Resiliency Within

By Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSWHealth & Fitness Mental Health Education Self-Improvement

Resiliency Within episodes

March 20, 2023 Trauma, Devastation, Recovery, Resiliency & Love: Look Both Ways
After a nearly fatal run-in with a car at age 11 that left her paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on her own, Brooke Ellison went on to graduate from Harvard, write a memoir, earn master's and doctoral degrees, and teach policy and ethics as a tenured professor—all the while navigating the world as a woman with ventilator-dependent quadriplegia. It would be easy to admire Brooke from afar—and keep our distance. Many of us are uncomfortable around people we consider "unfortunate." We tend to simultaneously avoid and heroize the disabled, thankful that we don't have to deal with the day-to-day "mechanics." Like breathing. Or using the bathroom, or going on a date. Brooke will share her perspectives about disability. In her newest book, "Look Both Ways," Brooke refuses to let us look away. She tears off the cloak of invisibility around disability not only to champion the rights of the blind or the mobility-impaired but to make a far more earth-shattering claim: what she's experienced—having to relearn how to live—differs from what every human being endures only in a matter of degree. We are more alike than we are willing to see. Brooke's transformation is "an amplified version of the kinds of adjustments we all need to make when we have undergone an unexpected and, often, undesired change in our lives."
56 min
March 13, 2023 Neuroscience of Building Resilience to Trauma, Part 2
Elaine Miller-Karas and Michael Sapp will discuss Elaine's new book, Building Resilience to Trauma, the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models, 2nd Edition, published by Routledge on March 13, 2023. Dr. Sapp will talk about the neuroscience of the Community and Trauma Resiliency Models. This is Part 2 of 2 Parts. Part 1 aired on March 6, 2023. Part 2 will focus on the neuroscience of the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models. Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, will discuss the second edition of her book, Building Resiliency to Trauma, with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened. The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. Using two evidence-informed models of intervention that are trauma-informed and resiliency-informed—the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)—chapters distill complex neuroscience into understandable concepts and lay out a path for fostering short- and long-term healing. CRM develops natural leaders who share wellness skills throughout communities as primary prevention, and TRM focuses on training mental health professionals to reprocess traumatic experiences. Studies have demonstrated that the models' use leads to significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and both models also increase well-being. The models restore balance after traumatic experiences and can be used as tools to cultivate well-being across cultures and abilities throughout the lifespan.
57 min
March 06, 2023 BUILDING RESILIENCY TO TRAUMA, 2ND. EDITION
Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, will discuss the second edition of her book, Building Resiliency to Trauma, with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened. The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. Using two evidence-informed models of intervention that are trauma-informed and resiliency-informed—the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)—chapters distill complex neuroscience into understandable concepts and lay out a path for fostering short- and long-term healing. CRM develops natural leaders who share wellness skills throughout communities as primary prevention, and TRM focuses on training mental health professionals to reprocess traumatic experiences. Studies have demonstrated that the models' use leads to significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and both models also increase well-being. The models restore balance after traumatic experiences and can be used as tools to cultivate well-being across cultures and abilities throughout the lifespan.
56 min
March 06, 2023 BUILDING RESILIENCY TO TRAUMA, 2ND. EDITION
Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, will discuss the second edition of her book, Building Resiliency to Trauma, with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened. The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. Using two evidence-informed models of intervention that are trauma-informed and resiliency-informed—the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)—chapters distill complex neuroscience into understandable concepts and lay out a path for fostering short- and long-term healing. CRM develops natural leaders who share wellness skills throughout communities as primary prevention, and TRM focuses on training mental health professionals to reprocess traumatic experiences. Studies have demonstrated that the models’ use leads to significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and both models also increase well-being. The models restore balance after traumatic experiences and can be used as tools to cultivate well-being across cultures and abilities throughout the lifespan.
56 min
February 27, 2023 Addressing Child Wellbeing and Trauma in Massachusetts
The Center on Child Wellbeing and Trauma (CCWT) is a partnership between Massachusetts' Office of the Child Advocate and ForHealth Consulting™ at UMass Chan Medical School. CCWT supports child-serving organizations and systems in becoming trauma-informed and responsive through trainings, technical assistance, communities of practice, and coaching. Audrey Smolkin, MPP, Executive Director, and Alison Cebulla, MPH, Associate Director of Curriculum Development and Training, will describe their innovative organization and services that were launched in 2021.
57 min
February 20, 2023 One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism
As a Deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and sight, hearing and deafness—much to the confusion of the world around her. While she cannot see well enough to operate without a guide dog or cane, she can see enough to know when someone is reacting to the visible signs of her blindness and can hear when they're whispering behind her back. And she certainly knows how wrong our one-size-fits-all definitions of disability can be. As a media studies professor, she's also seen the full range of blind and deaf portrayals on film and she deconstructs their impact, following common tropes through horror, romance, and everything in between. Her new book, Being Seen, is part memoir, part cultural criticism, part history of the Deafblind experience. It explores how our cultural concept of disability is more myth than fact, and the damage it does to us all.
57 min
February 13, 2023 Well-Being of College Students: Hawaii's Experience
Brooke Conway is a mental health and wellness counselor at Kapi'olani Community College in Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i. In this episode we will discuss Brooke's experiences implementing the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) on her campus as a strategy to support student mental health & wellbeing, particularly while navigating through COVID-19 pandemic and students returning to campus. Hawai'i's unique culture, history and place provide a rich landscape to reflect upon the value of accessible wellness skills like CRM for college students of all ages and backgrounds. Brooke also shares her experiences with the model's connection to diverse ways of knowing and being in the world and supporting resilience from where you are.
57 min
February 06, 2023 Wellness Skills for those who Suffer: Suicidal Ideation Toolbox
Nearly everyone will experience thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives. The problem isn't that we sometimes feel this way. The problem is that we suffer in silence when what we need most is to connect with non-judgmental and caring others. Neuroscientific findings suggest that humans are hard-wired to connect and that healing takes place in the context of human relationships. What this means is that supportive bonds can help us cultivate resiliency during difficult times. Stigma about suicide and mental health can get in the way of our natural ability to heal through connection. That is why we at Spotlight on Suicide (SOS) have made it our mission to shine a light on suicide by providing education about how to coexist with suffering. Stigma, like shame, can't live in the light. Our Suicidal Ideation Toolbox (SIT) contains accessible skills for helping professionals and all people who experience deep suffering (which is everyone!). These skills are intended to increase resilience by fostering connection— with ourselves, our bodies, our communities, and our values— at times when we feel most disconnected.
58 min
January 30, 2023 Building Resilience through Functional Compassion
J'vanete (Jay-vuh-nay) Skiba will share her perspectives from her role as the Assistant Director for Equity, Education, and Engagement for the New Hanover County Resiliency Task Force in Wilmington, North Carolina. The vision of the task force is a more resilient and compassionate New Hanover County. J'vanete serves the community through the idea of "functional compassion." "Functional compassion" is the act of engaging in public and personal practices that spur change on a systemic level out of direct concern for the suffering of others. This kind of compassion grows and learns and changes and has the potential to be powerful and impactful. It requires hope for healing and invites us to build our own personal resilience while identifying and addressing the need to change systems that can cause suffering. In her work, J'vanete strives to help her community make meaningful connections to realize the task force vision.
58 min
January 23, 2023 Weaving Resilient Activism with Personal Well-being
Sami Aaron, the founder of the nonprofit, The Resilient Activist, will discuss how people everywhere are experiencing severe emotional distress caused by climate change and environmental devastation. And what makes it even more unbearable for some is when family, friends, employers, and governments don't understand and often don't care. She will share how the vision of The Resilient Activist was first ignited in 2003 as Sami struggled to find some meaning from the suicide of her older son, Kevin. He had degrees in environmental studies and sociology. He was working on a graduate program in urban and regional planning with a joint law degree when eco-anxiety (fear about the planet's ecology) and solastalgia (grief over the loss of beloved places in nature) combined with his own inner demons and he took his own life. For many people, the more they learn about the state of ecological devastation, the deeper their grief. Sami will share how the programs of The Resilient Activist are creating a community that nurtures, uplifts, and supports those who strive to live in conscious harmony with Earth. Her vision is that the programs of The Resilient Activist will help those sensitive souls - activists - find meaning, purpose, and support even in their darkest hours.
57 min

About Resiliency Within

From the publisher's feed

Elaine Miller-Karas will amplify the message of hope, healing and resiliency she has learned from our world community as she has traversed the globe after human made and natural disasters. Hope often springs forth in response to suffering and trauma. Our beliefs and our wellbeing are being challenged during these unprecedented times.