Listen to the episode Season 5 | Ep 80
On this episode of the Coaching Studio
Resilience, Beauty, and the Generous Exchange with Dr. Maria Sirois
What if the hardest moments in life, loss, grief, upheaval, could become the fertile ground for resilience and even beauty?
In this moving conversation, host Lyssa deHart sits down with Dr. Maria Sirois, psychologist, resilience expert, and author of The Generous Exchange: How Attention to Beauty, Goodness, and Excellence Restores Us and Our World.
Together, they explore the science of post-traumatic growth, the truth about resilience as a practice, and the profound ways we can heal through connection, beauty, and compassion.
Maria shares wisdom drawn from her decades of work in pediatric oncology and positive psychology, revealing the “moves” resilient people make, facing reality, choosing what sustains them, and “borrowing better brains” when life feels too heavy. She offers a fresh understanding of grief as integration rather than completion and introduces the Japanese art of Kintsugi as a metaphor for holding both brokenness and wholeness at once.
From leadership to love, from burnout to beauty, this episode invites listeners to rediscover grounded optimism and the grace to grow through challenge.
Maria’s books and recommendations – Go check them out!
Maria Sirois, Psy.D.
Dr. Maria Sirois is a clinical psychologist, author, and internationally recognized teacher whose work sits at the intersection of resilience, wellness, and the art of flourishing through challenge. For more than three decades, she has worked with individuals, teams, and organizations to illuminate one powerful truth: we can grow through adversity.
Beginning her career in pediatric oncology, Maria witnessed firsthand how families facing the unimaginable could also deepen in love, courage, and meaning. That experience sparked a lifelong exploration of what enables people to thrive in the midst of loss, transition, and uncertainty. Blending science, story, and soul, she brings the evidence of positive psychology and post-traumatic growth to life in a way that is both deeply human and profoundly practical.
Maria is the author of three books, including The Generous Exchange: How Attention to Beauty, Goodness, and Excellence Restores Us and Our World, A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (And Other Dark, Difficult Times), and Every Day Counts. Known for her authenticity, warmth, and grounded wisdom, she helps us remember that resilience isn’t about being unbreakable, it’s about learning to live fully, beautifully, and compassionately with what is.
About the Host
Lyssa deHart ditched her therapy practice to become a Leadership Confidence Coach. Along the way she discovered a passion for professional coaching and wanted to find ways to share that passion with the world. Come join her in discovering and meeting some of the most amazing professional coaches on the planet. Her goal is to inspire coaches. Lyssa is the author of Sticky Outcomes: at the Intersection of Coaching, Neuroscience, and Lasting Change, StoryJacking: Change Your Dialogue, Transform Your Life, The Reflective Coach - a 12 Month Journal, and Light Up: the Science of Coaching with Metaphors. Lyssa is an ICF MCC Coach, PCC Assessor, Certified Mentor Coach, and Coach SuperVisor. Lyssa uses her understanding of the ICF Core Competencies, combined with her knowledge of Neuroscience, to work with people to become extraordinary professional coaches. Let's Go!
