Resiliency Within

Resiliency Within will highlight the Poor People's Campaign to get out the vote during this pivotal time in American politics. Every vote matters. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing in more than 40 states to get out the vote of poor, low-propensity voters across the country. Studies show that small increases in the number of these voters casting ballots for an agenda that addresses their needs and concerns can change the outcomes of elections. You’ll hear how the California Poor People’s Campaign is reaching out to people experiencing homelessness, youth, young adults, and Spanish-speaking communities to emphasize our power. We are the swing vote.

Chia-Ti will share her years of experience teaching movement, mindfulness, somatics, and resiliency building in New York City. She will address how she uses movement practices, including yoga (hatha, vinyasa, restorative) and qigong, which she offers to a wide range of age groups, including elders, adults, and teens, through community-based programs. Chia-Ti will share her personal journey of resilience - — from factors of developmental safety to learning how to move from anxious attachment to secure attachment in relationships as an adult. In her teaching, Chia-Ti emphasizes that presence, groundedness, and play are just as essential, if not more so, than the content itself, as they help create a transformative experience for her students. Chia-Ti’s wisdom about the body will be expanded in her interview with Resiliency Within. Chia-TI states, “When we have experienced trauma or chronic stress, our bodies may learn the habit of constantly bracing, constricting, and tensing. Bracing is a natural protection against threats. For example, we may get startled by a loud noise, and the body may respond by tensing up. But when there isn't a threat, can we develop a sense of softening and letting go? In other words, can we learn how to attune to safety within ourselves and our environment?” She will help us understand the connections between mind and body and how to understand our nervous systems. Chia-Ti believes that when we can attune to and access safety and connection, we can begin to support ourselves and others. We can increase our embodiment of resilience. We can trust, hope, and feel — these beautiful markers of being human.

Contemplative practices have been shared across cultures and spiritual traditions for centuries. These practices encompass methods such as meditation, prayer, and mindfulness, which focus on deep reflection and awareness. Their purpose is to foster inner peace, self-awareness, and personal growth. Additionally, they help individuals cultivate resilience, manage stress, and develop emotional balance. Christa Tinari, Director of the Contemplative-Based Resilience (CBR) Project at the Garrison Institute, explains that these practices not only contribute to personal well-being but are also essential for professionals exposed to secondary or vicarious trauma, such as healthcare workers, educators, and humanitarian aid providers. Christa has been a Buddhist contemplative practitioner for nearly 30 years and has observed how contemplative and mindfulness teachers now integrate trauma awareness and resilience strategies into their teachings. This dialogue highlights the intersection between contemplative practices and the body-awareness skills taught through the Community Resiliency Model (CRM). In 2019, Christa encountered CRM while working with Emory University’s Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning) program, where CRM techniques were integrated into the curriculum for both children and adults. One key realization she gained was the importance of trauma-informed approaches when introducing mindfulness practices, especially to those who have experienced trauma. CRM skills help create a safe and supportive environment, enabling individuals to benefit more fully from contemplative practices. These practices and skills work in tandem to foster not only personal but also social and systemic resilience by addressing the mental and emotional well-being of those who help others, making them more capable of sustaining their work in high-stress environments.

Resiliency Within is dedicated to remembering those affected by suicide. We want to bring to light those who work tirelessly to raise awareness and reach out to those suffering silently. My guests today are Dr. Jamie Gamboa and Social Worker Brian Stefan, who are returning to Resiliency Within to discuss their work with Spotlight on Suicide. They will also discuss the Suicidal Ideation Toolbox, a resource filled with accessible skills for helping professionals and individuals experiencing profound suffering. They will also share how people can receive help through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is a universal entry point throughout the United States and U.S. territories to reach a caring, trained counselor who can help people experiencing mental health, substance use, and suicidal distress. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, with National Suicide Prevention Week observed from the Monday to Sunday surrounding World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10.

This encore episode explores the double-bind dilemma faced by women leaders. With the emergence of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for President, gender politics have emerged with ferocity. Elaine and Analiza will discuss the double-bind dilemma - damned if you do and doomed if you don't and how women and women of color can manage it. They also discuss how allies and organizations can support women of color. Because our culture has an unconscious bias of how each gender should be, women are caught in a double bind. When caught in a double bind, doing one thing we need to do will undercut another equally important thing. In this case, if we act in ways consistent with gender stereotypes and are modest, collaborative, service-oriented, empathetic, and caring, we will be liked but not seen as a leader and not seen as competent. If we display leadership qualities like being confident, tough, aggressive, ambitious, and decisive, we might be seen as a leader, but we will also be seen as cold, unlikeable, and unlikely to reach a top leadership role. It is unfair that women must navigate the double bind, which takes an enormous amount of emotional intelligence.

TV reporter David Tereshchuk will be our guest on Resiliency Within as he shares his personal journey chronicled in his memoir, A Question of Paternity: My Life as an Unaffiliated Reporter. He has traveled the world questioning perpetrators and victims of war and injustice. He spent decades honing his skills as a journalist, getting tyrants and the oppressed to divulge their secrets. But there was one secret that always eluded him—that of his own origins. His mother, Hilda—the one person who knew—refused to tell him who his father was. Then, in his fifties—after some tense exchanges—she sent him a fax stating a priest had raped her at the age of 15 in the small, Scottish Borderland town where he’d been raised. So began a quest to determine the priest’s identity—years of investigations and dead ends. Could his mother—long gone by now—have been lying about the priest? Could rumors of her “walking out” with a German POW housed at a nearby prison camp be the real story behind his birth? In his book, A Question of Paternity, David Tereshchuk brings us with him as he searches for answers—not only to the question of who fathered him but to the larger questions of who he is himself. We learn of his struggle to overcome the shame of his impoverished childhood and his illegitimacy, the almost thirty years he lost to alcoholism, and the insecurity he felt despite national success as a TV journalist. Does Tereshchuk discover the truth of his father’s identity, or must he settle for simply a journey of self-discovery? Is it possible to find peace even when the uncertainties of life are impenetrable?

Dr. Joy Erlichman Miller returns to Resiliency Within to share her international work on resiliency. This year, on September 12, 2024, Dr. Miller invites the world to join her for RESILIENCY 2024 in spreading the word about how to develop and nurture well-being. This year, RESILIENCY 2024 will focus on the POWER of connections and explore the influence and healing power of connections. Dr. Miller's Resiliency events have had more than 35,000 participants from 112 countries around the globe. Resiliency 2024 is offered free of charge. Her resiliency events have included 85 Celebrities, Influencers, Scientists, Researchers, Psychologists, Artists, and Leaders have included: Dr. Jill Biden, Alanis Morissette, Arianna Huffington, Dr. Edith Eger, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, India Arie, Kristin Neff, Erin Brockovich, Leigh Steinberg, Marta Kauffman, Glenn Close, Dr. Andrew Weil, Bobbi Brown, Jericho Brown, Pete Buttigieg, Ray LaHood, Dr. Ian, Jewel, Tito Jackson, Harville Hendrix & Helen Hunt, Pat Love, Jeh Johnson, Dick Durbin, JB Pritzker, MILCK, Naomi Baum & Michael Dickson, Rhonda Ross, Alisyn Camerota, David Kessler, Jurie Rossouw, Richard Schwartz, Amit Sood, Elaine Miller- Karas, Cynthia Tuohy, Julianne Hough, and 50 other remarkable change-makers. All speakers generously donate their time and talent to this unbelievable event. Joy leads with compassion, heart, and generosity. Join the host of Resiliency Within, Elaine Miller-Karas as she has the honor to interview Dr. Miller.

Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, will interview Aziza Hasan, Executive Director, and Andrea Hodos, Associate Director of New Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging divides and convening constructive conversations around challenging social issues. They will share their wisdom on how New Ground envisions an America where Muslims and Jews are empowered to create lasting partnerships and engage in authentic communication and mutual cooperation. This vibrant model of engagement – not bound by history, theology, or politics – affirms that conflict is inevitable and yet not intractable. NewGround empowers Muslims, Jews, and allies to bridge divisions and leverage shared values to strengthen our communities’ well-being and our fragile democracy. NewGround is a community-building organization that creates, connects, and empowers Jewish and Muslim Change-makers in America. Through a professional fellowship, high school leadership council, and public programming, NewGround transforms Muslim-Jewish relations and advances a shared agenda for change. They will share what we need to do differently to bring about lasting change.

This encore presentation is of particular importance as we, again in the United States, face those who denigrate powerful women whether it be a female journalist, the first BIPOC woman running for President of the United States, or every person who speaks truth to power. Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, is interviewed by her colleague and friend, Dr. Michael Sapp. She will discuss a concept that she calls the “Rebecca Effect” with Dr. Sapp. The “Rebecca Effect is the empowerment and transformation possible for all of us who have been oppressed, marginalized, or shamed. Her ideas were sparked by the fictional character Rebecca Welton, the owner of the fictional Richmond football team in the Ted Lasso television show. Initially, Rebecca is consumed by a desire for revenge against her ex-husband, Rupert, who betrayed their marriage. She aims to destroy his beloved football team, which she received in their divorce, by hiring the soccer-illiterate American football coach Ted Lasso. Her eventual journey is littered with reminders of her ex-husband's public attempts to marginalize and shame her. Through her self-reflections, the support of friends, and her relationships with Lasso and her best friend, Keeley, she reclaims herself. Like Rebecca, many women and non-binary persons endure betrayal, marginalization, and oppression. Despite possessing great strength, they may experience doubt and question their value. Many of us encounter individuals who espouse misogynistic views and attempt to diminish our worth. The Rebecca Effect describes the process through which women can embrace themselves in totality—their gifts and their imperfections. They gain the courage to confront injustice. This transformation includes embracing vulnerability, acknowledging their inner child, and realizing their inherent power and worth. Compassion, strength, and courage co-exist. Elaine Miller Karas has also written a blog for Psychology Today called The Rebecca Effect: Woman Empowerment.

Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward and host Elaine Miller-Karas will explore the meaning of friendships, the joys and sorrows that come from loving relationships, and reflect on their nearly two decades of friendship. Recent research indicates that friends can strengthen our immune system, help us recover from illness more quickly, sharpen our memory, and help us live longer. This knowledge reassures us of the healing and life-extending benefits of friendships, filling us with optimism and a sense of security. Dr. Rowe-Ward, Co-Founder of the Lotus Institute, will share the elements of an innovative offering - a soul mentoring program beginning in September 2024 called Anam Cara. Anam is Gaelic for soul, and Cara means friend, so Anam Cara signifies a soul friend. An Anam Cara was a person to whom you could reveal the hidden depths of your life. This friendship embodied recognition and belonging, transcending all conventions and categories. In Buddhist teachings, the Buddha was once asked about the importance of friends on our path. He responded that we benefit from friends who can support and celebrate with us. Ananda, a beloved senior student of the Buddha, knew that having good and encouraging friends was crucial for the path. He even wondered whether having good friends was half the path. “No, Ananda,” the Buddha told him, “Having good friends isn't half the Holy Life. Having good friends is the whole of the Holy Life.” This profound statement underscores the transformative power of good friends in our lives, inspiring us to seek and cherish such relationships. The Bible’s Proverbs also emphasize the value of friendship: A true friend shows love, no matter what; gives heartfelt advice, bringing joy to the heart; rebukes when necessary, but the correction is done with love; enlivens, influences, and sharpens; and forgives, not holding grudges. True friends are loyal and help in times of need. Join us for a lively, heartfelt dialogue as Elaine and Peggy share their friendship journeys.

Drs. Larry Ward and Peggy Rowe-Ward will address how we are all as a world community are impacted by Racism and how we can heal from the traumas that arise from Racism. Dr. Ward’s book, America’s Racial Karma published in September 2020 addresses how America can begin to heal. They have been teaching and practicing with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. They received the lamp (teacher transmission) from him at Plum Village in 2001. They co-authored Love’s Garden and this book was featured in The Best Buddhist Writing of 2009. Peggy and Larry work with CEOs of Fortune 500 programs to integrate cultural diversity, corporate change and transformation. They will also address the Wisdom School they have created to bring healing to our global community.

Join us for this encore show where Elaine dialogues with Reena Patel and Michael Sapp about the Trauma Resource Institute's international work. The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) has brought their ideas about healing in the wake of traumatic experiences to Asia, Europe, the Mid-East, the Caribbean, Africa, Central America, North America, and the United States. They have created projects to help underserved individuals to learn innovative biologically based interventions (The Community and Trauma Resiliency Models) that can heal individuals and communities during and after human-made and natural disasters. So far, their work has been translated into 17 languages and has been brought to more than 75 countries. In February of 2022, TRI launched the Ukrainian Humanitarian Resiliency Project in collaboration with EdCamp Ukraine and have had over 80,000 views on Facebook. They are currently working with a number of projects in the Mid-East as a result of the tragedies that began in October 2023. The CDC Foundation (2022) describes public health as the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. The field of public health fundamentally tries to prevent people from becoming ill by promoting wellness and healthy behaviors. Identifying mental health as a public health issue is imperative to building healthier and more productive communities internationally. The Trauma Resource Institute’s Dr. Michael Sapp, CEO, and Reena Patel, the former Director of Education discuss with host, Elaine Miller-Karas, the Co-Founder of the Trauma Resource Institute their international work and the importance of biological based models that are a bridge to all nations because of our shared humanity. “I think this is what Nelson Mandela meant by the ‘rainbow nation’. Learning about how to stabilize the nervous system is equality and is beyond nations, culture, religion, and ethnicity.” Community Resiliency Model Teacher, South Africa

Elaine Miller-Karas and Michael Sapp will discuss Elaine's book, Building Resilience to Trauma, the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models, 2nd Edition, published by Routledge in 2023. Dr. Sapp will talk about the neuroscience of the Community and Trauma Resiliency Models. This is Part 2 of 2 Parts. Part 1re-aired on July 1, 2024.. Part 2 focuses on the neuroscience of the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models. Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, will discuss the second edition of her book, Building Resiliency to Trauma, with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened. The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. Using two evidence-informed models of intervention that are trauma-informed and resiliency-informed—the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)—chapters distill complex neuroscience into understandable concepts and lay out a path for fostering short- and long-term healing. CRM develops natural leaders who share wellness skills throughout communities as primary prevention, and TRM focuses on training mental health professionals to reprocess traumatic experiences. Studies have demonstrated that the models’ use leads to significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and both models also increase well-being. The models restore balance after traumatic experiences and can be used to cultivate well-being across cultures and abilities throughout the lifespan.

Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, will discuss the second edition of her book, Building Resiliency to Trauma, with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened. The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. Using two evidence-informed models of intervention that are trauma-informed and resiliency-informed—the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)—chapters distill complex neuroscience into understandable concepts and lay out a path for fostering short- and long-term healing. CRM develops natural leaders who share wellness skills throughout communities as primary prevention, and TRM focuses on training mental health professionals to reprocess traumatic experiences. Studies have demonstrated that the models’ use leads to significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and both models also increase well-being. The models restore balance after traumatic experiences and can be used as tools to cultivate well-being across cultures and abilities throughout the lifespan.

Dr. Phil Allen, Jr. returns to Resiliency Within to discuss his journey since the release of his documentary and his first book, Open Wounds: A Story of Racial Tragedy, Trauma and Redemption. In this episode, he will explore the themes of his second book, The Prophetic Lens: The Camera and Black Moral Agency, from Martin Luther King to Darnella Frazier, which examines the role of the camera in the fight for racial justice. Allen highlights both the prophetic potential of the camera and the context of Blackness as a liminal existence amid a context dominated by whiteness. He states, “Martin Luther King used news cameras to expose anti-Black violence by white mobs in the 1950s and 60s. Darnella Frazier used her phone to record and post the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin in May 2020. These are just two of many people who have captured images of injustice for the world to see. The Prophetic Lens delves into the camera's role as an indispensable prophetic tool for the security of Black lives and the pursuit of racial justice.” Using Walter Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination as a framework, Allen demonstrates how the camera can be a catalyst for cultural change. He chronicles the use of the camera in film, from J.D. Griffiths' Birth of a Nation to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, revealing how this technology has effectively achieved the goals of its respective storytellers. Dr. Phil Allen, Jr. will also share the work of the nonprofit organization he founded, the Racial Solidarity Project. This organization aims to promote anti-racist, pro-community activism, and racial solidarity through its four pillars of sustainable activism: justice and equity advocacy, education, wellness, and intentional community-building. The Racial Solidarity Project believes that justice work requires solidarity, and solidarity invites healing. They emphasize the term “solidarity” because it reflects God’s work and is the central witness of God’s relationship with humanity.

Join Resiliency Within as Kate Sachs Leventhal, Chief Program Officer, and Steve Leventhal, CEO, share their experiences with WorldBeing and how WorldBeing's vision and inspired programs are changing the lives of youth -- and the systems that support them. WorldBeing (formerly CorStone) is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that conducts innovative in-school wellbeing programs to empower vulnerable and marginalized youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These programs help youth to re-frame their identities, unleash their potential, and transform their life trajectories. WorldBeing helps us understand that mental health concerns among LMIC youth are fueled by systems of entrenched inequities, discrimination, and resource scarcity, exacerbated by a lack of access to services. WorldBeing's programming particularly focuses on gender equality and building the skills of marginalized youth, especially girls, to advocate for their rights, stay in school, and resist early marriage. To improve mental health, WorldBeing believes it is crucial to target improving these systemic injustices and social determinants of poor mental health. WorldBeing’s Youth First and Girls First programs represent one of the first human-centered approaches to youth mental health promotion and prevention, taking injustices and social determinants seriously. Working from ‘the inside out,’ WorldBeing’s evidence-based wellbeing programs support youth to access their inner wellbeing and resilience, and cultivate their power as change agents within their families, schools, and communities. Since 2009, WorldBeing has developed, researched, and conducted well-being programs for nearly 500,000 youth and 250,000 teachers in 3,500 schools across India, Kenya, and Rwanda. Effectiveness trials of WorldBeing’s programs have provided some of the first evidence demonstrating that fostering wellbeing and resilience amongst vulnerable and marginalized youth significantly improves adolescent mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing; gender equality; and education-related outcomes. Additional impacts include improved school engagement, classroom behaviors, relationships with teachers, and delayed marriage.

This is an encore presentation highlighting the work of Natalia Valevska in Ukraine. We must remember the brave and courageous Ukrainians like Natalia who are helping their country persons during this difficult time in their history. Natalia shares her insights from living within her beloved country, Ukraine, since the Russian invasion in February 2022. She will discuss her experiences and work with EdCamp Ukraine, an association of over 40,000 teachers, including her association with the Trauma Resource Institute. She will describe how, out of her despair over the war, she began helping with the resiliency support meetings co-sponsored by EdCamp Ukraine and the Trauma Resource Institute. She will express her passion for helping her country now and her vision of creating support for her people in the future when the war ends. She is dedicated to the children of Ukraine and how to support their teachers, parents, and community through SEE Learning. Since this was first broadcast, Natalia has been married and is now a Certified Community Resiliency Model Teacher. She has trained more than 1000 Ukrainians in the skills of the Community Resiliency Model.

Resiliency Within welcomes back John Kania and Laura Calderon de la Barca. Join this conversation with the Collective Change Lab team who are at the leading edge of shifting how organizations, movements, and collective system change efforts are evolving towards more healing-centered ways of working. John Kania is the Founder and Executive Director of Collective Change Lab. Laura Calderon de la Barca is a psychotherapist specializing in individual, intergenerational, and collective trauma, as well as a collective healing researcher. The conversation will include thoughts on how, in the years since the massive disruption and unrest triggered by the pandemic, there is greater openness and receptivity to thinking about trauma more expansively than ever before. Engaging with trauma is increasingly vital as polarization worsens and challenges escalate into a poly-crisis - thankfully, a deeper conversation is taking root on how to mainstream trauma healing.

A key component of personal growth and change is understanding the distinction between “White-Knuckle Change” and “Real Change.” White-Knuckle Change is trying to change behavior without addressing the underlying causes of the behavior. These causes may include health issues, interpersonal pressures, political conflict, and/or spiritual abuse. Real Change is changing behavior by virtue of addressing those causes. If you address the causes, behavioral change naturally follows suit. In this interview, therapist and author Steven Luff explores many of the realities that may cause any of us to experience negative emotion and/or acting out behavior and underscores the truth that Real Change is about honest engagement with the world, not the meeting of external standards. By virtue of this, Real Change requires education, a commitment to the pursuit of justice, and, most importantly, the construction of a faith life that opens us up to acceptance, uncertainty, and the Unknown.

Shannon Biteng of the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) is the Trauma Informed Organization Manager. She will share the development and implementation of the ODHS Trauma Aware Program. The program supports over 12,000 human services professionals dedicated to assisting 1.5 million Oregonians in accessing essential resources and enhancing their overall well-being. She will share how the Trauma Aware initiatives foster resilience, promote well-being, and strive to empower individuals affected by trauma and toxic stress. The Trauma Aware Program actively contributes to ODHS's mission of becoming a Trauma-Informed Organization by fostering supportive interactions at both individual and systemic levels, focusing on equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Their approach integrates evidence-based practices with the insights gleaned from the experiences of their workforce and the communities they serve. She will discuss an array of programs, which includes Trauma-Informed Practice, Resilience, Healing and Empowerment, Trauma Response Services, Employee well-being, Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention, and the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) program.