Holding Resilience in Trust: Working Systemically With Families Following an Acquired Brain Injury

Abstract

The conceptualization of resilience following acquired brain injury needs to remain sensitive to the complex nature and enduring dimensions of trauma, loss, and stress. It is essential that a systemic and dynamic view be maintained with a focus on the key adaptation tasks that families face: grieving, restructuring, identity redefinition, and growing through adversity. These tasks are explored in a case example illustrating how these challenges reemerge across the life cycle. The key theme in this contribution is that resilience is a fluid property, a potential that practitioners and service systems can listen for, support, strengthen, and hold in trust.