The Adaptation Approach to Resilience (1CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for:  Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and LMFTs

Course By: Tim Grigsby, PhD

Content By: Ellis, B. J., Bianchi, J., Griskevicius, V., & Frankenhuis, W. E. (2017). Beyond risk and protective factors: An adaptation-based approach to resilience. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(4), 561-587.

Course Description: A substantial literature exists that describes deficits associated with exposure to high-stress, traumatic, and potentially toxic environments during childhood. In contrast to models which attempt to repair damage incurred from these toxic stress experiences, the adaptation-based approach to resilience posits that stress-adapted youth possess unique skills and abilities. These unique adaptations to stress can be leveraged to promote resilience and foster long-term net positive benefits for cognitive development and general achievement. However, future research should be mindful of practices used to measure learning and performance (sensitization) to assess the skills and abilities of children and youth from high-risk backgrounds (specialization).

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the relationship between the specialization hypothesis and sensitization hypothesis
2. Describe the advantage of the adaptation-based approach to resilience to traditional deficit models of stress response
3. Appraise the implications of the adaptation-based approach to resilience to learning and achievement approaches for youth populations

Course Outline:

• Read and understand Beyond risk and protective factors: An adaptation-based approach to resilience
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of utilizing the adaptation-based approach to promote resilience among children from high-risk backgrounds
• Work through the post-test questions; keep in mind that answer selections should be derived from the respective article
• Return to the referenced article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the state of the evidence supporting the adaptation-based approach to resilience and future research needed to support its use in various settings

Approvals: