Post-traumatic Growth: Is there evidence for changing our practice?
2050-01-01 00:00:0054m
Positive psychological changes and growth beyond previous levels of functioning are characteristics of a phenomenon described as Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). Tedeschi, Park & Calhoun (1998) identified 5 outcomes of PTG: increased appreciation of life; sense of new possibilities in life; increased personal strength; improvement in close personal relationships; and positive spiritual change. More recently, PTG has been proposed as a coping style, as well as a coping outcome.
Whilst numerous questions arise concerning theoretical, and reliability and validity issues, and conflicting evidence exists regarding PTG’s relationship to posttrauma pathology, the adaptive significance of PTG is gaining the attention of researchers and practitioners. This lecture present s implications of PTG as a posttrauma phenomenon for treatment of survivors of trauma. It outlines Australasian research findings related to posttrauma responses and PTG in a range of subjects, including earthquake-tsunami survivors, protective services professionals, cancer patients, serious motor vehicle accidents survivors, and those who have experienced first onset of psychosis.
It presents an overview of how Dr Colleen Jackson incorporates PTG into treatment approaches with clients with traumatic experiences ranging from early childhood trauma to recent adult trauma.