What is Posttraumatic Growth?
Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) describes the phenomenon of traumatized people growing – becoming stronger, healthier, happier, and in all aspects better – as a result of their traumatic experiences. PTG can be expressed as the improvement experienced in various facets of one’s life and self, as a result of having struggled with trauma. Calhoun and Tedeschi began asking, in the 1980s, about the possibility of people growing from their traumatic experiences. Tedeschi and Calhoun describe PTG as ‘positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances’. Put differently, ‘posttraumatic growth is positive change that the individual experiences as a result of the struggle with a traumatic event’. The end result is that growth can occur after trauma. The key to the growth is struggle; the individual experiences growth after much struggle with the trauma to find its particular meaning and purpose, with a new worldview to better make sense of the traumatic experience. Trauma leads to struggle with painful experiences and suffering through the symptoms that consequently
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The American athlete’s adage, ‘no pain, no gain’ is applicable to the concept of PTG. In traumatic experiences, pain and suffering are not sought, but the wisdom and growth that can arise out of the suffering is good and can be desirous. The result is a person who has grown and is better (more mature, wiser, stronger, and more benevolent, etc.) for having had the struggle. Hence, PTG occurs when the traumatized individual struggles, re-evaluates previously held worldviews, adapts those worldviews and interpretations, and creates new worldviews that are healthy and helpful for the individual’s
Vicarious trauma focuses on the cognitive schemas or core beliefs of the therapist and the way in which these may change as a result of empathic engagement with the client and exposure to the traumatic imagery presented by clients. This may cause a disruption in the therapist 's view
The prevalence of trauma of all types is widespread throughout much of the world and includes trauma from accident, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, political conflict, war, or other human struggles. The many faces of bullying, hatred, economic insecurity and oppression (racism, sexism) leave a steady stream of survivors carrying the burdens of fear, anxiety, rage, and physical illness.
Trauma is an incident that leads to a great suffering of body or mind. It is a severe torture to the body and breaks the body’s natural equilibrium. It is defined as an emotional wound causing a psychological injury. American Psychological Association, defined trauma as an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks and strained relationships. J. Laplanche and J. B. Pontalis assert, “Trauma is an event in the subject life defined by its intensity by the subject’s incapacity to respond adequately to it, and by the upheaval and long lasting effects that it brings about in the psychical organization” (qtd. by Hwangbo 1).
...manifest developmental, behavioral, and emotional problems. This implies the interpersonal nature of trauma and may explain the influence of veteran Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on the child’s development and eventual, long-term and long-lasting consequences for the child’s personality. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2525831).
Posttraumatic Growth and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder a study made in University of North Carolina demonstrated that the most common postwar psychological effect in veterans is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that its antonym is called Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). PTSD is a negative effect to trauma and PTG is a positive one. This study proved that being at combat does not always come with negative aftermath, but sometimes even with positive ones. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder includes intense fear, nightmares, and terror about a certain distressing event seen or felt at war. Posttraumatic Growth on the other hand, involves positive looks towards life, optimism, closer relationships with family members and closer to religion (if involved) also. The causes behind both of these psychological effects are most of the time the same, being clearly exposed to cruel combat. Seeing other soldiers who trained with you catch on fire, or lose their arms and legs can be the most devastating image a soldier has ever seen, resulting in mental damage such as having PTSD. (Schmidt & Moran & Burker. 34-40).
How does someone overcome the traumatic experiences they suffered with in their childhood? “Nobody had a perfect childhood, not even the kid down the street whose family seemed to have it all together. We all grew up with some sort of dysfunction, and we’re all who we are today because of it,” an excerpt from the article “The New Normal – Healing from a Dysfunctional Family.” A person’s dysfunctional childhood could sprout from neglect, abuse, loss, or psychological aspects that they have no control over but, every bad encounter can be overcome by the strongest people. “Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world,”( Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, and Jeanne Segal). The three steps to overcome is understanding, coping, and healing (Dania Vanessa). Each of
Deblinger, McCleer, & Henry (1990) demonstrated that trauma focused CBT which included anxiety management components (e.g. coping skills training and joint work with parents) which children aged 3 to 16 were effective in reducing the symptoms of PTSD because the client was able to externalize their symptoms rather than keeping them inside. Components of CBT include psychoeducation, activity scheduling/reclaiming life, imaginal reliving (including writing and drawing techniques), cognitive restructuring followed by integration of restructuring into reliving, revisiting the site of the trauma, stimulus discrimination with respect to traumatic reminders, direct work with nightmares, image transformation techniques; behavioral experiments, and work with parents at all stages ( Yule, Smith, & Perrin,
The first phase is psychoeducation and parenting skills. In the first sessions we discuss the definition and nature of trauma, the effects of trauma on the brain, how it affects cognitions, behaviors, etc. This treatment approach focuses on trauma—it is in the name. It does not necessarily require a formal PTSD diagnosis, but the psychoeducation does focus on the effects of trauma, and the impact of post-traumatic stress. Essentially, it focuses on the label and “mental illness” of PTSD. Reality therapy would shy away from a focus on illness. Reality therapy would encourage the clinician to avoid the labels and focus on the choices behind the condition (pg. 15). Unfortunately, for victims of severe trauma, the neurological impact is very real. Ignoring it will not help the treatment process.
Trauma is often seen as an event; however, trauma is actually the impact on a client’s life as a result of an experience (Saunders, 2016.) There are many factors that determine the effect the trauma will have on a person to include: developmental processes, the meaning associated to the trauma, and sociocultural factors (SAMHSA, 2014). Traumatic experiences can cause a person to have an unintegrated state of sensations, feelings, thoughts, behavior, and/ or images so strong they interfere with the person’s normal functioning. This state causes the person not to be able to access memories, sensations or somatic responses necessary to overcome events that are overwhelming, and can be developmentally intrusive (Saunders, 2016). In posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unintegrated feelings, sensations, and images can become triggered, and the brain reacts with the same feelings of being overwhelmed. These reactions of PTSD are a result of unintegrated memories about a single
In Chapter1 of How Children Succeed Paul Tough argues that trauma in childhood would cause a negative effect on children. However, this negative effect can be changed.
Childhood trauma has been shown to affect the victim throughout his or her entire life. The developments of severe psychological disorders have been linked to early life traumatic events. In particular Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) are common in those with traumatic childhoods. These disorders will be identified and evidence presented to demonstrate that childhood trauma is directly linked and responsible for these deviations from typical development.
This paper will focus on the effects caused by trauma experienced during childhood on the brain, mind, and personality and how it
People can experience traumatic events in many different ways; divorce, war, moving or even rape. A traumatic event is an incident that causes physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological harm (Cafasso, 2016, para. 1). Traumatic events may not particularly happen to you directly but can affect those around you in various ways. From my previous work experience numerous individuals can handle a traumatic event in a healthy manner and others may experience depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and even changes in appetite. Such events can be managed either by seeking out professional or spiritual help. Those who experience traumatic events can be affected in countless ways but have the opportunity to seek out professional help to receive
McElheran, M., Briscoe-Smith, A., Khaylis, A., Westrup, D., Hayward, C., & Gore-Felton, C. (2012). A conceptual model of post-traumatic growth among children and adolescents in the aftermath of sexual abuse. Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 25(1), 73-82.
An unknown exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event involving death or a serious injury is known as Trauma (Baird & Kracen, 2006). After a traumatic event, people experience emotional and physical aftershocks or have stress reactions periodically over time. The way an individual copes with crisis depends on his or her own history and prior experiences. Traumatic events are so painful that professional assistance may be inquired to cope with the circumstance (AAETS, 2014).