). Miller uses resilience to demonstrate the way people’s attitudes and peoples actions are dynamically intertwined (2007). Fostering resilience in the individual is a wonderful pursuit. Miller points out the unfortunate nature of our planet and the depressingly small impact that the focus on treating people’s problems will have on the improvement of humanities evolution. We care unable to reduce human suffering until we reform the societal values, political inadequacies, and environmental dangers that cause many of the presenting problems of our clients in the first place. It is the responsibility of educated health professionals to take actions that provide the impetus for compassionate thinking on the part of the majority (Miller, 2007). Promotion of positive and compassionate thought patterns will, Miller assures, spark positive and compassionate actions on a large scale. Miller’s article is a challenge to all helping professionals to apply the concept of resilience to society as a whole (Miller, 2007). We are in a very powerful place in the evolution of humanity. The potential for dramatic positive changes already exists. The revolutionary actions needed to actualize this potential have become a challenging, rewarding, and necessary pursuit for everyone with knowledge of their power to inspire global ascension.

When mental health professionals are not busy applying resilient reform to whole societies, there are unique issues imposed upon them by the traumatic experiences of their individual clients. Dunkley and Whelan call the basis for these recently discussed issues, “Vicarious traumatisation”. Described as a severe form of countertranference, vicarious traumatisation is an intense empathetic reaction of the counselor to the extreme turmoil that their traumatized clients present in their sessions (2006). Vicarious traumatisation results in reactions of the counselor that mimic both countertranference and burnout. The difference lies in the unique was that vicarious traumatisation results from a combination of the counselors perceptions and the tragic circumstances of the situation (Dunkley & Whelan, 2006). The ironic implications of this study lie in the need for counselors to develop resilience in order to treat the victims of trauma in whom they might facilitate resilience. The severity of trauma cases is aptly demonstrated by the conclusions of this research. The horrific trial of the client, when unveiled in an environment that fosters candid disclosure, has the potential to spread the pervasive darkness of their nature onto the counselor. Without proper supervision for the practitioner and resilient coping strategies for both the client and the counselor, the negative nature of the client’s traumatic experiences are likely to halt the progress of therapy (Dunkley & Whelan, 2006).

While trying to find a universally applicable method for building client resilience it helps to find other characteristics in a person that have a correlational relationship with resilience. By locating buffering characteristics that are different from resilience, the relationship between resilience and other positive characteristics that ease the effects of crisis may provide insight into identifying and facilitating the positive forces of the client’s individual buffering characteristics (Brummett et al., 2007). The article that analyses the relationship between multicultural personality and psychosocial well being as, “an ability to function with sensitivity and competence in a variety of cultural settings” (Brummett, et al., 2007). The concept of multicultural personality has been tagged as an indicator of a greater quality of life in the diverse nature of American society. It is also seen as an indicator of values that promote the virtues of worldliness, equality, and social justice. The benefits of owning resilient qualities and a multicultural personality are highly beneficial in a few key areas of life. The resilience correlated with multicultural personality has been shown to decrease stress from life events, resulting in improved physical health and increased psychological health (Brummett, et al., 2007). Multicultural personality was found to be associated with highly adaptive interpersonal skills. Social support is an integral part of psychosocial well being. An open minded individual with a multicultural personality is rewarded for this virtue with access to positive social interactions across many diverse cultures. The final benefit of multicultural personality was shown in the self esteem of the subjects with this desirable attribute. Better self esteem equals better functioning which leads to better health outcomes through life (Brummett, et al., 2007).

Adult resilience differs from the resilient disposition adopted by children and adolescents. Young people are driven to adopt a resilient character because of long- term repeated trauma, or a chronically toxic environment in which they are expected to thrive. This is different from adult resilience which is usually adopted as a temporary means of dealing with extenuating occurrences of trauma (Bonanno, 2005). The serious nature of the runaway, throwaway, and homeless youth crisis that victimizes the children of our nation has produced rare accounts of at risk youth who were, or became, resilient enough to rise out of horrific circumstances and become well adjusted, generally happy, individuals (Williams, Lindsey, Kurtz, & Jarvis, 2001). This study had a small sample and provided a look into the characteristics of the very rare individuals who overcome tremendous adversity at a very young age. However, the study dive present important implications for helping professionals. The first finding illustrated the resiliency of the traumatized youth to be nothing more than a characteristic which allowed them to feel safe in seeking out a counselor, and developing a positive attachments relationship with him or her. In most of these cases the healthy relationship with the counselor was the first of its kind in the lives of the at risk adolescents (Williams, Lindsey, Kurtz, & Jarvis, 2001). The other finding demonstrated our society’s desperate need for more helping professionals to actively create and maintain the life changing and infinitely powerful relationships with the homeless youth who are, for the most part, ignorant to the concept of unconditional love. Our children are in crisis, but the hope that resilience and the healing nature of counselor- client relationships provides may be used as a means to continue perusing a solution to a problem that no one likes to admit, a society like ours, has on such a massive scale.

I could not resist working with an article about resilience that concerns an area of my personal development. Though far from the anguished situation faced by run away youth, the experiences of the immediate family members of a physically or intellectually disable individual are likely to encounter experiences that force a conscious choice of adapting with either resilience, or despair. I have not yet encountered anyone who shares this experience who has not earned the attainment of resiliency. In the research conducted by Giallo and Gavidia, resilience was seen as a contributing factor of healthy developmental outcomes only if the buffering factors of the family dynamic were lacking. The protective factors that are potentially provided by the family include the ability of the family to handle stressful situations, stress management, subjective perceptions of the family about their ability to handle difficult issues, confidence, optimism, and good communication skills (2006). The caveat to the numerous buffering factors that may be present in a well functioning family unit is their interdependent nature. If more than a couple of the variables used to asses the risks of typical siblings in an atypical family are missing, the rest of the variables would be almost impossible to possess. On the other hand, if a family caring for a person with disabilities has just one or two of the buffering factors listed above, the rest of those factors are likely to be present as well. More research is needed to asses the unique developmental nature of the growth of a sibling who has the rare pleasure of experiencing a familial bond with intellectually and/ or physically compromised individuals.

In summary, resilience is a developmental disposition that is growing in popularity among researchers. Unfortunately the concept of resilience remains somewhat vague and inconsistent in its usage and meaning. The subtle changes in its definition and application for research make resilience an ambiguous characteristic of human development. For each researcher who tweaks the theoretical construct of resilience to meet their research purposes the confusion about the nature of resilience increases exponentially. Fortunately, the term “resilience” has desirable traits of its own. Its holistic nature and broad applicability protect the concept of resilience from becoming completely muddled. It a society that tends to recognize the more negative nature of things, resilience and other desirable traits that promote positive outcomes may one day restore the lacking body of research that values the benefits of viewing the positive side of psychology and development.