Family Resilience Pros And Cons

The paper presents an overview of a developmental framework and study that draw together multiple clinical findings on the advantages and positive association that resilience has on increased self-perception and appreciation of life in families and individuals. Key considerations while moving forward from life’s challenges and traumas are: understanding individual and family strengths framework, connections of environmental and social impact, and utilizing functioning skills to overcome adverse times. We will be primarily using examples from the following scholarly journal articles: “Family resilience: A framework for clinical practice” (Walsh, 2003) and “The relationship between resiliency and posttraumatic growth following the death of someone close” (Oginska-Bulik, 2015) along with additional supporting resources for the written discussion.
RESILENCE 3 Stress and adversity come in all shapes and sizes ranging from family or relationship problems, health problems, workplace, school and financial worries. Resilient people are often viewed as full time optimists but they too have their moments of doubt. It is important to mention that resilience is not only about overcoming a deeply stressful situation,
but also coming out of it with skilled functioning.
According to Dictionary.com resilience is the ability to return to an original form, buoyancy. Walsh (2003) described it as “the ability to withstand and rebound from disruptive life challenges” and Oginska-Bulik (2015) defined it as “a broad cluster of personal characteristics’ which ‘is expressed by persistence and flexible adaptation to life demands”. Resilience is not a unique ability, but rather a developed or learned skill that can be found in average individuals and family units within society to help them gain new life experiences. Although much has been learned, a conceptually clear and commonly accepted definition is still lacking.
Every family’s critical situation has typical and unique circumstances.
Most major stressors are not a short-term single event but rather a compilation of changing conditions from past experiences that carry into the future. Such is the case when a disabled child is born, it changes the household dynamic physically (among siblings), financially, mentally and emotionally (uncertainty for the future and loss of hope). Families gain what they need to succeed through key protective factors such as parental resilience (not letting stress interfere with nurturing and confident mindset about parenting and child), social connections
(multiple friendships and supportive contacts, feeling respected and valued, accepting and offering others help) and concrete support (seeking and receiving support when needed, knowledge of available services and how to acquire them, sufficient financial stability, basic needs met, and advocating fully for self and child to receive the right help) that help build secure and useful elements to insure healthy and plentiful lives (ccsp.org, 2015). According to Walsh (2003), the majority of children in the Kauai study flourished despite growing up in a troubled and impoverished environment. Even if conditions or characteristics of individuals, families, communities or society at large diminish or eliminate risk, deep within oneself lays the ability to withstand and/or rebound from disruptive life challenges.