The term “resilience” derives from the Latin verb resilire,which means to rebound or to recoil. It was used in the 1800’s to describe the capacity of materials, like wood or metal, to endure severe conditions (Alexander, 2013). The term has since been used to describe properties of living organisms, such as ecosystems, organizations, and individuals (Alexander, 2013; Stanley, Sethuramalingam, & Pandian, 2018).

Psychological resilience has been defined in several ways. It has been conceptualized as the ability of persons to adapt successfully to disruptions that threaten functioning (Masten, 2014); recovering relatively rapidly following adversity or even positive change (Luthans, 2002); experiencing low current psychological distress following exposure to high-stress conditions (Pietzrack & Cook, 2013); and being relatively resistant to the erosion of well-being caused by the impact of stressors on health and functioning (Wu, Feder, Cohen, Kim, Calderon, Charney, & Mathe, 2013). Identified characteristics of resilience are determination, endurance, adaptability, and ability to recuperate after sustaining damage, injury, or psychological trauma (Taormina, 2015).

One key construct related to resilience is that of Post-Traumatic Growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). This refers to personal growth due to one’s attitudes and behaviors following traumatic exposure. Post-Traumatic Growth may result in increased appreciation of relationships, discovery of previously unidentified personal strengths, involvement in new pursuits, increased spiritual growth, and increased appreciation of life (Alper, Feliciano, Millien, Pollari, & Locke, 2022). In addition to helping traumatized people bounce back, Post-Traumatic Growth can also serve as a protective factor, rendering people more able to withstand future stressors.

Why Do Correctional Staff Need Resilience?

Psychological resilience is a cornerstone of effective functioning for those serving in high-stress work environments, such as corrections (Smith, 2023). Correctional staff are continually bombarded by occupational stressors, which can be viewed as falling in three broad categories: (a) operational stressors—technical aspect of the job, such as short-staffing; (b) organizational stressors—“people” aspect of the job, such as an “us against them” mindset; and (c) traumatic stressors—incidents of violence, injury, and death, such as suicides (Ferdik & Smith, 2017; Spinaris, Denhof, & Kellaway, 2012).

Meta-analyses of studies of physician burnout that compared the efficacy of bottom-up and top-down wellness initiatives reported that both bottom-up and top-down initiatives reduced burnout levels, but top-down initiatives tended to have a bigger impact (Panagioti, Panagopoulou, Bower, Lewith, Kontopantelis, Chew-Graham, Dawson, van Marwijk, Geraghty, & Esmail, 2016; West, Dyrbye, Erwin, &Shanafelt, 2016). That is, reducing or eliminating the negative impact of stressors through top-down initiatives, such as policies, tends to be more beneficial in promoting resilience than providing coping strategies, such as mindfulness techniques, to manage the effects of these stressors. Additionally, regarding the influence of horizontal initiatives, a study of correctional professionals suggested that the quality of coworker relationships significantly impacted staff well-being (Spinaris & Brocato, 2019).

Can Resilience Skills Be Taught in The Workplace?

Research studies have identified resilience-promoting behaviors which can be taught. Examples are positive coping, positive thinking, positive emotions, realism, behavioral control, family support, positive leadership, and belongingness (Meredith, Sherbourne, Gaillot, Hansell, Hans, Ritschard, Parker, & Wren, 2011; Coulombe, Pacheco, Cox, Khalil, Doucerain, Auger, & Meunier, 2020; Vanhove, Herian, Perez, Harms, & Lester, 2015).

Along the same lines, a study during the COVID-19 pandemic found that teaching healthcare workers resilience-promoting skills improved levels of resilience, and reduced stress, anxiety, and burnout/exhaustion (Yi-Frazier, O’Donnell, Adhikari, Zhou, Bradford, Garcia-Perez, Shipman, Hurtado, Junkins, O-Daffer, & Rosenberg, 2022). Another study reported that online group coaching of women physician trainees decreased burnout and increased well-being measures (Mann, Shah, Thibodeau, Dyrbye, Syed, Woodward, Thurmon, Jones, Dunbar, & Fainstad, 2023). Similarly, simulation-based resilience-promoting training of police officers was reported to improve levels of the officers’ physiological stress response (Andersen, Papazoglou, Koskelainen, Nyman, Gustafsberg, & Arnetz, 2015). These findings support the expectation that resilience skills are teachable, and that their practice can improve well-being even under highly stressful working conditions.

Given the chronically highly stressful correctional work environments, resilience training is imperative, and not only for seasoned staff but also for new staff, to prepare them to some degree for what they may encounter during their careers. Like any complex construct, resilience has several layers and facets, and it is best taught incrementally, with more advanced skills, such as skills that promote Post-Traumatic Growth, building on more foundational skills, such as self-regulation through breathing exercises, meditation, and other mindfulness skills (Linehan, 2014). Additionally, repetition through reviews, reminders, and opportunities to practice, are likely to strengthen skills acquisition (Kluge, Sauer, Burkolter, & Ritzmann, 2010).

What are Key Strategies for Promoting Staff Resilience in Correctional Environments?

Effective approaches for fostering resilience in correctional agencies are two-pronged, involving strategies that target the areas of both prevention and intervention programming and resources.

What Is Involved in Prevention?

At both the bottom-up (individual) and horizontal (work-team) levels, prevention methods are inoculation-type, long-term approaches, where strategies are taught and skills are trained before high-stress workplace events happen. Prevention includes adopting habitual health-promoting behaviors that foster health and wellness, and practicing values that promote a positive culture, with the goal being to neutralize the negative consequences of stressors. At the bottom-up (individual) level, prevention strategies include teaching staff ways of thinking that counter negativity and boost optimism and ways to tend to one’s physical, psychological, and spiritual health. For example, staff may be taught to correct thinking distortions (Burns, 1980) that lead to emotional distress, or engage in meditation or gratitude practices to promote self-regulation. At the horizontal (work-team) level, prevention strategies include teaching staff positive values, interpersonal skills, such as communication and conflict management, and educating staff on the impact of social support on health. At the top-down (administrator) level, prevention includes training administrators to implement positive and supportive leadership practices (Cameron, 2012), wellness-promoting policies, provision of appropriate resources, and advocacy for staff wellness at legislative levels.

Prevention and intervention strategies can be likened to two mechanisms one might use for withstanding a torrential rainstorm. Raincoats, hats, and umbrellas are intended to keep one dry (prevention). Yet, if the storm is significant enough, one will get wet anyway, despite the protective gear. As a result, towels, hairdryers, and clothes dryers will be necessary afterward (intervention). Both prevention and intervention have necessary functions and will be needed independently or simultaneously at times, depending on the circumstances. Corrections staff, and by extension their agencies, will benefit from the ongoing incorporation of both prevention strategies as well as intervention strategies in the effort to boost resilience.

In Conclusion

Let’s return for a moment to our bonsai analogy. What correctional agencies have in their (metaphorical) hands is staff who, like the bonsai, are being repeatedly subjected to uniquely taxing environments. As a result, they are continually shaped by occupational stressors. Opportunities available through resilience training are comparable to expert pruning, watering, and fertilizing. Skillfully managed, exposure to highly stressful circumstances can become a springboard for growth. And what is the potential outcome of the intentionality of resilience training throughout this transformation process? As with the bonsai, it can be simply amazing.