Pilar HERNÄNDEZ : Resilience in Families and Communities : Latin American Contributions From the Psychology of Liberation

A systemic understanding of resilience is expanded by studying the meaning of hope and solidarity in a Latin American context facing war and political repression. Understanding the language used in Latin America to refer to coping with adversity has valuable theoretical and therapeutic potential. This article compares, integrates,and further develops from a Walsh’s systemic view of resilience by discussing Latin American literature that addresses the notions of hope and solidarity as pathways to cope with social trauma. The concept of collective resilience is introduced based on the stories of human rights activists who developed the capacity to cope with adversity. Collective resilience refers to the coping processes that occur in reference to and dependent on a given social context. These processes aim to rebuild and sustain social relationships to heal the wounds of trauma, the losses of war, and the reconstruction of a sense of belonging and personal identity.