Congress – Resilience and recovery

MONIQUE MANZANERA

Monique Manzanera is Social Worker Haemophilia at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, NSW.

At the 2026 WFH World Congress, Darian Smith, a psychosocial worker from New Zealand, presented on resilience and recovery, with a focus on practical coping strategies to support mental wellbeing. Everyone experiences stress in different ways. Building our resilience toolkit is essential to support our mental wellbeing, relationships, productivity and quality of life.

Mental Health and Community

Chair ~ Amanda Stahl, USA
Resilience and recovery: Coping strategies for mental wellbeing ~ Darian Smith, New Zealand

He began by describing resilience through easy-to-understand metaphors:

1.The ‘battery’ – representing how much energy a person has to cope with life’s challenges. Stressful experiences drain this battery, while self-care helps to recharge it. Darian posed the question: ‘How do you maintain the energy in your battery?’

2.The ‘bucket’ – where the water symbolises resilience and capacity to cope. Life stressors can create ‘holes’ in the bucket, causing that capacity (or water) to drain. The focus then becomes both refilling the bucket and patching the holes. He asked: ‘How do you maintain enough water in your bucket?’

Darian went on to discuss unhelpful coping strategies. He explained that whilst these approaches may provide short-term relief, they can be harmful in the long term and are often distraction-based. Examples included:

• Alcohol and other drug use
• Unhealthy comfort eating
• Compulsive or risky behaviours (e.g., excessive spending/’retail therapy’)
• Denial.

He then introduced a range of strategies to support coping in the present moment, emphasising that regular practice strengthens a person’s ability to manage challenges and builds resilience over time. These included:

• Breathing exercises
• Listening to music
• Intentional sensory activities
• The ‘5 things’ grounding exercise
• Using humour
• Positive self-talk, including reframing and using helpful mantras
• Maintaining physical wellbeing through exercise, nutrition, and sleep
• Creative activities such as painting, colouring, or writing, which can support emotional processing and provide a mental break.

Darian also encouraged psychosocial workers and clinicians to draw on clients’ existing strengths. Exploring how individuals have navigated past challenges can help identify transferable skills that may be useful in current situations.

He concluded by outlining a series of practical steps to support coping:

1. Focus on getting through the immediate moment – ‘survival mode’ is okay when needed.

2. Identify what is required to feel safe and prioritise self-care.

3. When safe to do so, allow space to experience and express emotions appropriately.

4. Continue to take care of yourself.

5. Consider what actions you want to take in response to the situation.

6. Identify helpful supports and actively seek them out.

7. Take action – remembering that small steps can lead to meaningful progress.

This session helped simplify the term resilience with everyday life examples that most people can relate to, helping us to visualise when our battery or bucket may be running out whilst providing us with helpful tips on how to maintain its fullness. It highlighted the importance of strengths-based practice for psychosocial workers, building on past coping strategies that have worked and adapting them for each situation.

Some helpful links to get you practising:

Beyond Blue Guided Breathing Exercises.

HealthDirect Relaxation techniques.

Slow breathing: Count to 3 as you slowly inhale, and then count to 6 as you slowly exhale. This helps calm your nervous system, as when we are stressed we tend to take fast, shallow breaths.

5 senses grounding exercise: Focus on the present using your 5 senses – what can you see in the environment around you? What can you feel? What can you touch? What can you smell? What can you taste? You can start by counting 5 things, then 4 things until you get to 1.

Remember, you can always reach out to your Haemophilia Treatment Centre (HTC) social worker, counsellor or psychologist for support around coping strategies and building resilience.

Photos: Monique Manzanera and Jane Portnoy.

Monique Manzanera was assisted by funding from Haemophilia Foundation Australia to attend the WFH 2026 World Congress.