Posttraumatic stress disorder and occupational performance: building resilience and fostering occupational adaptation

Resilience and vulnerability refer to an individual's capacity to persevere in the face of adversity. Resiliency and vulnerability are distinctive personal characteristics influenced by environmental factors such as socio-cultural and institutional contexts. Resiliency and vulnerability are not absolute; they are psychosocial constructs of a phenomenological continuum. Hence, a resilient individual is not invincible to all life events but has the capacity to endure in most circumstances. Clients who sustain traumatic injuries or witness traumatic events have a greater vulnerability to stress disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Occupational therapy practitioners should be cognizant of a client's resilient and adaptive capacities when providing services to a client who has endured a traumatic event. This paper explores resilience theory and its application to occupational therapy practice.