Road to Resilience

Most films and books follow the narrative of a main character, our hero, and show us how the hero confronts and overcomes a challenging situation. We’re accustomed to seeing the Hero’s Journey narrative across popular media. In this podcast, Benjamin Rogers, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, discusses how viewing our own lives...

Building your resilience can affect many aspects of your life, from career to home to school. In this podcast, psychologists Sarah Bannon, PhD, and Jonathan M. DePierro, PhD, discuss the importance of one-on-one relationships and resilience both personally and in their professional work with neurology patients.  Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll i...

Trying to fit in can be a real challenge for autistic children. They may want to be social but lack the necessary skills. Or they may be happy to go it alone but feel tremendous pressure from family and school to be more social. Physician and researcher Alexander Kolevzon, MD, discusses his efforts to help autistic children and their families as well as ongoing research to improve therapeutic appr...

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that carries physical, emotional, and intellectual concerns. But with proper health care, and a dose of realistic optimism, patients and their families can live happy and fulfilling lives. Geneticist Elsharkawi, MD, maintains that collaboration among healthcare providers and an attitude of realistic optimism is key. Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience...

Intimate partner violence can involve various physical injuries —including repeated concussions and strangulations—as well as emotional abuse. And when you add in misconceptions and stigma, it’s a real resilience challenge. On this episode, Neurologist Kristen Dams-O'Connor, PhD, and domestic abuse survivor Elizabeth DeJesus discuss the effects of domestic violence — and how to rebuild a purp...

The heart and mind are intertwined, as cardiologist Marc Miller, MD,  knows in treating and researching heart conditions. Recuperating from a heart attack, for example, requires modification of both medicine and lifestyle—and emotional resilience. The same goes for mitral valve prolapse, a heart disease that affects millions globally and for which Dr. Miller and his team are pioneering new researc...

Genetics is an increasingly vital part of medical prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. But as findings increase, so do the challenges. Brian Brown, PhD, discusses the roles of resilience and perseverance in overcoming obstacles in scientific research.  Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System. Check...

Lessons in resilience may be found in all walks of life— who knew some of the best would come from mouse behaviors? Dr. Scott Russo leads the Center for Affective Neuroscience and the Brain Body Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. On this special edition of Road to Resilience,  Dr. Russo explains how his team's studies of resilience in mice are instructive in how h...

Schizophrenia brings both psychological and societal challenges. Medication can help but resilience, says psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Charney, is another key element of learning to live with the disease. In this podcast, Dr. Charney discusses the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, and how to persist to their challenges.  Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-tr...

Addiction can always come with stigma and setbacks. For pregnant people, the physical, psychological, and social strains can feel even more challenging. The Bridge Program at Mount Sinai, led by Leah Habersham, MD, provides integrated prenatal care and substance-use treatment that can put you on the path to recovery. In this episode, Dr. Habersham shows us the way. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org...

What do a triathlon and All Quiet on the Western Front have in common? Answer: Lesley Paterson, and her stamina and perseverence. An actor, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and 5-time world champion triathlete, Lesley discusses how her chosen fields tested her resilience— and how each of those journeys helped influence the other.  Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're elig...

Having managed the challenges of paraplegia since childhood, Alessa Ramos uses her language skills and experience to help Mount Sinai patients develop and sustain their own resilience. In this podcast, she shares her journey. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System. Check out more episodes of Road t...

Working in healthcare can sometimes be a ruff job, but for Mount Sinai's trained facility dogs, each day is absolutely fetching. Mount Sinai's three facility dogs —Professor, Amos, and Moby— are a part of the trailblazing Paws & Play Facility Dog Program at Kravis Children's Hospital at Mount Sinai, The program is run by Ali Spikestein, a Program Manager of Kravis Children'...

What can children and young adults teach grown-ups about resilience? Barbara Sahakian, PhD, has some answers. Dr. Sahakian is a Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge and has authored and coauthored multiple studies over the years, including a 2023 study on how parents may build resilience and creativity in kids with one simple daily activity.  Visit https://www.mount...

The fight for greater research into women's health means greater rights and knowledge for everyone, as our guest on this episode illustrates. Michal Elovitz, MD, is the Dean of Women's Health Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is also the Director of the Women's Biomedical Research Institute, devoted to understanding the female reproductive tract and sex-sp...

When seasonal affective disorder (SAD) —also called seasonal depression—gets you down, your own resilience skills can help. On this episode of Road to Resilience, we hear resilience strategies on how to cope with SAD from Dr. Jelena Kecmanovic, PhD, a practicing clinical psychologist. Dr. Kecmanovic is the founder and director of the Arlington and D.C. Behavior Therapy Institute and an adjunct pro...

Leslie Schlachter, a physician’s assistant in the neurosurgery department at Mount Sinai, witnessed the murder of her sister by a jealous ex-boyfriend. She discusses her long journey to recovery from PTSD and the impact on her work, in this special interview with Jonathan Depierro, PhD, Associate Director of the Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth, and co-author of the third edition...

On this podcast, Grant Mitchell, MD, describes the new Mount Sinai-Behavioral Health Center, a radical reimagination of how to deliver mental health care. From the welcoming physical environment with natural light and outdoor spaces, the Center inspires hope when each patient comes through the door. Dr. Mitchell stresses how the Center strives to erase the stigma of mental health care, while also...

On Valentine's Day, 2000, Carolyn Moor and her husband were in a car accident that took his life. Over the coming decades Carolyn channeled her grief into a career providing solace to —and advocacy for— the world's widows. On this special edition episode of Road to Resilience, Carolyn discusses the resilience lessons she learned and honed following one of the defining struggles of her li...

Tiffany Wedekind is an artist and professional candlemaker living in Columbus, Ohio. That in itself is a testimony to her resilience because Tiffany is also one of the world's oldest-known survivors of progeria, a rapid-aging disease that typically takes its sufferers by the time they're teenagers.  Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a...

Laurie Keefer, PhD, is the Director of Psychobehavioral Research within Mount Sinai's Division of Gastroenterology. As a practicing physician and researcher, Dr. Keefer studies and treats diseases of the gut. On this episode of Road to Resilience, Dr. Keefer explains the process of teaching resilience to her patients, a disproportionate number of whom are children and adolescents. The process...

Zlata Filipovic is a documentary filmmaker and world-renowned diarist. In 1992, as the war in Bosnia arrived in her hometown of Sarajevo, Zlata recounted the war's horrors in her diary. The diary's publication in 1993 brought worldwide acclaim, as well as the means for Zlata and her family to escape. On Road to Resilience, Zlata shares her experiences in the war, and how she and her fami...

A music therapist at Mount Sinai's Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine discusses the center's innovative work in medical music psychotherapy. Caitlin Bell is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist in New York State and a Board Certified Music therapist at the Armstrong Center. She is an active researcher in the Armstrong Center's AMEND (Assessment of Music Experiences in Navig...

Former pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger discusses resilience principles he honed through family tragedy, his decades as an Air Force pilot and commercial pilot, and his successful emergency landing of a passenger aircraft in the Hudson River, in what became known as "The Miracle on the Hudson." He was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 2016 film "Sully: Miracle on the H...

Two of Mount Sinai’s leading physicians and researchers discuss the prevailing research into and treatment for long COVID.   Dr. Zijian Chen is an endocrinologist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and the director of the Center for Post-COVID Care at Mount Sinai; Dr. David Putrino is the Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System. Both physicians are at the forefront of resea...