Can Brian D Smith's insights on grief lead to new psychological resilience metrics?

They absolutely could point us toward new resilience metrics—especially for grief.

Right now, most resilience scales focus on “bouncing back” to baseline. But with profound loss, there is no going back. My work (and my own journey) treats grief as transformative, not pathological. That suggests different things to measure, like:

• Capacity to find meaning and purpose after loss
• Ability to maintain (or deepen) continuing bonds with the person who passed
• Mental fitness skills: noticing and shifting “saboteur” thoughts
• Growth in compassion, perspective, and spiritual/ existential comfort

So yes—my insights lean toward post-traumatic growth and continuing bonds as key resilience indicators, not just symptom reduction.

If you were designing a metric, are you more interested in research applications or tools for clinicians/clients?