The Social Ecology of Resilience - OHRDP · The counselor explores solutions that are as complex (multi-systemic) as the problems they address. • What else will need to change to

© Michael Ungar, Ph.D.

Michael Ungar, Ph.D.

School of Social Work, Dalhousie University

Twitter @MichaelUngarPhD www.michaelungar.com

www.resilienceresearch.org

The Social Ecology of Resilience:

Families, Schools, Communities, and Service Providers

Ontario Harm Reduction

Distribution Program January, 2014

To read more about the ideas explored in this workshop, please see the list of references at the end of these Notes, or:

Ungar, M. (2011). Counseling in Challenging Contexts: Working with Individuals and

Families Across Clinical and Community Settings. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole www.cengage.com/counseling/ungar (U.S. and International orders)

http://hed.nelson.com/ (Canadian orders)

and

Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience. Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81, 1-17.


Shifting Focus: Understanding Resilience in Context Resilience, as discussed during this workshop, means:

In the context of exposure to significant adversity, resilience is both the capacity of individuals to navigate their way to the psychological, social, cultural, and physical resources that sustain their well-being, and their capacity individually and collectively to negotiate for these resources to be provided and experienced in culturally meaningful ways.

Reflection Exercise Part A Think about a person with whom you’ve work who faced complex challenges (or think about your own life if you prefer). In my experience, we often know a great deal about people’s deficits and less about their strengths. Most case reports and case conferences focus on the problems that have caused people to be referred, or mandated, to service providers. Part B Now consider the following:

• What personal and social/economic/political resources are realistically available and accessible to this particular person?

• Given the context in which the person lives, how is he/she doing when compared with other people in similar circumstances?

• Given the person’s strengths and access to resources in his/her family and community, how does the person cope (sustain well-being) despite the adversity he/she faces?

Part C With these questions in mind, summarize the person’s strengths and assets, both internal and external, that sustain his/her well-being.

• What resources are missing? • What resources are plentiful? • Is the person making good use of what he/she has available? • Is the person demonstrating ‘hidden resilience’?


Seven Factors Related to Resilience

(Adapted from: Ungar, M., Brown, M., Liebenberg, L., Othman, R., Kwong, W.M., Armstrong, M. & Gilgun, J. [2007]. Unique pathways to resilience across cultures. Adolescence, 42(166), 287-310)

Factor Explanation

1. Access to supportive relationships • Relationships with significant others, peers and adults within one’s family and community

2. Development of a desirable personal identity

• Desirable sense of one’s self as having a personal and collective sense of purpose, ability for self-appraisal of strengths and weaknesses, aspirations, beliefs and values, including spiritual and religious identification

3. Experiences of power and control • Experiences of caring for one’s self and others, the ability to affect change in one’s social and physical environment in order to access health resources

4. Experiences of social justice • Experiences related to finding a meaningful role in one’s community that brings with it acceptance and social equality

5. Access to material resources • Availability of financial, educational, medical and employment assistance and/or opportunities, as well as access to food, clothing and shelter

6. Experiences of a sense of cohesion with others

• Balancing one’s personal interests with a sense of responsibility to the greater good; feeling a part of something larger than one’s self socially and spiritually

7. Adherence to cultural traditions • Adherence to, or knowledge of, one’s local and/or global cultural practices, values and beliefs


Leve

l of

Func

tioni

ng

Time

Chronic Stressors

Acute Stressor/trauma

Hidden

Patterns of Resilience

Minimal impact

Post-traumatic growth

Avoidant

Unaffected

Maladaptive coping

Recovery

+

-


The PRYM Experience of Service Assessment (*Adapted from the Pathways to Resilience Youth Measure [PRYM]. For permission to use, please contact The Resilience Research Centre [[email protected]]) Thinking about the services you and your family have received from ____________________________, (please name a service you have recently received) please indicate the extent to which the following statements describe your experience with this service. Strongly

Disagree Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly

Agree 1. Overall, I am satisfied with the services I received

1 2 3 4 5

2. I helped choose my services 1 2 3 4 5 3. The people helping me stuck with me 1 2 3 4 5 4. I felt I had someone within the service to talk to when I was in trouble

1 2 3 4 5

5. I had a say in how this service was delivered to me.

1 2 3 4 5

6. I could get the service when I needed it 1 2 3 4 5 7. The location of the service was convenient 1 2 3 4 5 8. Staff respected my religious and spiritual beliefs 1 2 3 4 5

9. Staff spoke in a way that I understood 1 2 3 4 5 10. Staff were sensitive to my cultural and ethnic background

1 2 3 4 5

11. I am now better able to cope when things go wrong

1 2 3 4 5

12. There was a service I needed, but I couldn’t get. 1 2 3 4 5

13. What has been most helpful about this service? __________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. What has been least helpful about this service? __________________________________________________________________________________________________


Questions to Help People Navigate Navigation Skills Questions Navigation Skill #1

Make resources available The counselor helps the client identify the internal and external resources that are available.

• Of the resources you said you needed, which are realistically available?

• Which resources can’t be used, even though they are available?

• What has it felt like in the past trying to use the resources that are available?

• Are there (internal and external) resources we should discuss later? Ones you think it would be good to look for?

Add your own questions here: • •

Navigation Skill #2

Make resources accessible The counselor discusses how the client can access the resources that are available.

• Of these resources that are available, what are the steps we can take to reach them?

• Have you had the experience of trying to make use of a resource in your family, school or community and encountering problems? What happened? Who or what made accessing resources difficult? Who do you blame for the difficulty you experienced?

• Who has helped you in the past to access the supports you needed to succeed?

• If you’ve mostly had to fend for yourself, what strategies did you use to get around the barriers you faced?


Navigation Skill #3

Explore barriers to change The counselor discusses the barriers to change the client experiences, and which resources are most likely needed to address which barriers.

• What things inside you and outside you stop you from making changes in your life?

• When you think of a specific problem, which barrier is causing the most problems?

• If that barrier wasn’t there, would you be able to make the changes you want to make? Would you feel hesitant, afraid, or maybe anxious about making the changes you want to make?


Navigation Skill #4

Build bridges to new services and supports The counselor discusses

• What solutions to the client’s problem can you help make happen?

• Are there resources that you know about that could


with the client the services and supports that the counselor is familiar with and her or his role as a bridge builder to help make new resources available and accessible.

help the client? • What can you do to help make these resources

available and accessible to the client? Add your own questions here:

• •

Navigation Skill #5

Ask what is meaningful The counselor explores with the client which resources are the most meaningful given the client’s context and culture.

• Of the things you need to change, which do you feel most strongly about? Which change would be the most helpful?

• What resources/experiences do you need to have to be able to show others you’ve changed?

• In your context/culture, how do people go about solving problems like the one you are experiencing?

• Are there unique strategies to cope that you, your family, or your community typically use for the kind of problem you have?


Navigation Skill #6

Keep solutions as complex as the problems they solve The counselor explores solutions that are as complex (multi-systemic) as the problems they address.

• What else will need to change to make this solution sustainable?

• Is the solution you’re trying working well or does it need to be changed?


Navigation Skill #7

Find allies The counselor explores possible allies who can help the client access resources and put new ways of coping into practice.

• Who will help you get what you need to change/cope with this problem?

• Will you have to ask them for help, or are you expecting them to volunteer?

• Who in your family, among your friends or in your community has coped well with a similar problem? What advice can they give you?

• Who will notice the changes you’re making? Will that be a good or bad thing, to be noticed?


Navigation Skill #8

Ask whether coping strategies are adaptive or maladaptive The counselor helps the client explore whether the solutions she/he/they are using to cope in

• Are the solutions you’re trying bringing more advantages than disadvantages?

• What is about the solutions you’ve tried that you like? Dislike?

• What do you hear about the solutions you’ve tried? Do people think you make good choices, or bad choices?


challenging contexts are adaptive or maladaptive, and the consequences to the choices the client is making.

• How well do others understand why you make the choices you do? Does anyone understand how difficult it is to find other solutions?


Navigation Skill #9

Explore the client’s level of motivation The counselor discusses with the client her/his/their level of motivation to implement new preferred solutions.

• How motivated are you to make these changes? • What would make you more motivated?


Navigation Skill #10

Advocate The counselor advocates with, or on behalf of, the client, or shows the client how to advocate independently to make resources more available and accessible.

• What can you do to help the client succeed? What personal contacts or resources can you make available and accessible that are ethical to share?

• Have you asked the client what you could do as their counselor that would be most helpful? Have you let them direct your work together?

• Have you asked others what they can do to help the client?

• Have you shown the client how to advocate for themselves, practicing the skills required?



Questions to Help People Negotiate Negotiation Skills Questions Negotiation Skill #1

Thoughts and Feelings The counselor explores with the client thoughts and feelings about the problem that brought the client to counseling.

• What do you think the problem is? • Do others see the problem the same way? • Do you agree or disagree with how others see it? • How does it feel having this problem? • How do you feel about how others see you when the

problem is a part of your life? • How has having the problem influenced the story you

tell about yourself? Add your own questions here:

• •

Negotiation Skill #2

Context The counselor and the client explore the context in which problems occur, and the conditions that sustain them.

• When is the problem bigger/smaller? • When is it more/less influential? • In what context does it change? • Which relationships add to the problem, and which

make it go away? • Culturally, what do people who share your culture say

about this problem? • What social, economic, and political conditions make

the problem more likely to occur? Which make it less likely?



Responsibility The counselor and client discuss who has responsibility to change patterns of coping that are causing problems for the client, and/or for others in the client’s life.

• Who has responsibility for making changes? • Who would notice change if it did occur? • Are solutions within the control of the client? Under

the control of others? Or both? Add your own questions here:

• •


Voice The counselor helps the client’s voice be heard when she/he/they name the people and resources necessary to make life better.

• What would you find helpful to deal with this problem at this time?

• Who do you want to listen to you when you suggest solutions?

• How much are you listened to when you tell people what the problem is and the best solutions?

• What services and supports would help? Have you ever been given access to these? How much say over their design and delivery have you had?

• How would it feel accepting help from others?




New Names When appropriate, the counselor may offer different names for a problem, and explore what these new descriptions mean for how the counselor and the client will work together.

• What other ways could we describe this problem? • Which of the seven factors (associated with resilience)

need to change to make your life better? • How would others in your life describe the problem?

What words would they use? Add your own questions here:

• •


Fit The client chooses one (or more) new descriptions of the problem that fit with how she/he/they see the world.

• Do any of the ways of describing the problem that we’ve discussed fit with how you see it?

• If we use that description of the problem, what does that mean for our contract to work together? What will we need to add or take away?



Resources The client and counselor work together to find the internal and external resources the client needs to put new solutions into practice.

• Of the seven factors that relate to doing well, which do you think are most important?

• Which get solved by having the problem? • Are there other ways to get the problem solved (using

one or more of the seven factors)? • Which solution would make the most sense to you? To

others in your life? • Which solution would people most criticize? Would

you agree or disagree with them? Add your own questions here:

• •


Possibilities The client experiences possibilities for change that are more numerous than expected.

• If we put these new strategies into practice, what personal strengths/assets/resources would you have that you don’t have now?

• To put these strategies into practice, what resources from your family/school/community/neighbors/government, etc, would you need?

• How do you feel about the options we’ve discussed? Overwhelmed? Wanting more?

• The choice you’ve made to fix the problem, is that still your best choice?

Add your own questions here: •


•


Performance The counselor and the client identify times when the client is performing new ways of coping and discuss who will notice the changes

• How will others know you’ve changed? What will they see? What will they hear about you?

• How will it feel once you’ve changed? • What’s the new “preferred” story you’ll tell about

yourself? • How will you get others to tell that same story about

you? Add your own questions here:

• •


Perception The counselor helps the client find ways to convince others that she/he/they have changed, or are doing better than expected.

• How can we convince others that you’ve changed? • Who will be most reluctant to acknowledge that

you’ve changed? Who can we ask to help convince people that you’ve changed?

• Will people think better of you, or worse, once you’ve changed? Whose opinion counts most?



Resilience Related Readings (You may also refer to www.resilienceresearch.org for more sources)

Trade Books and Novels Ungar, M. (2011). The Social Worker: A Novel. Lawrencetown Beach, NS: Pottersfield Press. Ungar, M. (2009). We Generation: Raising socially responsible kids. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart. Ungar, M. (2007). Playing at being bad: The hidden resilience of troubled teens. Toronto: McClelland &

Stewart. Ungar, M. (2007). Too safe for their own good: How risk and responsibility help teens thrive. Toronto, ON:

McClelland & Stewart. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little Brown. McCourt, F. (1996). Angela’s ashes. New York: Simon & Schuster. Walls, J. (2005). The glass castle. New York: Scribner. Important Books and Articles about Resilience Afifi, T. O., & MacMillan, H. L. (2011). Resilience following child maltreatment: A review of protective

factors. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 56(5), 266–272. Alegria, M. Takeuchi, D., Canino, G. et al. (2004). Considering context, place and culture: the National Latino

and Asian American Study. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13(4), 208-220. Anthony, E.J. (1987). Children at high risk for psychosis growing up successfully. In E.J. Anthony & B.J.

Cohler (eds.), The invulnerable child (pp. 147-184). New York: Guilford. Benson, P.L. (2003). Developmental assets and asset-building community: Conceptual and empirical

foundations. In R.M. Lerner & P.L. Benson (Eds.), Developmental assets and asset-building communities: Implications for research, policy, and practice (pp. 19-46). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Bonanno, G.A. & Mancini, A.D. (2012). Beyond resilience and PTSD: Mapping the heterogeneity of responses to potential trauma. Psychological Trauma, 4(1), 74-83.

Bottrell, D. (2009). Understanding 'marginal' perspectives: Towards a social theory of resilience. Qualitative Social Work, 8(3), 321-340.

Boyden, J. & Mann, G. (2005). Children’s risk, resilience, and coping in extreme situations. In M. Ungar (Ed.), Handbook for working with children and youth: Pathways to resilience across cultures and contexts (pp. 3-26). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cyrulnik, B. (2011). Resilience: How your inner strength can set you free from the past (Trans. D. Macey). New York: Penguin.

Caspi, A., Taylor, A., Moffitt, T.E., & Plomin, R. (2000). Neighborhood deprivation affects children’s mental health: Environmental risks identified in a genetic design. Psychology Science, 11, (4), 338-342. Dawes, A. & Donald, D. (2000). Improving children’s chances: Developmental theory and effective interventions in community contexts. In D. Donald, A. Dawes & J. Louw (Eds.), Addressing childhood adversity (pp. 1-25). Cape Town, SA: David Philip.

Curtis, W. J. and Nelson, C. A. (2003). Toward building a better brain: Neurobehavioral outcomes, mechanisms, and processes of environmental enrichment. In S.S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 463-488). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Elliott, D.S., Menard, S., Rankin, B., Elliott, A., Wilson, W.J. & Huizinga, D. (2006). Good kids from bad neighborhoods: Successful development in social context. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Garmezy, N. (1985). Stress-resistant children: The search for protective factors. In J.E. Stevenson (Ed.), Recent research in developmental psychopathology (pp.213-233). New York: Pergamon Press.


Gilligan, R. (2001). Promoting resilience: A resource guide on working with children in the care system. London: British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering.

Hjemdal, O. (2007). Measuring protective factors: The development of two resilience scales in Norway. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 16(2), 303-322.

Kirmayer, L.J., Dandeneau, S., Marshall, E., Phillips, K., & Williamson, K.J. (2012). Toward an ecology of stories: Indigenous perspectives on resilience. In M.Ungar (Ed.), The social ecology of resilience: A handbook of theory and practice (pp. 399-414). New York: Springer.

Laub, J.H. & Sampson, R.J. (2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Leadbeater, B.J.R. & Way, N. (Ed.)(2007). Urban girls revisited: Building strengths. New York: New York University Press.

Lerner, R.M., Dowling, E.M. & Anderson, P.M. (2003). Positive youth development: Thriving as the basis of personhood and civil society. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 172-180.

Luthar, S. (Ed.)(2003). Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Luthar, S.S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The Construct of Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work. Child Development, 71(3), 543-562.

Masten, A.S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227-238.

Martin, A.J. & Marsh, H.W. (2008). Academic buoyancy: Towards an understanding of students' everyday academic resilience. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 53-83.

Prilleltensky, I. (2012). Wellness as fairness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49, 1-21. Rutter, M. (2008). Developing concepts in developmental psychopathology. In J.J. Hudziak (ed.),

Developmental psychopathology and wellness: Genetic and environmental influences (pp.3-22). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing

Sampson, R.J. (2003). The neighborhood context of well-being. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 46(3), S53-S64.

Schoon, I. (2006). Risk and resilience: Adaptations in changing times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tedeschi, R.G. & Calhoun, L.G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence.

Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18. Van Voorhees, E.E., et al. (2012). Childhood trauma exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans:

Implications for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and adult functional social support. Child Abuse & Neglect. Available online: http://dx/doi/org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.03.004. Downloaded July 2, 2012.

Walsh, F. (2006). Strengthening family resilience, 2nd Ed. New York: Guilford. Werner, E.E. & Smith, R.S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk, resiliency, and recovery. Ithaca,

NY: Cornell University Press. Zautra, A. J., Hall, J. S., & Murray, K. E. (2010). Resilience: A new definition of health for people and

communities. In J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. S. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience (pp. 3–34). New York, NY: Guilford.

A Selection of Scholarly Articles and Books by Michael Ungar Liebenberg, L. & Ungar, M. (2008). Resilience in action. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Liebenberg, L. & Ungar, M. (2009). Researching resilience. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M., & Van de Vijver, F. (2012). Validation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure-

28 (CYRM-28) among Canadian youth. Research on Social Work Practice, 22(2), 219-226. Ungar, M. (2000). The myth of peer pressure: Adolescents and their search for health-enhancing identities.

Adolescence, 35(137), 167-180. Ungar, M. (2001). The social construction of resilience among “problem” youth in out-of-home placement: A

study of health-enhancing deviance. Child and Youth Care Forum, 30(3), 137-154.


Ungar, M. (2004). Nurturing hidden resilience in troubled youth. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Ungar, M. (2005). Pathways to resilience among children in Child Welfare, Corrections, Mental Health and

Educational settings: Navigation and Negotiation. Child and Youth Care Forum 34(6), 423-444. Ungar, M. (2005). Resilience among children in child welfare, corrections, mental health and educational

settings: Recommendations for service. Child and Youth Care Forum, 34(6), 445-464. Ungar, M. (2006). Strengths-based counseling with at-risk youth. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Ungar, M., Brown, M., Liebenberg, L., Othman, R., Kwong, W.M., Armstrong, M. & Gilgun, J. (2007). Unique

pathways to resilience across cultures. Adolescence, 42(166), 287-310. Ungar, M. (2007). Contextual and cultural aspects of resilience in child welfare settings. In I. Brown, F. Chaze,

D. Fuchs, J. Lafrance, S. McKay & S. Thomas-Prokop (Eds.), Putting a human face on child welfare (pp. 1-24). Toronto: Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare.

Ungar, M. (2008). Resilience across cultures. British Journal of Social Work. 38(2), 218-235. Ungar, M., Liebenberg, L., Boothroyd, R., Kwong, W.M., Lee, T.Y., Leblanc, J., Duque, L. & Makhnach, A.

(2008). The study of youth resilience across cultures: Lessons from a pilot study of measurement development. Research in Human Development, 5(3), 166-180.

Ungar, M. (2010). What Is Resilience Across Cultures and Contexts? Advances to the Theory of Positive Development among Individuals and Families under Stress. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 21(1), 1-16.

Ungar, M. (2011). Community resilience for Youth and Families: Facilitative Physical and Social Capital in Contexts of Adversity. Children and Youth Social Services Review, 33, 1742-1748.

Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience. Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81, 1-17.

Ungar, M. (2011). Counseling in challenging contexts: Working with Individuals and Families Across Clinical and Community Settings. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Ungar, M. (Ed.)(2012). The social ecology of resilience: A handbook of theory and practice. New York: Springer.

Ungar, M., Theron, L. & Didkowsky, N. (2011). Adolescents' precocious and developmentally appropriate contributions to their families' well-being and resilience in five countries. Family Relations, 60(2), 231-246.

Ungar, M. & Liebenberg, L. (2011). Assessing Resilience across Cultures Using Mixed Methods: Construction of The Child and Youth Resilience Measure. Journal of Multiple Methods in Research, 5(2), 126-149.

Ungar, M., Liebenberg, L., Landry, N., & Ikeda, J. (2012). Caregivers, young people with complex needs, and multiple service providers: A study of triangulated relationships and their impact on resilience. Family Process, 51(2), 193-206.

Ungar, M., Liebenberg, L., & Ikeda, J. (2012). Young people with complex needs: Designing coordinated interventions to promote resilience across child welfare, juvenile corrections, mental health and education services. British Journal of Social Work. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcs147

Ungar, M., Liebenberg, L., Armstrong, M., Dudding, P., & van de Vijver, F. J. R. (2012). Patterns of service use, individual and contextual risk factors, and resilience among adolescents using multiple psychosocial services. Child Abuse & Neglect. doi: org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.05.007

Ungar, M. (2012). Researching and theorizing resilience across cultures and contexts. Preventive Medicine, 55(5), 387-389. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.07.021

Ungar, M. (2013). The impact of youth-adult relationships on resilience. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 3, 328–336.

Ungar, M., Ghazinour, M., & Richter, J. (2013). What is Resilience Within the Ecology of Human Development? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(4), 348-366. Doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12025

Ungar, M. (2013). Resilience, trauma, context and culture. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 14(3), 253 - 264. Doi: 10.1177/1524838013487805

Documents

The Social Ecology of Resilience - OHRDP · The counselor explores solutions that are as complex (multi-systemic) as the problems they address. • What else will need to change to