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Many psychologists, neuroscientists, and trauma specialists are actively studying resilience in the face of trauma. Some of what the research on resilience says:
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HILDREN WHO WITNESSED TRAUMA OR VIOLENCE:
Alicia Lieberman, Ph.D. studied the brain development of children under 6-years-old who witnessed trauma or violence. The major ways these young people were able to "work around" those places in the brain most impacted by witnessing trauma, were by being connected to one or more of the following:
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Spirituality
· Animals
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Nature
· Creativity
(Alicia Lieberman is the Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at UCSF.)
SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE:
Judith Lewis Herman, Ph.D. has studied trauma and resilience in many people and places, including: domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and combat and political torture survivors. The following are some key resilience factors (psycho-social) in having a more connected and contributive life post trauma:
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Help: The ability to help another during the trauma
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Greater Meaning: The ability to make greater meaning and purpose of the traumatic experience
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Relationship: The experience of staying positively connected to at least one other person
(Judith Lewis Herman is a psychiatrist, researcher, and teacher at Harvard Medical School. She directs the Victims of Violence Program at Cambridge Health Alliance.)
IMAGINATION
Bessel VanderKolk, M.D. is important in his role of defining and then broadening PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as a valid diagnosis for people suffering trauma after war and abuse. He has done numerous studies on PTSD, particularly with children who have witnessed global catastrophes. One of his biggest findings is how important the role of imagination is to people's resilience after trauma:
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magination: The ability to imagine positive and sustaining futures, and to resolve trauma.
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Belgian researcher and academic Dr. van der Kolk is a Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School, and Medical Director of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute.)
SHARED COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCES
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Ph.D.'s work is rooted in her participation in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC). The TRC was a restorative justice process between victims and perpetrators of violence that took place during South African apartheid. Her studies of black South African townships post assassinations and state violence found:
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Collective movement, drumming and song increased collective resilience and decreased intra-community violence after state based political assassinations
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Isolation led to increased intra-community violence
(Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is a South African psychologist and academic who participated in the TRC. Currently teaches at the University of Cape Town. She wrote the book, A Human Being Dies That Night: A Story of Forgiveness.)
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