Inspiring hope and transforming grief: Community capacity building for victims of the Sichuan earthquake in China

Recent natural disasters have led to massive losses. Surviving populations are traumatised and many find life meaningless because of the disrupted social order. Clinical interventions with grief and loss mostly focus on removal of symptoms of pain. This article focuses on mechanisms for inspiring hope and transforming grief through Eastern approaches of a body-mind-spirit SMART intervention approach. SMART being Strength-oriented, Meaning-focused, Approach to Resilience and Transformation. The community capacity building SMART intervention, using a case study from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, will focus on empowerment to enable survivors of the disaster to a dignified living