Abstract

Resilience is an emerging area of research interest. Resilience has much relevance and applicability to persons with disabilities and to the situations lived and experienced by people with disabilities.^1–3However, few resilience interventions, specifically tailored to the needs of people with disabilities, have been developed and empirically studied. Stuntzner and Hartley³ began to change this trend with the development of a 10-module resilience intervention. Presented as a part of this article are two case studies of people who completed an initial resilience intervention pilot study conducted by Stuntzner and MacDonald.⁴ The case studies represent people living with varying disabilities and diagnoses and illustrate the application and usefulness of resilience interventions in their lives. Based on these initial findings, resilience and resilience-skill building approaches may help assist people with disabilities in reducing negative emotions and cultivating more positive ways of coping. Additional research is warranted to learn more about the utility of resilience interventions among people with disabilities.

Keywords

resilience, resilience case studies, interventions, resilience cultivation, rehabilitation, bereavement, natural disasters, loss, personal crisis, negative societal attitudes, multiple barriers, including bias, discrimination, low expectations, strengths and abilities, emotional regulation, anxiety, depression, forgiveness, resilience