Adversity is a given in our lives. The amount and extent one can endure are another matter entirely. Research has shown that we all can deal with some level of adversity for some time, and while that is acknowledged among various populations tested, the level of adversity and duration experienced by one individual is quite different to that of another capability to deal with the same. These differences are expressed in terms of ‘exposure‘, and the various categories of adversity support this notion of subcategories showing unique traits of individuals.
Link to my past article on this topic Adapting To Change February 8, 2014
My observation is that when we talk about counselling and coaching, in many cases the methodology used to address an individual can be the same, is that the practitioner needs to be cognizant of these differences at a deeper level and ‘they learn’ to hear the individual with which they are discussing their issues. Many still look to bring the individual over the proverbial railroad tracks, to make them well! This point you will find in this research paper to be one significant fault of the practice of counseling and psychology.
I’ll now turn you over to the research which I refer to that highlights and expands on these key issues. I welcome a constructive conversation with those who are curious from within the professions referred to here and most assuredly from without.
Loss Trauma & Human Resilience G.A. Bonnano January 4, 2017, American Psychologist
