FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 14, 2014) -- Resilience is the ability to persist in the face of challenges and to bounce back from adversity.
Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation offers Family Resilience Training with Hunting the Good Stuff, which is 6 to 8 p.m. May 14 and a three-day, biannual training, which is 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 20-22.
Beth Duncan, resilience trainer, said Hunting the Good Stuff focuses on what is going right in life versus the negative things in life.
"We ask (participants) to look at three good things that happened during the day," said Marcus Wilson, resilience trainer.
The three-day seminar incorporates all of the 12 problem-solving skills that are taught by the resilience trainers, Duncan said.
The basics involve focusing on the root of the problem so it can be dealt with more effectively, she said, examining people's strengths and how to build those strengths up and concentrate on positive communication with Family members, friends and co-workers.
Perry Tripp, coordinator for Family Resilience Training and program manager for mobilization and deployment, said the training teaches and enhances Family members' skills on how to address the daily challenges of life from a positive psychology point of view.
Wilson said the intention is for Families to learn how to effectively adjust to some of the Army lifestyle stressors.
Duncan said having stronger, more resilient Families, results in a mission-focused Soldier.
"There are a lot of stressors in military life such as moving, deployments and being isolated from your Family," she said. "The goal is trying to build optimism. You can't choose your circumstances, but you can choose how you react and deal with them."
Tripp said the Army has found that transitions are one of the more stressful periods in a military Families lifestyle.
The skills taught empower people to control their own thoughts so a balanced perspective can take place, he said.
"That is really the premise of cognitive therapy," Tripp said. "The skills empower people to think objectively."
Otherwise, the problem can take on a life of it's own and become disproportioned from what it really is, he said.
"The concept is whatever you feed is what's going to grow," Duncan said. "So if you are focusing all of your energy and thoughts on the negative, then it is going to become bigger to you, but if you're focusing your energy on the positive stuff, then that is what's going to become bigger to you."
The ideal class size is 20 people because if it gets too big, it becomes difficult to share and participate, she said.
Tripp said the goal is to accommodate over 200 Family members for the year.
Monthly classes, Duncan said, are mainly aimed for during school hours to alleviate child care issues.
However, the Family Advocacy Program is sponsoring free daycare and children must be registered at Parent Central.
Family Resilience Training can also be brought to family readiness groups, civilian groups and units, said Shannon Beck, marketing director.
"They just need to call and coordinate," she said.
Beck encourages for people to take advantage of resilience classes.
"It is free," she said. "It helps with personal growth."
Family Resilience Training
All Classes are held in the Survivor Outreach Service, Building 359.
•To sign up, call Army Community Service at 706-545-4043 or visit MWR website.
•To reserve daycare spot call 1st Division Child Development Center at 706- 545-6656.
Visit benningmwr.com for the classes calendar and Fort Benning's MWR Facebook page to leave a comment.
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