Teaching Resiliency Theory to Substance Abuse Counselors

Abstract

ABSTRACT Resiliency is the ability to cope in the face of adversity. One protective factor that promotes resiliency in substance-abusing dysfunctional families is family rituals and traditions. Social workers and substance abuse counselors can teach family members how to instill resiliency in their families and themselves through rituals and traditions. To work with their clients to promote resiliency, clinicians need to learn how to identify substance abusers in family systems, recognize the presence or absence of resiliency among family members, and determine the presence or absence of family rituals and traditions. To this end, Kolb's learning theory is presented along with its application to classroom instruction and an assessment tool to identify client family rituals and traditions.