Spiritual Resources in Families
and Family Therapy
Samaritan Institute Annual Conference
August 6, 2011
Part 2
Froma Walsh, PhD
Mose & Sylvia Firestone Professor Emerita,
School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago
fwalsh@uchicago.edu
www.ccfhchicago.org
Spiritual Resources
In Suffering, Healing, and Resilience
Resilience:
Overcoming Adversity
Ability to rebound from life crises
and disruptive life challenges,
strengthened and more resourceful
Rugged
Individual
Invulnerable
Self-Reliant
Relational
Resilience
Lifelines
of
Connection
H
u
m
a
n
–
A
n
i
m
a
l
B
o
n
d
s
Guardian Angel
Perhaps they are not stars in the sky
But rather openings
Where our loved ones shine down
To let us know they are happy
And to light our way
…..Native American
Strengthening Family
Resilience:
Relational Lifelines
~~~~~~~
Facilitate coping, adaptation,
healing, and positive growth
Through family, community, cultural,
and spiritual connections
Facilitating Resilience
Identify, build resources that help clients to:
– Recover from Crisis, Trauma, Loss
– Cope with Multiple, Persistent Stresses
• e.g. chronic illness, poverty conditions
– Navigate Disruptive Life Transitions
• e.g. job loss, separation, divorce, migration
– Overcome Barriers to Thrive
• e.g. At-risk, vulnerable youth
KEYS TO FAMILY RESILIENCE
Belief Systems
1. Making Meaning of Crisis & Challenge
2. Positive Outlook: Hope
3. Transcendence & Spirituality
Organizational Resources
4. Flexibility / Stability
5. Connectedness; Leadership
6. Kin, Social, & Economic Resources
Communication Processes
7. Clear, consistent messages
8. Emotional Sharing; Humor / respite
9. Collaborative Problem-solving / Proaction
Belief Systems
The Heart and Soul of Resilience
Rooted in family history, culture, religion
Influence our world view, response to adversity
1. Meaning Making
2. Positive Outlook: Hope; Mastery
3. Transcendence -- Transformation
Seeing is believing
Western Scientific perspective
We must believe in something
To be able to see it
Native American perspective
We do not see things as they are -We see them as we are.
The Talmud
1. Meaning Making
• Relational View of Resilience
• Connection, "Lifelines" vs. “rugged individual”
• Contextualize, Humanize, Depathologize Distress
• Gain Sense of Coherence:
– View challenges as:
• Meaningful, Comprehensible, Manageable
• Facilitative Appraisal of Situation; Options
– Explanatory, causal; Why me / Us?
– Future expectations / catastrophic fears/ Agency
2. Positive Outlook
• Instill Hope – “Oxygen for the Spirit”
• Encouragement; Build Confidence:
"Can Do" Spirit
• Focus on Strengths, Abilities; Potential
• Active Initiative & Perseverance
• Master the Art of the Possible -Accept what can't be changed
Tolerate uncertainty
Master the Art of the Possible:
Do all you can
With what you have
In the time you have
In the place you are
Serenity Prayer
in Addictions Recovery
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change what I can
And the wisdom to know the difference
Reinhold Niebuhr
3. Transcendence
• Larger Values, Purpose
• Spirituality: Faith, Practices, Rituals, Community
• Inspiration / aspirations:
– Envision new possibilities; Life dreams
– Creative expression
• Transformation: Learning, Change, & Growth
– Appreciate life, loved ones; deepen / repair bonds
– Reassess, redirect life priorities
– Service, Social activism to benefit others / all
One by one, day by day,
Move on from setbacks;
Refuse to give up;
Go confidently towards your dreams.
Buddhist saying
Let Nothing Dim the Light
that Shines from Within
--Maya Angelou
Every blade of grass has its Angel
that bends over it and whispers
'Grow, grow'
-- The Talmud
Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all ways you can
In all places you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can.
--
John Wesley, founder of Methodists
Our country demonstrated that
there are ways other than violence
to deal with difference and conflict:
the way of forgiveness,
the way of reconciliation.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Nobel Prize Winner
Resilience of the human spirit:
The capacity to bring out the best
In the worst of times
In strengthening resilience,
We strive to integrate the experience
of crisis and adversity
-- and our resilient response –
Into the fabric of our individual and
collective identity,
Influencing how
we go on to live our lives.
Part 3. Traumatic Loss, Recovery, & Resilience
www.wttw.com/shop/justice
Jay Shefsky Producer
Family Resilience Meta-Framework for Practice
• Shift Focus from Family Deficits, Limitations
to Strengths, Resources, Potential
• Developmental, Systemic Perspective
•Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Influences
•Family Challenged by Adversity -- timeline: events
•Family Response: Facilitates Adaptation
of all Members, Relationships
• Relational View of Human Resilience
• Use genogram: identify kin, social, community, &
spiritual resources
• Recruit models, mentors for at-risk youth
• Build life-lines, teams, networks
Family Resilience Meta-Framework for Practice (2)
•
Stresses impact family; Family coping influences adaptation of
all members, relationships, and family unit
•
Contextual View of Distress, Wellbeing, & Adaptation:
Larger systems: workplace, healthcare, schools; social
structures, access to resources all important
• Varied Challenges and Pathways in Resilience:
• No single model fits all families, resources & challenges
• Prevention: By strengthening resilience, families and children
become more resourceful to meet future challenges.
Facilitating Family Resilience: Practice Guidelines
• Core Conviction in Strengths, Potential of all Youth & Families,
alongside Vulnerabilities, Limitations
• Language, Framing to Depathologize, Humanize
• Contextualize Distress; Decrease Shame, Blame
• Compassion for Suffering, Struggle, Disappointments, Losses
• Focus on Strengths, Interests, Abilities, Gifts
• View Crisis as Opportunity for Learning & Positive Change
• Shift Focus from Problems to Possibilities for
Mastery, Healing, & Growth
Steps toward Future Hopes and Dreams
• Integrate Challenges and Resilience into the Fabric of
Personal & Relational Lives.
Guidelines to Facilitate Healing, Resilience
from Complicated or Traumatic Loss
•
Start by grounding in their family, community,
cultural, & spiritual connections.
Invite them to share their loss experience.
Offer compassionate witnessing of recent (&
ongoing) losses, hardships, or injustices suffered.
Draw out, affirm strengths in coping efforts;
Link with kin, community, spiritual resources
Re-member persons & relationships lost;
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•
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Continuing Bonds: Spiritual connection, Stories, Deeds
Future orientation: renew / revise hopes, dreams
References
Walsh, F. (2006). Strengthening Family Resilience. 2nd ed. Guilford Press.
Walsh, F. (2007). Traumatic loss and major disaster: Strengthening family
and community resilience. Family Process, 406, 207-227.
Walsh, F. (Ed.). (2009) Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy. 2nd ed.
Guilford.
Walsh, F. (2009). Human-animal bonds: I & II. Family Process, 48(4) 462-99
Walsh, F. (2010) Spiritual diversity: Multifaith perspectives in family therapy.
Family Process, 49, 330-348.
Walsh, F. (Fall 2011). The spiritual dimension of family life. In F. Walsh (Ed. )
Normal family processes: Growing diversity & complexity. 4th ed.
Guilford.
Walsh, F. (In press). Religion and spirituality: A family systems perspective. In
K. Pargament, A. Mahoney, & E. Shafranske, (Eds.). APA Handbook of
Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality, Vol. II. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association
Walsh, F. & McGoldrick, M. (Eds.) (2004). Living beyond loss: Death in the
family. 2nd ed. Norton.