The Resilience Training: Experimental Evaluation of a Group Psycho-educational Training on the Development of Resilience

The term resilience in psychiatry indicates the ability to cope, to overcome, to emerge strengthened from negative experiences. Research into the effects of applying training on building resilience in psychiatry is still at an early stage in Italy. Several programs have been developed that contribute to the increase of resilience including the Master Resilience Training (MRT) created based on the previous programs for American soldiers that we are experimenting in this study. Method: In a sample of 30 students, we studied the ability to increase resilience following a psychoeducational intervention structured in 6 weekly sessions. Improvement was assessed with the scales: Test SCL-902, SF-36 (V1), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety scale, BDI-PC, Rathus scale, Resilience Scale, at time To (before treatment) and T1 (after the treatment) to verify the effectiveness of the intervention and the achievement of the set objective. Results: The results obtained from psychoeducational training on the development of resilience show that it is possible to learn and increase resilience. The intervention demonstrated the efficacy in various indices with a significance in the SCL-90 and the Zung Axiety scale, which may particularly related to the greater resilience acquired. The training has proven effective in improving social contacts and strengthening personal relationships, especially favoring positive communication and teaching users to be assertive.