The four main pillars of resilience are physical, social, emotional and spiritual. Coaching can support each of these pillars and a few examples are listed below:
Coaching is an effective tool to work on self-acceptance and self-forgiveness, which are key platforms to moving forward and establishing a solid foundation for growth. Post-traumatic growth which has been defined as “a psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances. It is not simply a return to baseline from a period of suffering. Instead, it is an experience of improvement that for some people is deeply meaningful “While there may be a difference in posttraumatic growth and resilience, they both emphasize moving forward.
Victor Frankl, a prisoner in the Nazi camp writes,
We can discover meaning in three different ways:
(1) by creating a work or doing a deed,
(2) by experiencing something or encountering someone and
(3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.
Coaching is about empowerment which has a lot to do with attitude. Cognitive Behaviour Coaching (CBC) is a technique that
seeks to change the way trauma a victim feels and acts by changing the patterns of thinking and/or behavior which are responsible for negative emotions.
CBC allows soldiers to learn about the thoughts that make them experience negative feelings and helps them replace these with less distressing thoughts, eventually understanding how the thoughts behind PTSD can be overcome. The coaching process is effective in learning to be optimistic and resilient by changing our explanatory style.
Coaching can also shift negative feeling through positive reinforcement. There is a big misconception that positive psychology is positive thinking.It is actually about what makes people grow and flourish irrespective of the events facing them, including trauma and grief.
The above are a few of many tools that exist to support what I term as ”resilience coaching”. Reading this paper may lead one to think about resilience as an individual trait. Christopher Peterson, a pioneer of positive psychology found that ‘other people matter’. Feelings and thinking patterns are known to be contagious, similarly, we can think of resilience as having a ripple effect involving the individual, the family, the unit and the whole society. Coaching can support the development of a ‘resilience culture’.
Leadership and Coaching
The road back home is a hard one, no doubt. We can be armed to fight the war and come out with more ‘self-growth’. Resilience is a core quality to have in the Army and by extension to the families of soldiers as well. The CSF program provides insight for civilians to develop and sustain resilience in their lives, families, work place and community. Resilience is not just an individual quality, it is also a group dynamic. We know from research that coaching works; it enhances resilience, increases hope and optimism, improves well-being reduces stress and enhances leadership.
This paper has discussed a number of coaching tools available to support the soldiers as well as the leaders. It also attempts to look at how coaching can support and assist the reintegration of war veterans in their transition to civilian life. The biggest learning has been that resilience is a desirable trait to encourage and develop in childhood and sustain into adulthood. The old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ comes to mind.
Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power. Lao Tzu
References
"Resilient Warriors" ̶ looking at resilience from an individual perspective by Major General Bob Dees
Assessment for the US Army Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program: Global Assessment Tool
Articles on Positive Psychology- Dave Shearon
Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being
ICA /ICF resources
Kashdan,T.B., Breen,W.E., & Julian, T. (2010) Everyday strivings in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Problem arise when avoidance and emotion regulation dominate. Behaviour Therapy
Wikipedia
www.army.mil/articles/72431/Study_concludes_Master_Resilience_Training_effective/
www.mindtools.com
www.nccosc.nany.mil
Army 2020: Generating health and discipline in the force ahead of the strategic resetReport 2012