Creative Resilience
This podcast is meant to create a space for conversation, education, and connection around creative approaches to promoting mental health and well-being among youth, families, communities, and society. Specifically, we will hold space to honor the real-life stories of those impacted by trauma, stress, and adversity and discuss what goes into the creative process of developing and implementing interventions that promote healing and resilience. The podcast will highlight lived experience, research, lessons learned, and inspirations from academics, artists, and community leaders leading efforts to improve mental health and well-being within their communities through creative approaches that center partnership and community strengths to lead to sustainable change. Through sharing real-life stories, recent research evidence, concrete resources, and tangible examples of specific efforts, we hope to inspire and support creative action in more communities and serve as a space that promotes mental health and well-being through sharing, connecting, and getting creative.
About THRIVE Research Lab:
The THRIVE Research Lab is dedicated to community-centered, participatory research and action that promotes healing and resilience among youth, families, and communities experiencing trauma and chronic stress. We aim to promote healing and resilience through an innovative research program designed to partner with communities to develop and implement strength-based solutions grounded in cultural humility.
Creative Resilience
Promoting Healing and Resilience After Trauma: A Journey of Hopeful Change
In this episode of Creative Resilience, Dr. Briana sits down with Dawn and Derrick “DT” Townsend, leaders of Hopeful Change, LLC and the Hopeful Change Project. They share how their personal experiences with childhood trauma and community violence have shaped their lifelong commitment to mental health, mentorship, and systemic change in underserved communities. Dawn and DT discuss the importance of culturally responsive, community-driven interventions, the power of partnerships built on trust, and the need for holistic, intergenerational approaches to healing. Their work centers on transforming trauma into resilience, educating communities about mental wellness, and driving sustainable change through training, advocacy, and policy engagement. They also discuss the importance of the THRIVE Lab’s HEART trainings, which build resilience by developing core skills in mindfulness, emotional regulation, effective communication, and problem-solving.
@thehope2change
