Post-traumatic growth

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Post-traumatic growth is a term used in psychology . Post-traumatic growth can occur after a traumatic situation .

terminology

The term "post-traumatic growth" comes from Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence G. Calhoun . While clinical psychology traditionally deals with the research of mental disorders ( post-traumatic stress disorder , post-traumatic bitterness disorder ), since the 1990s the interest of trauma research in positive trauma consequences has been increasing, as pointed out by Viktor Frankl in 1963 .

George Bonanno, professor at Columbia University, believes that post-traumatic growth is not the exception, but the rule. According to his studies, 60-80% of people who have gone through a profound crisis have become more satisfied and stronger in the long term. According to the British psychologist Martin Phillips, these painful setbacks and experiences make it clear to the person concerned what they actually want and, above all, what they actually need. This allows her to live more authentically and happily.

Other terms used in the literature are “Finding Benefits” (Affleck and Tennen 1996), “Stress-related Growth” (Park et al. 1996), “Thriving” (O'Leary et al. 1995), “Positive Psychological Changes” (Yalom and Liebermann 1991), “Transformational Coping” (Aldwin 1994) and in German “Post-Traumatic Maturation” ( Maercker 2009).

Areas of Traumatic Growth

The psychologist Richard G. Tedeschi, who teaches as a professor at UNC Charlotte , and his team have identified 5 areas of post-traumatic growth:

  1. Intensification of the appreciation of life : The maturation process triggered by the traumatic experience leads to a change in priorities. The importance of the small, everyday things increases. Material things lose value, personal relationships gain value.
  2. Intensification of personal relationships : The traumatic event destroyed part of the old relationships. The surviving relationships (“in an emergency one recognizes the true friends”) are intensified. At the same time, the ability to empathize increases. People affected by trauma feel a heightened empathy for others, especially those in need.
  3. Becoming aware of your own strengths : Just by becoming aware of your own vulnerability, the feeling of inner strength also increases. We now know that security in life can be attacked at any time, but also that the consequences of bad events can be mastered.
  4. Discovery of new possibilities in life : After old goals have been broken or devalued, one is now looking for new goals and tasks. This can be combined with a change of profession or with intensive social engagement.
  5. Intensification of spiritual awareness : The border experience brought about by the traumatic event raises existential questions. The resulting reflections about the meaning of life and / or about God can lead to greater spiritual knowledge and greater inner satisfaction.

In summary, it can be said that a loss turns into a profit. Those affected by trauma recognize the paradoxes inherent in life (e.g. vulnerability and strength). These lead to dialectical thinking and thus to an increase in maturity and wisdom . Richard G. Tedeschi believes that up to 90 percent of trauma survivors experience at least one aspect of post-traumatic growth.

Stages of Traumatic Growth

Tedeschi and Calhoun divide into three phases of traumatic growth:

  1. Experiencing a trauma : Existing coping options are exceeded and basic assumptions about yourself and the world are destroyed. This is associated with massive psychological and emotional suffering.
  2. Cognitive coping
    1. Frequent automatic rumination (cognitive processing)
    2. Reduction of emotional distress
    3. Farewell to unattainable goals
    4. Reflective rumination
    5. Change in the basic assumptions (schema change)
  3. Post-traumatic growth

Requirements for Traumatic Growth

The British psychologist Stephen Joseph from the University of Nottingham names three decisive elements that are necessary in order to emerge strengthened from blows of fate and traumatic experiences

  1. You have to learn to deal with the fact that life is insecure and not be intimidated.
  2. You have to be aware of your own emotions, first perceive them, understand and accept them. This leads to emotional self-insight and reflection.
  3. You have to come to the realization that you are responsible for yourself, your actions and your life. You shouldn't see yourself as a victim in a crisis situation. Your own autonomy and independence must be clearly perceived.
  4. Martin Seligman and Ann Marie Roepke add a fourth point: You have to look for new possibilities and options, open yourself up and seize them. For Seligman and Roepke, the wisdom “when one door closes, another opens” is the key to post-traumatic growth.

Culture dependence or independence of the phenomenon

There is evidence that post-traumatic growth is not culture-independent. In societies shaped by modern and postmodern values, such as the United States and European countries, there is most evidence for this phenomenon, but less in countries with traditional values. There can also be differences when comparing countries in a cultural area. Not all areas of post-traumatic growth are equally present in all countries. This is e.g. B. was shown in the complete lack of or only slightly increasing spiritual awareness in religiously distant countries or parts of the country such as the five East German federal states. Post-traumatic growth can be seen as a traumatic-induced form of self-improvement , which like this also has an illusory component.

Differentiation from related concepts

literature

  • Richard G. Tedeschi, Lawrence G. Calhoun: Trauma and transformation: Growing in the aftermath of suffering. Sage Publications, Newbury Park 1995.
  • Richard G. Tedeschi, Lawrence G. Calhoun: The posttrautraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. In: Journal of Traumatic Stress. 9, 1996, pp. 455-471.
  • Tanja Zöllner, Lawrence G. Calhoun, Richard G. Tedeschi: Trauma and personal growth. In: Andreas Maercker, Rita Rosner (Hrsg.): Psychotherapy of post-traumatic stress disorders. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, pp. 36–45.
  • Stephen Joseph: What does not kill us - How people manage to emerge stronger from blows of fate and traumatic experiences, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2015, ISBN 978-3-642-54973-1 .
  • Michaela Haas. "Strong as a phoenix. How we develop our resilience powers and grow beyond ourselves in crises." OW Barth, 2015. ISBN 3426292408

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard G. Tedeschi, Lawrence G. Calhoun: Trauma and transformation: Growing in the aftermath of suffering. Sage Publications, Newbury Park 1995.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Tanja Zöllner, Lawrence G. Calhoun, Richard G. Tedeschi: Trauma and personal growth. In: Andreas Maercker, Rita Rosner (Hrsg.): Psychotherapy of post-traumatic stress disorders. Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, pp. 36–45.
  3. ↑ a b c Anna Gielas: Take it easy, in PSYCHOLOGIE HEUTE, April 2016, p. 31
  4. ^ Richard G. Tedeschi, Lawrence G. Calhoun: The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. In: Journal of Traumatic Stress. 9, 1996, pp. 455-471.
  5. ↑ Haas, Michaela. Strong as a phoenix. OW Barth, 2015. ISBN 3426292408
  6. ↑ Stephen Joseph: What does not kill us - How people manage to emerge stronger from blows of fate and traumatic experiences, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 2015, ISBN 978-3-642-54973-1
  7. ^ Tzipi Weiss, Ron Berger: Posttraumatic Growth and Culturally Competent Practice. Lessons Learned from Around the Globe Wiley, Hoboken, NJ 2010.
  8. ↑ Birgit Wagner , Andreas Maercker: "Trauma and posttraumatic growth in Germany". In Tzipi Weiss, Ron Berger (Ed.): Posttraumatic Growth and Culturally Competent Practice: Lessons Learned from Around the Globe. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ 2010, pp. 73-85.