Episodes

The Loma Linda University (LLU) International Behavior Health Trauma Team (IBHTT) operated by the LLU School of Behavioral Health (SBH) has been providing international trauma preparatory training and psychological first aid disaster response since 1995. Dr. Bev Buckles and Dr. Kimberly Freeman will share their international work as members of the IBHTT. Dr. Buckles is the founder and lead for the IBHTT and first required the team supporting services in Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, to complete ini...

Pediatrician Mark Vonnegut has spent forty years treating children for coughs, fevers, ear infections, and sometimes more serious complaints. In that time, he has seen the American medical system change in ways he couldn’t have imagined as a medical student—some of them good, others not so good. But what hasn’t changed is his commitment to his young patients. There’s Anna Maria, a little girl with an incurable case of bone cancer; Adeline, who has a syndrome so rare none of Dr. Vonnegut’s collea...

Many in the global community want to help Ukrainians and may not know how. Vira Salzburn will discuss with host Elaine Miller-Karas how a group of international Community Resiliency Model teachers gathered with their Ukrainian colleagues at EdCamp to create webinars to support the wellbeing of Ukrainian children and adults. They will emphasize the importance of promoting peace and healing as a global community. They will share how over the last few days, they have witnessed the resilience and st...

We are inundated with information about all that is wrong in the world. Sometimes it feels so overwhelming we throw our hands up, believing we can’t possibly make a difference. But we can. There is a quote that goes, “everyone wants to save the world, but nobody wants to help mom with the dishes.” There is something every single one of us can do, right now, right where we are to ease suffering. We can start by recognizing where we have power and choosing to use it honorably. And where we don’t h...

Bernita R. Walker, the CEO and Co-Founder of Project Peacemakers, Inc. will share the wealth and wisdom of her experience as a Violence Prevention Practitioner, an Intimate Partner Violence Survivor, and a retired Deputy Sheriff for the County of Los Angeles. She will share what she has learned on what she calls “the truth on how to not become a victim of intimate partner violence. She will share the way to become a survivor and the reality of being what she calls a THRIVER of domestic violence/...

A team of multi-generational civil rights leaders, historians, educators, community leaders and clinicians gathered together to participate in a landmark initiative, the Kellogg Foundation’s Racial Equity 2030 grant opportunity. Reena Evers-Everette assembled a team of progressive thinkers dedicated to empowering future generations with historic civil rights truth through a trauma-informed lens. In the process, new partnerships were formed and new meanings about race, equity, and healing were ar...

Reggie will discuss how Black youth in America are confronted by trauma disproportionately affecting their communities. As we remember the past, engage the present and envision the future, the protective factors within youth, their families and communities can be strengthened through wellness skills. Despite inadequate access to mental health resources, black youth can draw on a rich legacy of faith-based cultural resiliency to help them navigate life’s challenges.

Chris Underhill MBE works as a mentor and is a social entrepreneur in the field of quality of life, and mental health in the community. The host of Resiliency Within first met Chris in Oxford, England at the Skoll World Forum where she was struck by his depth of understanding of the suffering of individuals with mental health challenges. He also shared an abundance of hope of how to bring innovations to meet the challenges of those who suffer in developing countries. Chris Underhill draws on his...

The pandemic has highlighted many issues with our current education system. These last years have brought many challenges for students, teachers and parents/guardians. In a future filled with uncertainty, how can we best prepare our children? From the lens of education and community, Adrian will share what he has learned through the pandemic and how he feels we can best prepare our children for their future. We will discuss how children's needs have shifted in an era where they have access to al...

Dr. Bryan Robinson returns a year after helping to launch Resiliency Within. Dr. Robinson and host, Elaine Miller-Karas, will reflect upon 2021 and continue to discuss how to cultivate well-being during the challenges of the present and future as we enter the new year. Dr. Robinson will also share exciting news about his novel, Limestone Gumption, A Brad Pope and Sister friends Mystery and the plans to adopt the novel into a television series.

What if, halfway through life, you found out that your father wasn’t your biological father? It happened to Peter J. Boni at the age of forty-nine, when his mother suffered a stroke that led her to divulge a family secret: Like an estimated one million people worldwide, Boni was donor-conceived. And, like so many of them, he was also “misattributed”—a phrase that means one or both of the parents on your birth certificate are not your flesh and blood. What followed were more than two decades of s...

The great spiritual leader, Desmond Tutu died last week, and Resiliency Within was already planning to enter the new year with his message of joy. We will celebrate his life in this episode highlighting his dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s about joy as expressed in their book, The Book of Joy. Desmond Tutu called himself the “prisoner of hope” and his message of hope and joy will live on. Many people in our world have expressed being tired and feeling a sense of hopelessness about the...

The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) sponsors Resiliency Within on VoiceAmerica. Elaine Miller-Karas, the co-founder and Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute will discuss their innovative ideas of how to heal trauma and cultivate well-being, leading to compassionate and empathic perspectives in children as well as adults. Dr. Sapp and Elaine Miller-Karas will discuss the global reach of the Trauma Resource Institute and how their workshops have been delivered to diverse grou...

Jennifer Burton, LMFT, a leading psychotherapist in Los Angeles and San Francisco, shares her wisdom about how we can cultivate our grace and compassion during challenges we all are facing during unprecedented times. Grace is defined as an attitude of friendliness, helpfulness and cooperation. In today’s times, it has been hard to discover Grace at times when many of us have faced uncertainty, polarization and grief from losing loved ones. She will share how she has integrated a variety of treat...

The events this past week in Mayfield, Kentucky and the surrounding areas have shown us the tragedy of climate events and how every person in the community is affected. We must not forget the mental health challenges resulting from this experience. Elaine Miller-Karas, the key developer of the Community Resiliency Model and Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute will help our listeners understand how the wellness skills of the Community Resiliency Model can help community mem...

Michael Tobin will share the journey of his book, Riding the Edge, a Love Song for Deborah.The book chronicles the around the world journey of two soulmates, who the security of their well-ordered lives in search of larger truths. Forty-seven years ago, Michael discovered his soulmate Deborah on a dance floor in Keene, New Hampshire. It took her soul a few years and an around-the-world bike trek to fully reciprocate. Riding the Edge is the astonishing tale of the six-month odyssey that profoundl...

Veterans Dr. William Cross and Dr. Mark Dust, represent different generations and different wars. They will share their sacred journey from their service in Vietnam and Iraq to their return and what they learned about life and healing along the way.

Marc Straus will discuss his newly published memoir, One-Legged Mongoose, Secrets, Legacies and Coming of Age in 1950’s New York The book documents two pivotal years of his childhood on Long Island, beginning with him being forced by his parents to leave public school and commute four hours a day to a Yeshiva in Queens. Marc Straus will share his unflinching look at child abuse in the home and his ability to rise above it, One-Legged Mongoose reminds us of the bonds between siblings, the power o...

MERIEL SCHINDLER will share her journey in writing The Lost Café Schindler as she recounts the history of an extraordinary family. The Lost Café Schindler is a story of tragic loss—several of Meriel’s relatives disappeared in Terezín and Auschwitz—but also one of reclamation and reconciliation. Beautifully written, it is an unforgettable portrait of an era and a testament to the pull that family history has on future generations. She will share the narrative centering around the Café Schindler, ...

November is National Native American Heritage Month, which pays tribute to the rich history and culture of the indigenous people of the Americas. In 2009, during President Barack H. Obama’s first term in office, November became National Native American Heritage Month. Magdalena Sunshine Serrano is an Indigenous woman of Serrano, Apache, and Tarahumara descent and Julene A. Jose, is an Indigenous woman of the Tohono O’odham Nation who also serves on the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe. Magdalena and Julene wi...

Building accessible interventions promoting mind and body health in rural America is possible. Research suggests that individuals living in rural areas are less likely than residents of urban areas to seek professional help for psychological distress for several reasons including stigma (both public and self-directed) and limited mental health literacy. Laurie Strand and Melissa Boley, both psychotherapists working in rural Idaho will share their insights and how they have managed through commun...

Karin Weiri will discuss her new book, Achieving Peace, Purpose and Prosperity. As a society we have built a myopic view of mental health blaming the majority on genetics and leaving out environmental, societal trauma and influence. She will discuss how powerful the mind is and how to access our full potential when we learn how to use simple, yet powerful tools. The role of stress is huge as is the way we are over fed and under nourished. Karin will share how we can balance the body again, inclu...

We are stuck in a pattern. Urgent headlines such as George Floyd’s murder or the chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal pulls our attention, demand our support but we consistently fail to achieve meaningful systematic change. All too often once the limelight fades on the “en vogue” issues of the moment, the issue is relegated to the special interest groups whose purpose was set up to keep on fighting for justice and reform. In the storytelling, those who are in-need is always positioned as the “oth...

Many of us needed a break from the pandemic and the usual windstorms of life. We needed a respite: a journey reminding us of decency, kindness, compassion and folksy wisdom. Over the last two seasons of Ted Lasso, an AppleTV+ original, we have laughed, cried and been deeply touched by the lived experiences of Ted Lasso and his crew. Ted Lasso is about “an American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team. What he lacks in knowledge, he makes up for with optimism, determination...and ...