Constance Scharff, PhD

Constance Scharff, PhD, is an explorer and adventurer who studies human resilience and mental health. An award-winning author and passionate advocate for global mental health, she writes on the topics of addiction and trauma recovery, the psychological impacts of climate change, and women’s mental health. She is the founder and director of The Human Resilience Project. As principal investigator, Dr. Scharff leads expeditions worldwide to learn how some of the most remote and marginalized communities address adversity and shares that information with a consortium of interested parties. She works globally to broaden our definitions of mental healthcare and incorporate complementary therapies and indigenous practices and ontologies into healthcare services. She is particularly interested in the intesection of trauma and climate change. Dr. Scharff is a recent recipient of St. Lawrence University’s Sol Feinstone Humanitarian Award, honoring her service to and advocacy for those suffering from mental illness, trauma, and addiction. She’s also a member of The Explorers Club, an homage to her efforts to improve mental health and wellbeing in communities worldwide. Her most recent research project, a year-long, seven-nation exploration of “everyday bravery” is titled, A Year of Living Bravely, and will be available as a book in 2026.

Through The Human Resilience Project, Dr. Scharff investigates how people respond to adversity. She currently leads two inquiries.

First, she has just completed the field research for the A Year of Living Bravely project. This was a year-long, seven-nation exploration of “everyday bravery.” A Year of Living Bravely, which will be published as a popular press nonfiction book in 2026, will be an important work adding to our current understanding of bravery, especially among people many might not initially consider “brave.”

The second investigation examines human resilience in diverse circumstances, from post-apartheid South Africa to orangutan conservation in Indonesia. This investigation is particularly exciting because at each site, we partner with local researchers to lead the inquiry into the experiences of people in their region. We are currently setting up the project and seeking funding for the global and far-reaching field research.

The Human Resiliance Project is affiliated with the California Institute for Human Science (CIHS). Graduate students who would like to be involved with the project should reach out through CIHS.

If you’d like to be part of this important research, consider giving to our Go Fund Me campaign, to support the costs of the research.