Developing literature on Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT)

August’s reading is some of the developing literature on Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT), mindfulness as a validated intervention to improve resilience, and the changes in neural pathways and cytokine gene expression that have been associated with ESRT.

All this prompted by the conference on Resilience in Medicine (previously highlighted in June’s ‘On The Horizon’), which featured among others, fantastic summary presentations from surgeon Dr Carter Lebares from the University of California San Francisco, and Prof Andrew Kemp, Psychologist, from the University of Swansea.

As a starter for 10 in background reading, take a look at the JAMA network invited opinion piece by Brooke Gurland on the topic of ESRT.

AMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e194087. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4087 (click image to read the journal).

What strikes me most is the crossover between the somatic intelligence narrative of Integral Coaching and the neuroscientific basis of behavioural change highlighted in the ESRT research.

Additionally, all interventions used in the ESRT pilot- attention control, emotional regulation and metacognition – required the introduction of regular daily ‘practices’ in order to effect change. Again, this is part of integral coaching practice: first self-observation and then a regular practice, or practices, to embed beneficial behavioural adjustments for the coachee.

Most impressive from the ESRT work however, is a link to discrete new neural pathway connections, not previously demonstrated, and to a reduction in pro-inflammatory gene expression signatures. This suggests that there are measurable physiological markers and neuro-imaging changes occurring as a response to a programme of validated psychological interventions. These changes, according to Lebares’ most recent unpublished work, are sustained after the intervention has been completed.