By Linda Garofallou, an Enhancing Resilience in Children and Youth Course Alumni
Living in a world with seemingly non-stop messages of social unrest, political chaos, and a
commercialized social media culture that offers 24/7 addictive and maladaptive forms of
pseudo-self-regulation that leave us only more exhausted and stressed, there could not be a
more timely course to dive into than Enhancing Resilience! Even as a student of Self-Reg for
ten years, this course deepened my understanding of the nature of resilience as a dynamic
process in each of us that is directly tied to the energetic state of our nervous systems. Lack of
resilience is reframed, not as an inborn quality or personal failing, but as a consequence of
heightened, unmanageable stress-loads. That perspective gives a roadmap to using the 5-
Steps of Self-Reg to help turn off the alarm systems kindled by today’s pace of life and
unrelenting stressors in the lives of the children and families we work with – and for ourselves –
to find a state of calm for our nervous systems that help us restore our energies and our
resilience.
Stuart has a uniquely inimitable way of deepening our understanding of this holistic, dynamic
process. At heart he is a fascinating story-teller with a sweep that combines not only the latest
neuroscience, but also kernels of wisdom from philosophy, history, neuro-evolution, literature,
early childhood development and psychology, all richly woven together in a way that makes
even the most complex concepts understandable.
Susan’s integrative questions, relatable real world examples and synopses constantly enliven
the conversation in thought provoking ways, and together they offer a role model for relationship
and a way to learn that is filled with a warmth and humanity that feels like food for the mind,
heart and soul. They help us understand in a deeper way that a child’s resilience is never a
singular internal matter. It is dependent upon relationships with people who see and
understand their distress, who will help to co-regulate those overwhelming moments in ways
that turn off their stress responses and help them feel safe and calm. Those co-regulating
relationships provide a role model for healthier modes of self-regulation that over time help a
child to build an enduring capacity to rest, restore and find their way back to a state of
resilience.
Whether new to Self-Reg or a seasoned student, Enhancing Resilience is the perfect course
for our times! If you’re like me, what you learn about the role of the primitive emotional circuits
in the brainstem in this course will have you totally intrigued and registering next for the deeper
dive into those “gray brain” mechanisms in the Reframing Stress Behaviour with Gray Brain
Science course. I highly recommend both courses! Happy Learning!
