The Prevention Leaders Podcast
Resilience as Prevention, Not Just Recovery
1 hr 5 min
Guest: Shane Varcoe
Listen on SpotifySummary
This episode explores a proactive approach to resilience, framing it as a preventive measure rather than a post-crisis recovery tool. Dave Closson and guest Shane Varcoe discuss how building resilience before challenges arise is key. They redefine resilience as the ability to bounce back, not to remain unshaken, highlighting its critical role in substance misuse prevention.
Key takeaways
- Understand that the common definition of resilience may be incomplete, often missing the mark.
- Recognize that identity, emotions, and purpose are key factors shaping an individual's ability to bounce back.
- Avoid tying resilience solely to emotional control or personality traits, as this can be a dangerous oversimplification.
- Develop a personal toolkit that includes an "anchor" and a "why" to strengthen resilience.
- Learn how to foster resilience in young people and communities as a strategy for substance misuse prevention.
Show notes
What if we treated resilience the same way we treat prevention, something to build before the crisis hits?
In this powerful conversation, Dave Closson sits down with Shane Varcoe, Executive Director of the Dalgarno Institute, to unpack a deeper, more actionable understanding of resilience. Together, they explore how resilience isn’t about being unshakable, but about bouncing back, and why it’s essential to build it ahead of time, not just after the fall.You’ll hear:
- Why the common definition of resilience is missing the mark
- How identity, emotions, and purpose shape our ability to bounce back
- The danger of tying resilience to emotional control or personality
- What it means to have an “anchor” and a “why” in your personal toolkit
- The role of resilience in substance misuse prevention, and how to foster it in young people and communities
Whether you're a prevention professional, educator, or simply someone navigating life’s challenges, this episode offers insight, tools, and a fresh perspective on how to live, and lead, with resilience.Explore more about Shane’s work: dalgarnoinstitute.org.au Listen to Shane’s podcast: Unnecessary Harm : https://unnecessaryharm.com.au/Learn about World Resiliency Week: https://worldresiliencyday.com.au/
More episodes from The Prevention Leaders Podcast
October 7, 202658 min
How SAFE Project Is Strengthening What Protects Us
This episode features Ronna Yablonski and Adam Swift from SAFE Project, who discuss the organization's comprehensive approach to substance misuse prevention. They emphasize that prevention is an ongoing, daily effort that involves individuals, families, and communities. The conversation highlights how SAFE Project strengthens protective factors before, during, and after a crisis, particularly for veterans.
ListenAugust 12, 202647 min
Culture Is Prevention: Protective Factors, Belonging, and Strength-Based Prevention with Barbara Bessette
This episode of The Prevention Leaders Podcast features Dave Closson and Barbara Bessette, an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe Rocky Boy. They explore how reconnecting with culture, identity, belonging, and community can be a powerful substance misuse prevention strategy. Bessette shares her insights on approaching prevention through an Indigenous lens, emphasizing protective factors and moving beyond deficit-based narratives.
ListenJuly 2, 20261 hr 3 min
Fall, Feel, Rise: Hope Tour, Fourth Wave Foundation, and the Practice of Resilience
This episode, a collaboration with the Unnecessary Harm podcast, explores resilience with the architects of World Resiliency Week 2026, Adam Woods and Sneha Patiyathal. They discuss the critical practice of resilience in diverse cultural contexts, focusing on community-rooted and relationship-centered prevention work for young people. The conversation highlights on-the-ground efforts in schools and communities across Australia and India.
ListenJune 24, 202651 min
The Pulse of Resilience: Why Falling, Feeling, and Rising Matters
This special multicast episode, originally recorded with the Dalgarno Institute for their podcast Unnecessary Harm, explores the 2026 World Resiliency Week campaign theme, "The Pulse of Resilience: Fall, Feel, Rise." Guests Dave Closson and Jen Schneeman discuss resilience as a rhythm rather than a destination, drawing on diverse fields such as trauma recovery and prevention science. They offer a hopeful conversation about navigating adversity and building stronger individuals and communities.
ListenYour people are waiting.
Join a private community built only for prevention professionals. Look around, meet your people, and choose your membership when you're ready.