Resiliency Within

What happens when a simple belief in the human capacity for healing grows into a worldwide movement? In this special 20th anniversary episode of Resiliency Within, host Elaine Miller-Karas reflects on the remarkable journey of the Trauma Resource Institute, the nonprofit she co-founded two decades ago, and on the evolution of the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)® and Community Resiliency Model (CRM)®, for which she has been a key developer. Elaine shares the story of how a commitment to making the science of the nervous system understandable, practical, and accessible has expanded across cultures, professions, and communities around the world— Elaine speaks with a deep sense of gratitude and awe at how far the work has traveled and how many lives have been touched. She also looks toward the future, asking what may become possible when we understand resilience not simply as enduring hardship, but as the growing capacity for well-being, connection, agency, meaning, and hope. This is a celebration of an extraordinary milestone, but even more, it is a tribute to the people and communities who have made TRI's work their own—and an invitation to continue building a world in which the biology of resilience, human dignity, and our capacity to care for one another are understood as essential resources for healing and flourishing.

My guest is Dr. Samah Jabr, a Palestinian psychiatrist, psychotherapist, writer, educator, and one of the most important contemporary voices addressing the psychological consequences of occupation, violence, displacement, and historical trauma.

Dr. Jabr joins us to discuss her book, Radiance in Pain and Resilience: The Global Reverberation of Palestinian Historical Trauma.

Her work challenges us to expand the way we understand trauma. Western approaches to trauma have often focused primarily on what happens within an individual—the symptoms a person experiences and the treatment that may help that person recover. But what happens when trauma is shared across families, communities, and generations? What happens when the source of trauma is not entirely in the past?

And perhaps most importantly, how do we talk about resilience without romanticizing suffering or placing the burden of adaptation solely upon those who have been harmed?

Today, we will explore these questions and consider what the Palestinian experience can teach the global community about historical trauma, collective resilience, dignity, and our shared humanity.

Food is something we encounter every day, yet for many of us, nourishment can involve a great deal of thought, effort, emotion, and complexity.

In this conversation, registered dietitian and co-creator of Trauma-Informed Mindful Eating (TIME), Kristen Zappone, explores how our relationships with food and our bodies are shaped by far more than nutrition knowledge or willpower. Our lived experiences, nervous systems, relationships, environments, cultural messages, diet culture, and ability to connect with internal body cues can all influence how we experience nourishment.

Kristen introduces the role of interoception—our ability to notice and make sense of what is happening within the body—and explores how learning to "listen to your body" can be more challenging than it sounds, particularly when our connection with internal cues has been shaped by our experiences.

Through the lens of TIME, the conversation reframes many food-related struggles with greater context and curiosity, asking what may become possible when we move away from judgment and expectations about how we "should" eat.

Kristen explores how cultivating awareness, compassion, agency, and greater connection with our bodies can help us build resilience in our relationship with nourishment—not by finding a perfect way to eat, but by expanding our capacity for choice, flexibility, and self-trust.

Leading from Abundance (LFA) is an invitation to help humanitarian providers use the skills of the Community Resiliency Model to shift from survival mode and a scarcity mindset to one of resilience. Compassion fatigue is a real thing; our programming helps humanitarian providers understand that their well-being is not a luxury; it is a best practice. We help providers understand that sustainable leadership doesn't come from a place of burnout—it grows from a place of abundance.

Patrisse Cullors joins Elaine Miller-Karas on Resiliency Within for a conversation about the transformative power of art, imagination, spirituality, and community in creating pathways toward healing and social change.

Cullors believes that art can do more than reflect the world as it is—it can help us imagine and build the world as it could be. Drawing upon more than two decades as a visual and performing artist, author, educator, and community organizer, she will explore how creativity can become a source of resilience, cultural memory, spiritual connection, and collective transformation.

Elaine and Patrisse will discuss Cullors' concept of "abolitionist aesthetics"—the idea that meaningful social transformation requires not only dismantling systems that cause harm, but also creating new images, practices, spaces, and ways of being that embody liberation and community care. They will explore her view of artworks as more than visual objects: they can serve as spiritual guardians, cultural commentary, and what she describes as "spiritual armor."

The conversation will also explore the influence of the Black Arts Movement on Cullors' creative practice, the relationship between art and activism, and themes from her forthcoming book, We Make the World, in which she invites readers to consider aesthetic activism and the essential role of art in movements for social change.

At the heart of the conversation is a question central to Resiliency Within: How can creativity help us move beyond surviving what has happened to us and toward imagining, creating, and participating in what is possible?

This conversation will explore the potential of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® to support lawyers and others working in civil legal services (or "legal aid") nonprofits. It will begin by introducing legal services - what the work is, who it serves, and the role nonprofit legal aid organizations play in helping people address legal problems affecting basic life necessities.

Drawing on Julia Wilson's path from practicing as a legal aid attorney to coaching lawyers and nonprofit leaders, the conversation will explore how she found CRM and came to recognize its value for this sector.

The discussion will examine why CRM is so needed in legal services: the unique stressors of the legal profession; the additional demands of legal aid work in nonprofit settings; and the relevance of nervous system awareness and resiliency skills both for the professionals doing the work and in providing direct legal services to clients experiencing legal problems. It will also consider what makes CRM uniquely useful in this context, including its accessible, biology-based framework and practical skills.

Finally, the conversation will look toward future opportunities to use CRM to bring greater resiliency awareness and resources to the legal profession and legal services sector.

Why do so many of us struggle with people-pleasing, perfectionism, difficulty setting boundaries, or feeling responsible for everyone else's wellbeing? What if these patterns are not flaws, but survival adaptations shaped by our earliest relationships?

In this episode, Adam McCormick explores the "unfinished business of childhood" and how early experiences continue to influence our emotional lives, relationships, and sense of self. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in trauma and child welfare, he offers a compassionate perspective on healing—one that replaces self-judgment with understanding. Elaine Miller-Karas will discuss with Adam McCormick how resilience grows not by becoming someone new, but by reconnecting with the authentic self that has always been within us.

Join Resiliency Within host Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, as she welcomes Dr. Michael Sapp, Executive Director of the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), and Jeanine Harris, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer, for a conversation about TRI's first annual International Conference, October 2–4, 2026, in Claremont, California, and online worldwide.

Celebrating 20 years of TRI's work, the conference will bring together a global community of natural leaders, educators, practitioners, researchers, and partners from across all 50 U.S. states and more than 77 countries.

Guided by the theme, "Rooted in Well-Being, Planted in Community, Cultivated by Hope," Elaine, Michael, and Jeanine will explore the vision behind this milestone gathering and preview conversations on the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® and Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)®, emerging research, innovative programs, and community-based applications.

Whether you are new to TRI or a longtime member of the community, all are welcome to join this celebration of connection, resilience, and hope.

This episode of Resiliency Within explores how patriarchal traditions have influenced leadership in the healing professions, often emphasizing hierarchy, authority, and "fixing" over collaboration, curiosity, and empowerment. Jenn Turner and Elaine Miller Karas, drawing from their own experiences, will reflect on how challenging these dynamics inspired them to embrace a different way of leading—one that honors the wisdom of the body, psychological safety, shared power, and the resilience inherent in every person. Together, they will discuss how women leaders, alongside allies of all genders, are helping to create a new paradigm of leadership that stands up to bullying and the misuse of authority with courage, compassion, and integrity, fostering healing communities where every voice is respected and every person has the opportunity to thrive.