Resilience and case management: strengthening mental toughness
More and more people in modern society are facing various types of burdens that in turn have a negative effect on their mental health and can result in a crisis. Yet despite all adversities there are people who remain tough even in the most challenging situations and come out of crises stronger than before. This ability is what we call resilience.
Resilience is an interplay of various factors such as surroundings, thinking and personality. But it would be too simple to think of resilience as the new superpower of the autonomous individual. Resilience is a dynamic and lifelong procedure that takes place in the interplay between a person and their surroundings. It can thus vary depending on the sphere and phase of life.
Resilience is particularly important in situations in which people are confronted with significant stress such as a long absence from work due to illness, an accident or job loss. Our case management can play an important role in exerting a positive impact on people’s resilience in such crisis situations.
Here are some ways in which our case managers help to strengthen resilience together with the respective environment:
- Creation of social support:
The most important external resource is social support. We help clients to build up a network of friends, family members, therapists and other resources to support them in mastering challenges.
- Enhancement of self-efficacy – belief in oneself and one’s own abilities:
We encourage our clients to recognise, develop and use their abilities and strengths. Strengthening the self-confidence and self-efficacy of our clients serves to enhance their resilience.
- Promotion of self-acceptance – accept what cannot be changed:
Resilient people are able to accept themselves and concentrate on what they are able to influence. We show clients how they can recognise and alter negative thoughts and beliefs in order to improve their ability to accept themselves.
- Development of coping strategies:
We enable clients to develop and practise a range of coping strategies. For example, work structuring and workplace configuration are jointly discussed when returning to work after a brain injury and stress management strategies at work following burnout. This strengthens our clients’ ability to act.
- Strengthening of optimism – the positive outlook on life:
Promoting optimism can improve people’s ability to manage crises. This can be supported within the framework of case management through the development of positive thinking, empowerment to reassess situations and strengthening of a confident attitude.
Our case managers address the needs and resources of each individual and his or her working environment and jointly build up a support network. We help to identify and strengthen personal protective factors and promote a realistic viewpoint and proactive attitude. We mediate impartially at employer discussions. We aim to support all persons involved in the search for a good solution. In this way, we at XpertCenter Case Management view the resilience of people as a dynamic process and wish to support both the individual and his or her environment in a targeted manner.