“I can be changed by what happened to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou

Resilience is the ability to adapt well to stress, challenges, and difficulties and to recover from these difficulties. These challenges can range from smaller stresses such as short-term temporary family, financial or workplace issues to larger and more long-lasting challenges such as major traumas, losses, illness, and economic hardships.

Building resilience is important because it helps us to overcome life’s difficulties, to persevere in our struggle to not only survive but also to recover and rise stronger, and to help our families and communities to overcome the challenges they face. In many ways, resilience is like a superpower that helps you to not only cope with the difficulties of life but also to bounce back stronger and to help others in their struggles.

“Strong communities are born out of individuals being their best selves.”- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Strengthening resilience is especially important for individuals, families, and communities who have had to face significant adversities such as poverty, discrimination, racism, colonialism, violence, oppression, and economic disadvantages because greater resilience is needed in order to manage and overcome these multiple intersecting difficulties. In addition, greater resilience is required to continue to lift and support others even as we are climbing over our own obstacles and challenges.

There is a long and strong tradition of resilience among marginalized individuals and communities, who often have remarkable strengths and resources that they are using every day to face and overcome significant challenges. My goal at BRI Counselling is to help people to further appreciate and leverage their strengths and resources to become more resilient and make greater progress in overcoming the challenges they face and achieving their goals.