Flexibility refers to the ability of a stick to change form and keep it until new force is applied to it. Metaphorically, a person is called 'flexible' when he is able to change his points of view according to new facts. His body may be called flexible too, if it can assume unusual postures.

Plasticity refers to a material, such as dough, which can be deformed at will, keeping the new form until force is again applied to it.

Elasticity refers to the capability of rubber and related materials to be stretched, the original shape returning when the force applied ceases.

Resilience refers to the capability of rubber and related materials to be compressed, the original shape returning when the force applied ceases. This quality is observed in rubber balls.
Metaphorically, an individual is called 'resilient' when he undergoes a stressful situation for a long time and returns to his previous psyche once the stress ceases. Human resilience is determined in a gross manner, comparing a number of individuals submitted to similar stresses.
The actuality of this observation has acquired a new dimension, on account of the advances in neuroscience. It appears that people deficient in the neurotransmitters serotonin and epinephrine are less resilient. They are prone to enter a depressive state in the presence of prolonged stress.

A different situation is related to acute, violent psychic traumatic experiences. An irreversible damage may result, which used to be called "shell-shock" in the course of wars. The psychiatric term today is "Acute Stress Syndrome." It has been determined that certain area of the brain is anatomically damaged in such patients.
I suggest that corticosteroids might prevent the damage. I base my thinking on the fact that such procedure is helpful in acute neurological trauma. If my postulate is found to be true, then individuals suffering a traumatic episode capable of affecting their mental status will benefit from the immediate use of corticosteroids.

Pliancy (or Pliantness) is a word rarely used. It sort of embraces all or several of the above-described properties.
Referring to the animal kingdom, only human beings are 'pliant (or 'pliable'), in the sense that they can change their customs at will once they become aware of better ones. A book entitled "The Pliant Animal" made me review my daily routine, the result being that I started using less my car and more my legs to-and-fro my work place.

Consilience is a much less known word. The scientist and thinker E. O. Wilson has popularized it recently, to stress the need of reuniting all branches of knowledge in order to progress in a concerted manner. He has published a book with that title, which --as expected-- follows the evolutionist line of understanding the world. To my own view, the absence of reference in the book to the concepts of Emergents and Resultants is deplorable.