Stronger Than You Think: Building Lifelong Resilience
Stronger Than You Think: Building Lifelong Resilience
~Early Registration rate valid through October 31, 2026~
Friday, December 11, 2026
Noon to 1 pm EST
Description:
Sooner or later, almost everyone experiences victimization or some other form of trauma. That has been one of the great insights of work on polyvictimization, adverse childhood experiences, and other research on the lifetime cumulative burden of trauma. Our trauma “dosage” also includes the vicarious exposures and moral injuries that often occur in health care settings. Nonetheless, many people still manage to put together the pieces of a good life—even after high doses of trauma. Unfortunately, the science of resilience has neglected many pathways to healing. Resilience isn’t something you either have or you don’t. Instead, it is a modifiable process—meaning anyone can learn, practice, and benefit from it across every stage of life.
Drawing on more than thirty years studying violence, trauma, and recovery, Dr. Hamby shares what the latest science reveals about the key resources and assets to thrive after hardship. This includes research from her own lab involving more than 30,000 participants from ten countries. This work focuses on the concept of a resilience portfolio. The more and different kinds of strengths in your portfolio—in the form of internal assets like meaning-making and regulatory skills, and external resources like supportive social networks and access to green spaces—the more quickly people can bounce back from adversity and weather future challenges. A robust resilience portfolio—with resources to spare—is especially important for health care providers, where chronic exposure to stress is often part of the job.
Accessing and nurturing these strengths is readily attainable. Dr. Hamby will offer examples of evidence-backed tools and strategies for strengthening our resilience portfolios. Virtually everyone can get better at resilience.
Learning Objectives
After this presentation, participants will be able to:
Based on the content of the session, participants will be able to identify the four key domains of strengths that support thriving after trauma.
Based on the content of the session, participants will be able to identify evidence-based assets and resources that can promote healing from trauma.
Based on the content of the session, participants will be able to identify the limitations of older approaches to resilience that focus primarily on individual traits.
Presenter Bio:
Dr. Sherry Hamby is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at the University of the South in Tennessee. She is also the Director of the Life Paths Research Center and founder of ResilienceCon, a conference on strengths-based approaches to overcoming trauma. She was founding editor of the American Psychological Association journal, Psychology of Violence. Known for her work on violence and resilience, Dr. Hamby has authored or co-authored over 200 scholarly articles and five books which have been cited more than 47,000 times. Her awards include Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology from the Trauma Psychology division of the American Psychological Association and the Christine Blasey Ford Woman of Courage Award from the Association of Women in Psychology. Her newest book is Stronger Than You Think: Building Lifelong Resilience (Penguin Random House, 2026).
Continuing Education
Psychology Specialists of Maine (PSM) has been designated by the Maine Board of Examiners of Psychologists as a pre-approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists in Maine. This program has been approved for 1 (one) CE hour of Category One CE credits.
Our programs are led by experts and specialists who provide advanced clinical training focused on expanding interventions and techniques for therapists in agencies and private practice.
This program was designed to meet the continuing education requirements of psychologists, counselors, and social workers licensed in Maine.
All participants are requested to retain a copy of the event flyer and this Certificate of Completion for documentation when renewing their license.
Need to Cancel?
Please review the Cancellation Policy for this event.