Posttraumatic Growth - When Trauma Leads to Transformation

Post-traumatic growth refers to positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances. These sets of circumstances represent significant challenges to the adaptive resources of the individual and pose significant challenges to individuals' way of understanding the world and their place in it. Posttraumatic growth is not simply a return to baseline from a period of suffering; instead it is an experience of improvement that for some persons is deeply meaningful. [Wikipedia]

This article from Stephen Joseph's Psychology Today blog, What Doesn't Kill Us, offers a brief overview of posttraumatic growth. I have also included a list of books and papers by the original researchers of this phenomenon, Richard Tedeshi and Lawrence Calhoun.

Posttraumatic Growth

The subversion of suffering

Published on February 8, 2014 by Stephen Joseph, Ph.D. in What Doesn't Kill Us

‘Suffering is universal: you attempt to subvert it so that it does not have a destructive, negative effect. You turn it around so that it becomes a creative, positive force.’ Those are the words of Terry Waite who survived four years in solitary confinement, chained, beaten and subject to mock execution.

Interest in how trauma can be a catalyst for positive changes began to take hold during the mid 1990’s when the term posttraumatic growth was introduced by two pioneering scholars Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun.

The term posttraumatic growth proved to be popular and has since developed into one of the flagship topics for positive psychology.

In my book What Doesn't Kill Us: The New Psychology of Posttraumatic Growth (2013), I describe how after experiencing a traumatic event, people often report three ways in which their psychological functioning increases:

1. Relationships are enhanced in some way. For example, people describe that they come to value their friends and family more, feel an increased sense of compassion for others and a longing for more intimate relationships.

2. People change their views of themselves in some way. For example, developing in wisdom, personal strength and gratitude, perhaps coupled with a greater acceptance of their vulnerabilities and limitations.

3. People describe changes in their life philosophy. For example, finding a fresh appreciation for each new day and re-evaluating their understanding of what really matters in life, becoming less materialistic and more able to live in the present.

Importantly, and this just can’t be emphasized enough, this does not mean that trauma is not also destructive and distressing. No one welcomes adversity. But the research evidence shows us that over time people can find benefits in their struggle with adversity. Indeed, across a large number of studies of people who have experienced a wide range of negative events, estimates are that between 30 and 70% typically report some form of positive change

We can all use this knowledge to help us cope when adversity does strike, be it bereavement, accident or illness. We can seek to live more wisely in the aftermath of adversity and as the opening quote says, subvert suffering.

To find out more about my book on posttraumatic growth: http://www.profstephenjoseph.com

For even more information on postttraumatic growth, go to the source,

Richard G. Tedeschi, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at UNC Charlotte and a licensed psychologist. He received his B.A. in psychology from Syracuse University, his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Ohio University, and completed his clinical psychology internship at the UNC School of Medicine. He is consultant to the American Psychological Association on trauma and resilience, and is a fellow of the division of trauma psychology. He is past president of the North Carolina Psychological Association.

Lawrence G. Calhoun, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at UNC Charlotte and a licensed clinical psychologist. Although his parents were North American, he was born and raised in Brazil. He is one of the pioneers in the study of posttraumatic growth and is author of several books. His most recent book, with Richard Tedeschi, is Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Practice.

Books:

• Trauma and Transformation: Growing in the Aftermath of Suffering (1995)
• Posttraumatic Growth: Positive Changes in the Aftermath of Crisis (1998)
• The Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research and Practice (2006)
• Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Practice (2012)

Papers:

• The Foundations of Postraumatic Growth: New Considerations
• Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence
• Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth in Psychotherapy
• A Correlational Test of the Relationship Between Posttraumatic Growth, Religion, and Cognitive Processing
• Helping Bereaved Parents
• Examining posttraumatic growth among Japanese university students
• The Core Beliefs Inventory
• A Short Form of the PTGI