Department of Psychology
What is psychological resilience?
Studies of children and adults have helped to identify the existence of psychological resilience as an observable human quality. While some individuals undergo trauma and adversity and are able to cope well, others experiencing the same or lesser adversity may develop severe or persistent psychopathology. People who display resilience are better able to maintain healthy levels of physical and psychological functioning in the face of life's challenges. Individuals who are less resilient are more likely to dwell on problems, feel overwhelmed, use unhealthy coping styles to handle stress, and develop anxiety and depression. Research examining psychological resilience attempts to reveal what kinds of characteristics and contextual factors are related to it.
Psychological resilience training aims to:
- Assist employees recognise unhealthy coping strategies and behaviour.
- Assist in the development of techniques considered useful for effective coping.
- Dispel misconceptions about what constitutes effective coping.
Services provided
All employees experience difficulties whether it is at work or in their personal lives. The purpose of this service is to provide group-based psychological resilience training within your organisation. We use the most current developments in resilience training in order to provide the most effective training for your organisation.
The psychological resilience training involves the following:
- Discussions with management and employees regarding the features of the organisation and the type of stress that impact employees.
- Collection of anonymous baseline information from employees and management regarding their difficulties and current psychological well-being.
- Provision of 4-hours of practical psychological resilience training over a four week period. (Note: timing of training is flexible and negotiated with management to fit organisational requirements).
- Training delivery by trained training administrators.
- Collection of information from staff after each training session regarding training satisfaction and perceptions of effectiveness.
- Three month and 1 year follow-up with employees and management to determine the success of the training program for employees in your organisation.
The role of psychological resilience in your organisation.
In 2002, the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on mental health and work indicated that mental health problems are among the most important contributors to the burden of disease and disability worldwide. This report identified that the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide are mental health problems and that mental health problems do not discriminate between developing and developed countries, age, gender or social strata. Furthermore, the report outlined good evidence to suggest an increase in the onset of mental health problems in the future.
According to the WHO report the workplace is one of the key environments that affect our mental health status and well-being. There is a growing acknowledgement of the important role organisations can play in the prevention of mental illness. The implementation of evidence-based psychological resilience training is one of the ways that organisations can participate in the prevention of mental illness.
Full access to the WHO (2002) report can be found by clicking the link below:
www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/712.pdf
Why is this service free?
This service is provided for free as part of a program of research into psychological resilience training and its efficaciousness in the workplace. The purpose of this ongoing program of research is to develop the most effective resilience training for various segments of the Australian workforce.
All research conducted is approved by the Macquarie University ethics committee. All data collected from employees is confidential and anonymous where possible. This research will be used for the publication of scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals for the purpose of advancing our understanding of the efficacy of psychological resilience training in the workplace.
Will the service be evaluated?
Yes, an important part of this program is to determine the efficacy of the resilience training. Organisational management will receive a report outlining the efficacy of the program for staff, and the areas in which further training may be required.
Is my organisation eligible to participate?
We encourage all organisations to apply even those where it is not obvious how employees may benefit from psychological resilience training. Employee issues may have little to do with the immediate work environment and more to do with personal struggles. Thus, even the most harmonious organisations can benefit from such training.
What skills to the training developers have?
Dr Monique Crane will be developing the psychological resilience training packages. Dr Crane has been part of a team of people developing and evaluating psychological resilience training with the Australian Defence Force.
For more information on the training developed within the Australian Defence Force go to:
http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/2010/april/cohn/
The resilience training team have also published a book chapter discussing the development of resilience training within the Australian Defence Force: Cohn, A., Crane, M. F., & Hodson, S. E (2011). Psychological resilience training in the Australian Defence Force, in Kathryn M. Gow and Marek J. Celinski, (Ed.) Wayfinding Through Life’s Challenges: Coping and Survival. NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Contact
Dr Monique Crane
Phone: (02) 9850 8604
E-mail: monique.crane@mq.edu.au