This blog post was stimulated by my reading of Debra M. Kawahara, PhD’s excellent column, “How to Cultivate Hope in Uncertain Times,” published in the APA Monitor on Psychology (June 2025). I share her concern for resilience and well-being and was inspired to share some of my own reflections as grounded in psychological research and philosophical thought (one of my passions).
We are living in a period marked by social upheaval, professional strain, and a growing sense of uncertainty about the future. For many clinicians and clients alike, the question is no longer simply how to cope, but how to continue to hope in a world that often feels unstable.
Hope, however, is not naïve optimism. In both psychology and philosophy, hope has long been understood as a serious psychological capacity, one that allows human beings to endure adversity while remaining engaged with life.
Hope as a Psychological Resource
Psychologist C. R. Snyder, one of the most influential researchers on hope, defined it not as a feeling but as a cognitive process involving two essential elements: the belief that meaningful goals are possible and the sense that one can find pathways toward them (Snyder, 2002).
In this view, hope is not passive. It is an active stance toward the future, grounded in agency and problem-solving rather than wishful thinking. This distinction matters, especially in difficult times. When circumstances feel overwhelming, hope becomes less about predicting good outcomes and more about sustaining the motivation to keep acting, even without certainty.
Philosophical Perspectives on Endurance
Long before modern psychology, philosophers and clinicians reflected deeply on the nature of hope under extreme conditions.
Viktor Frankl, writing from the experience of surviving Nazi concentration camps, argued that hope is rooted in meaning rather than circumstance. He observed that people who were able to locate even a small sense of purpose were more likely to endure suffering. As he famously wrote, human beings retain “the last of the human freedoms” — the freedom to choose one’s attitude in the face of circumstances (Frankl, 1959).
Political philosopher Hannah Arendt offered a different but complementary insight. She described hope not as denial of reality, but as the capacity to begin again. For Arendt, human beings possess what she called natality — the ability to introduce something new into the world even after devastation. In this sense, hope is not about comfort, but about the courage to act despite uncertainty (Arendt, 1958).
These perspectives converge on a powerful idea: hope is not the absence of fear or suffering; it is the decision to remain oriented toward meaning, action, and responsibility even when outcomes are unclear.
Why Hope Matters So Much in Clinical Work
For therapists, counselors, and psychologists, hope is not only a personal resource, it is also a clinical force.
Research consistently shows that hope is associated with greater psychological resilience, lower levels of depression and despair, and stronger engagement with treatment. In fact, hope has been described as one of the common factors in psychotherapy. Across theoretical orientations, the clinician’s capacity to hold hope on behalf of a client during moments of despair often becomes a quiet but decisive ingredient in healing (Wampold & Imel, 2015).
In uncertain times, clinicians are often called to carry hope not only for themselves, but for the people who sit across from them each day.
At the same time, this emotional labor has limits. When caring becomes constant and replenishment scarce, even the most committed professionals can begin to feel depleted. We explore this reality more fully in my post When Caring Hurts: Recognizing and Preventing Compassion Fatigue, which looks at how sustained exposure to others’ distress can quietly erode resilience if left unaddressed.
Hope, in this context, is not just something we offer our clients. It is something we must also protect within ourselves.
Practicing Hope in Everyday Life
Hope may be a deep human capacity, but it is also something that can be strengthened through practice. Research and clinical wisdom point to several reliable pathways.
Stay connected
Human beings regulate hope socially. Supportive relationships and professional communities help sustain perspective when isolation narrows it.
Focus on what remains within reach
When large systems feel uncontrollable, attention to small, purposeful actions restores a sense of agency. Hope grows when people experience themselves as capable of making a difference, even in modest ways.
Name experience honestly
Mindfulness-based approaches emphasize the value of noticing and naming thoughts and emotions. This simple act often reduces overwhelm and allows room for a more grounded sense of possibility.
Protect space for restoration
Hope is difficult to sustain when exhaustion dominates. Rest, boundaries, and self-care are not indulgences; they are psychological conditions that make hope possible.
Remember collective resilience
History offers countless examples of individuals and communities who endured periods of fear and uncertainty. Remembering these stories does not erase present hardship, but it places it within a broader human narrative of survival and renewal.
Choosing Hope Without Illusion
Hope is sometimes confused with denial or forced positivity. In truth, mature hope is far more sober. It acknowledges suffering fully while refusing to let suffering define the whole story.
As the existential philosopher Albert Camus suggested, the task is not to eliminate absurdity or injustice, but to live and act in ways that affirm dignity in their presence (Camus, 1951).
In this sense, hope is not a prediction about the future. It is a commitment to meaning in the present.
Final Reflection
In uncertain times, hope does not arrive as reassurance. It shows up as steadiness, courage, and the willingness to remain engaged with life even when answers are incomplete.
For clinicians, cultivating hope is both a personal responsibility and a professional gift. It shapes how we meet our clients, how we face our own limits, and how we continue the work of care in a complex world.
Hope, at its deepest level, is not something we wait for, it is something we practice.
References
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human Condition. University of Chicago Press.
Camus, A. (1951). The Rebel. Gallimard.
Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.
Kawahara, D. M. (2025, June). How to cultivate hope in uncertain times. APA Monitor on Psychology, 56(4), 8.
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275.
Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The Great Psychotherapy Debate: The Evidence for What Makes Psychotherapy Work (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Patricia C. Baldwin, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
President of Note Designer Inc.