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Researching resilience?

The producers of a new BBC Radio 4 documentary seek your input.

30 March 2016

A new BBC Radio 4 documentary is in production, and they are looking for help from the psychology community. ‘The Science of Resilience’, presented by Sian Williams, will explore the growing body of research into where mental resilience comes from, why it matters and how it can be nurtured. 

Producer Dixi Stewart told us: 'We are hoping to draw on the latest research to deliver a programme which will help us understand why some people are just better at getting back up when the most difficult and challenging life events knock them down, and whether this ability can be taught or learned. If your readers have any thoughts about research or experiments into resilience which they might like to share with us, we would love to hear from them. I’m also keen to get some news coverage for the programme so if a quick straw poll of Radio 4 listeners (10 million of them during Today) would yield any useful results for researchers in psychology then I’d be happy to explore the possibilities. You can e-mail me on [email protected] .' 

Recorded in a variety of locations, with several high profile contributors, the documentary will feature interviews with scientists engaged in research as well as those navigating their way through tough times. It is due to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 31 May.

Sian Williams is a journalist, broadcaster and Masters graduate of the University of Westminster, about to embark in a PhD in Psychology. While drafting her thesis on resilience for academic publication, Sian experienced a sudden and very personal trauma which informs this documentary and reveals her own uneasy path to growth.