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The Role of Resilience and Resilience Characteristics in Health Promotion

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Trauma, Resilience, and Health Promotion in LGBT Patients

Abstract

Resilience as a concept is not well understood, and resilience research in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBT) populations is in its infancy. Ilan Meyer’s minority stress model is useful in conceptualizing the experiences that can lead oppressed groups to develop poor mental health outcomes, but further research is needed to elucidate resilience factors and interventions that build resilience. Factors that correlate with resilience in LGBT populations include social support, family acceptance, and community connectedness. Few formal intervention studies have been undertaken to attempt to improve resilience in LGBT people, though there is anecdotal evidence that clinics and other health-care settings routinely employ programming aimed at these populations to encourage resilience building through health promotion. Providers can aid in the resilience process by promoting a sense of trust, being respectful, asking open-ended questions, and encouraging clients to think about their experiences as part of systems of oppression directed at LGBT people, as well as clients’ other intersecting identities. Clinical practices can promote resilience by creating welcoming physical environments and involving LGBT community members in the development of policies and programs, as well as hiring staff from LGBT communities when possible.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Hetrick Martin Institute, 10 Nathan D. Perlman Place, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Laura Erickson-Schroth MD, MA

  2. The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Elizabeth Glaeser BS

Authors
  1. Laura Erickson-Schroth MD, MA
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  2. Elizabeth Glaeser BS
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Correspondence to Laura Erickson-Schroth MD, MA .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Kristen L. Eckstrand

  2. William B. Castle Society, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Jennifer Potter

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Erickson-Schroth, L., Glaeser, E. (2017). The Role of Resilience and Resilience Characteristics in Health Promotion. In: Eckstrand, K., Potter, J. (eds) Trauma, Resilience, and Health Promotion in LGBT Patients. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54509-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54509-7_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54507-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54509-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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