“Growth in the Face of Adversity” Conference Given at International Book Fair, 2011

“Growth in the Face of Adversity” Conference Given at International Book Fair, 2011
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo,05/11/2011

Psychologist Elizabeth Watson gave a conference called, “Growth in the Face of Adversity” in the Dominican Writers Pavilion at the XIV International Book Fair, Santo Domingo 2011.

Watson, a specialist in helping families with handicapped children, said that the most important factor needed to overcome any crisis is “resilience,” a skill “that can be acquired at any time in life.”

Watson, a specialist in helping families with handicapped children, said that the most important factor needed to overcome any crisis is “resilience,” a skill “that can be acquired at any time in life.”

Resilience is the human capacity to deal flexibly with difficult situations and to overcome them. “People, despite adversity, are capable of moving forward… they move forward strengthened because they dare to rise to the challenge of accepting their pain and discovering their own personal resources and strengths they didn’t know they had,” said Ms. Watson.

A resilient person is one with hope, who can transform reality. Even when “reality is monstrous, we have to change it to make it palatable.”

At the end of the conference, Watson responded to questions and concerns from the audience and offered orientation and suggestions for the problems people brought up.

Elizabeth Watson.