Our Mission
Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt or “bounce back” in the face of adversity or stress. Previous research has identified some predictors of resilience, including certain psychological abilities that can be learned. However, not much of this knowledge has been applied in the real world. In the Resilience and Prevention Program, we are testing whether teaching certain techniques associated with resilience may be protective.
Adolescence is a time when many changes are occurring in the way that kids think about themselves and other people. Therefore, it can provide an opportunity to teach young people new approaches for managing their feelings, challenging social situations, and family difficulties. We have developed a program that introduces resilience-enhancing skills to middle school-aged adolescents in an 8-session group program that also includes meetings for caregivers.
Young Adults
We have developed and tested a brief program for college students that builds resilience-enhancing skills including: mindfulness, flexible thinking, mentalization, and self-compassion. This program has been conducted in-person, via Zoom, and using a virtual reality application. A randomized controlled trial showed that the program increases resilience-promoting capacities and reduces symptoms of psychopathology.
Healthcare Providers
We developed a 3-session online course to help healthcare workers cope with the stresses they have experienced on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic, during its aftermath, and in their daily lives.
We are now conducting a 6-week resilience-enhancing intervention in multi-user virtual reality for healthcare workers.
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Mindfulness Exercises
We have several pre-recorded mindfulness exercises available for anyone to use at any time. The practice of mindfulness techniques has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and to improve resilience and brain health.