Resiliency Within’s host, Elaine Miller-Karas, co-founded the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI).  She resigned as Executive Director in 2020 when she welcomed Dr. Michael Sapp as the CEO of TRI.

They will discuss the international organization's past, present, and future. The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that cultivates trauma-informed and resiliency-focused individuals and communities worldwide.

TRI is known internationally for its innovative perspectives promoting individual and community well-being.

Two types of training, the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)® and the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® have been developed by Elaine Miller-Karas. Both models are biologically based and teach wellness skills, cultivating well-being in mind, body, and spirit.

While TRM is oriented toward mental health professionals, CRM focuses on public health and has been taught to professionals and natural leaders of communities. 

TRI has brought its healing modalities to more than 70 countries.  Dr. Sapp and Elaine have traveled to many places worldwide, including China, the Philippines, Germany, Turkey, Northern Ireland, India, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Nepal.

TRI has built meaningful collaborations with diverse organizations such as the Center for Contemplative Science at Emory University, EdCamp Ukraine, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Fighting Back Santa Maria, and the Christopher Wolf Crusade. 

Dr. Sapp and Elaine will elaborate upon TRI’s values and its mission.

TRI’s mission is:

• To take people from despair to hope through simple skills-based interventions based on cutting-edge research about the brain.

• To expand access to biologically based treatments by training frontline service providers, community leaders, and clinicians to build local capacity in diverse communities nationally and internationally.

TRI’s values include:

• Every individual, child, and adult has a natural-born ability to cultivate well-being and can learn an array of self-help skills.

• When a traumatic event has resulted in symptoms, individuals are entitled to treatment that is gentle, effective, and culturally sensitive.

• Education and intervention about the common reactions to traumatic experiences must be available to diverse populations and cultures.

• Treatment of individuals suffering from traumatic stress reactions must be accessible and affordable to all members of society.

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About Our Guest:

Dr. Michael Sapp

Michael Sapp serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), where he has been actively involved since 2010, initially as Senior Faculty for both TRM and CRM.

His educational background includes an M.A. in General Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, both earned at The New School in New York, NY. Dr. Sapp is deeply committed to disseminating TRI's innovative healing approaches to a global audience.

In 2016, he assumed the role of Associate Executive Director, and his exceptional leadership skills led to his appointment as CEO in 2020.

A notable aspect of Dr. Sapp's work lies in his keen interest in neuroscientific approaches to trauma healing. This interest culminated in his co-authorship of the chapter "The Nervous System, Memory, and Trauma" in Ms. Miller-Karas' book, Building Resilience to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Models, first published in 2015 and subsequently in its second edition in 2023.

In collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Sapp played a crucial role in establishing a CRM Teacher Training program for Angola in 2023. This program aims to educate 180 Young Adult Social Mobilizers (YASM), impacting up to 6,000 Angolan Youth

 His humanitarian work was further shaped by experiences in Istanbul, Turkey, supporting Syrian refugees and assisting survivors of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. He was instrumental in launching TRI's training programs in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The holidays often come wrapped in ribbons of joy, but for many, they conceal threads of grief, suicide, and seasonal depression. In this episode, Elaine Karas-Miller invites Dr. Jamie Gamboa and Brian Stefan from Spotlight On Suicide (SOS) to explore these difficult truths, offering compassionate insights into the darkness that can creep in under the glow of holiday lights. They unpack the weight of unspoken sorrow and share their practical Suicide Prevention Toolbox — strategies to help when the season becomes too heavy to bear. If you or someone you know has ever struggled to keep going while the world keeps celebrating, this conversation holds a lifeline of understanding and hope.

Rev. Lesley Carroll has dedicated her life to the pursuit of peace and reconciliation. To her, this mission is a lifelong calling. Her efforts extend beyond the borders of Northern Ireland, as she has been instrumental in fostering dialogues for peace and reconciliation in regions such as Rwanda, Nigeria, Kosovo, and Croatia. She was the past Prison Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. She now serves as the Assistant Commissioner for investigations: Support Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

In these challenging times for our global community, Rev. Carroll generously shares her insights and the valuable lessons she has acquired on her remarkable journey, which can offer guidance and inspiration for us all about how to bring peace and reconciliation to our communities worldwide.

Inspired by her experiences, Rev. Carroll introduced the Community Resiliency Model to Northern Ireland. This initiative has led to the establishment of a group of Community Resiliency Model Teachers who are actively disseminating CRM's healing skills throughout the NI community.

The great spiritual leaders, Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote about their commitment to compassion and joy and expressed their ideas in their book, The Book of Joy. Desmond Tutu called himself the “prisoner of hope,” and his message of hope and joy will live on. Many people in our world have expressed being tired and feeling a sense of hopelessness about the world's condition. Desmond Tutu faced great hardship in his life, yet he was hopeful about the world condition, and he would say, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Reena Patel, LCSW discusses with Elaine Miller-Karas, the meaning of joy and how we can be lifted from suffering and hopelessness to embrace the spring of joy within each one of us. They discuss the eight pillars of joy: perspective, acceptance, humor, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, and generosity. Listeners will be asked to explore how they can nurture their joy to live life with greater meaning and restore hope.

The Dalai Lama states, “There are many different angles for every event in life.” He uses the terms “wider perspective” and “larger perspective.” These involve taking a step back to look at the bigger picture. A wider perspective moves us out of a limited self-awareness and self-interest to the possibility of a global interest. Desmond Tutu expressed the idea of a “God’s-eye perspective,” which he stated allows for the birth of empathy, which creates joy not only in the one but also in the many. This wider perspective leads to the possibility of empathy opening the door to understanding the journeys of others and can prevent us from building walls that keep us from welcoming potential friends and allies. Different perspectives can turn the “I” into the “we.” Desmond Tutu reminded us of the Overview Effect. He stated, “Many astronauts report that once they glimpsed the Earth from space—a small blue ball floating in the vast expanse, lacking our human-made borders—they never looked at their personal or national interests in quite the same way again. They saw the oneness of terrestrial life and the preciousness of our planetary home.” (Dalai Lama et al., 2016). There perspectives are needed during these times.

Resiliency Within is rebroadcasting a conversation between Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, and Aziza Hasan, Executive Director, and Andrea Hodos, Associate Director of New Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging divides and convening constructive conversations around challenging social issues. As 2024 is swiftly coming to an end, it is a time to amplify and be thankful for the voices working towards peaceful dialogue.

They share their wisdom on how New Ground envisions an America where Muslims and Jews are empowered to create lasting partnerships and engage in authentic communication and mutual cooperation. This vibrant model of engagement – not bound by history, theology, or politics – affirms that conflict is inevitable and yet not intractable. NewGround empowers Muslims, Jews, and allies to bridge divisions and leverage shared values to strengthen our communities’ well-being and our fragile democracy. NewGround is a community-building organization that creates, connects, and empowers Jewish and Muslim Change-makers in America. Through a professional fellowship, high school leadership council, and public programming, NewGround transforms Muslim-Jewish relations and advances a shared agenda for change. They share what we need to do differently to bring about lasting change.

Clifford D. Barnett, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Warner Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Wilmington, NC, where he is a dedicated community organizer and team builder, passionate about connecting individuals in need with essential resources. Elected to Wilmington’s City Council in 2017 and re-elected in 2021, he currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem. Joining Resiliency Within, Pastor Barnett brings his perspective on resilience, drawn from his extensive experience in ministry, government, and community advocacy. He will share insights on navigating challenging times by uncovering what else is true?

RACHEL ZIMMERMAN, an award-winning journalist, is the author of Us, After: A Memoir of Love and Suicide. Her book examines domestic devastation and resurgence, the struggle between public and private selves, life’s shifting perspectives, the work of motherhood, and the secrets we keep. She will share how she confronted the unimaginable and discovered the good in what remains. When a state trooper appeared at Rachel Zimmerman’s door to report that her husband had jumped to his death off a nearby bridge, she fell to her knees, unable to fully absorb the news. How could the man she’d married, a devoted father and robotics professor at MIT with no history of mental illness, have committed such an act? How would she explain this to her young daughters? And could she have stopped him? A longtime journalist, she probed obsessively, believing answers would help her survive. She interviewed doctors and suicide researchers. She spoke with a man who jumped off the same bridge and lived. She got answers, but not the answer—the answer to the question of why her husband killed himself. And so began years of learning to make peace with not knowing.

Join an open-hearted conversation with Psychotherapist Elaine Miller-Karas, host of Resiliency Within with Kevin McLeod, Director of Community Development, and Psychologist Michael Sapp, CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. Together, they’ll explore practical ways to navigate the emotional landscape following the 2024 election results. As celebrations and grief arise within workplaces, homes, and communities, this dialogue offers tools to foster understanding and resilience across differing political perspectives. Elaine, Kevin and Michael will discuss how to initiate meaningful conversations with coworkers and loved ones who may hold different political views. Discover strategies to find common ground, which can create connection and serve as an antidote to distress. Whether you're wondering how to cope with four more years of President-elect Trump or how to connect with family members who supported Kamala Harris, this session will provide guidance on managing these complex dynamics with empathy and respect. In addition, they will share simple skills to help regulate your autonomic nervous system so that you can maintain inner balance, although the wake of world events is outside of our control.

Resiliency Within's host, Elaine Miller-Karas, and her guest, Martha Parra, share the beauty and values of their Latino culture. Martha's family came to California from Mexico, and Elaine's mother and grandmother came from El Salvador. They will share the values they learned from their families and how their rich heritage has inspired their personal and professional journeys as community leaders. They will also share their families' challenges as they immigrate to a new country. Martha will discuss traditional healing practices learned from her father and how he inspired her work as a social worker. They also share the challenges of racism and colonialism immigrants face. This is a time in US history when it is essential to embrace the richness and value of Latino culture to counter the disparaging comments being made. Martha will share two programs initiated by the Reagan administration that gave her and her family a pathway to legal residency.

The Community Resiliency Model and the Trauma Resiliency Model and how they have been accessible to the Latino community. Martha pioneered the first Community Resiliency Model Teacher Training in Spanish in the pilot study through California's Mental Health Services Act and the County of San Bernardino's Department of Behavioral Health. Martha will share her work as an Immigration Evaluations Evaluator and her work with Asylum, Hardship, the Violence Against Women Act, and victims of human trafficking. The diverse Latino culture is rich with traditions. The identities of Latinas and Latinos are shaped by geography, heritage, race, and gender. Latinas and Latinos embrace their heritage and contribute to the culture of the United States. They will share how their families taught them compassion, courage, strength, service, and hard work.

Julia Loken and Hughie Stone Fish, both Los Angeles-based artists in the area of humor, comedy, and more, join Resiliency Within to talk about their work. They will reflect on humor and comedy in this present moment. Elaine Miller Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, states that “humor is one of the elixirs of life.” An elixir is described as a magical power to cure and improve something. Humor and comedy play a vital role in human life because they offer a way to relieve stress, build connections, and foster resilience. Laughter has been shown to release endorphins, elevate mood, and reduce tension, promoting physical and emotional well-being. Comedy helps people cope with difficult situations, offering a different perspective or a sense of relief, allowing individuals to process complex emotions more easily. It also strengthens social bonds by creating shared moments of joy and connection, making it an essential tool for communication and collective healing in challenging times. In today's climate of political divisiveness, humor and comedy are more important than ever because they offer a way to bridge divides, ease tensions, and encourage dialogue. Comedy can help people reflect on the absurdities of divisive rhetoric, making complex issues more approachable and less hostile. In times of heightened division, humor can create space for empathy and understanding, reminding us of our shared humanity. Join Resiliency Within as we hope to reflect on humor and comedy and have a few moments of levity during these difficult times. What else is true?