Resiliency Enhancement

The strengths perspective is a new focus in social work today, but until now little has been done to move this focus beyond the realm of theoretical discourse. In Resiliency Enhancement, Elaine Norman and her colleagues bridge the gap between theory and implementation to illustrate how resiliency enhancement -- strengthening an individual's ability to function competently even in the presence of major life stressors -- enables social workers to put the strengths perspective successfully into practice for their clients. Resiliency is based on a common core of personality characteristics and dispositions that enable highly stressed persons to maintain a sense of competence and control in their lives. Two additional factors contribute to a successful individual's greater resiliency: the family interaction system and the work and community milieu. The contributors to this volume show how the social worker can use interventions to focus on enhancing those resiliency factors in a way that will accentuate the positive and put the strengths model to work for the client.