Abstract
ABSTRACT Understanding the clinical utility of positive client characteristics like resilience can help bring a balanced perspective to psychotherapy in which clinicians work to alleviate distress and foster positive traits. Existing literature documents the value of resilience as a resource to navigate stressful life experiences. However, minimal research has explored the utility of resilience within psychotherapy. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to understand the relationships between clients’ resilience and distress as well as the influence of psychotherapy on resilience. PRISMA procedures led to the identification of ten studies meeting inclusion criteria. We conducted two random-effects model meta-analyses to understand the relationship between clients’ resilience and distress (n = 5) and understand how psychotherapy treatment influences changes in resilience (n = 6). For both analyses, we found moderate effect sizes demonstrating that (a) there appears to be an inverse relationship between resilience and psychological distress and (b) resilience appears to increase during psychotherapeutic intervention. Findings are discussed in light of the role resilience may play in psychotherapy. The disperse operationalization of resilience is also discussed.
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