Summary: Post Traumatic Growth

The term “Psychological trauma” refers to damage wrought from a traumatic event, which that damages one’s ability to cope with stressors. “Trauma” is commonly defined as an exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to self or others’ physical well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Specific types of client trauma frequently encountered by which therapists and other mental health workers frequently encounter in a clinical setting include sexual abuse, physical , or sexual assault, natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis, domestic violence, and school or/and work related violence (James & Gilliland, 2001). Traumatic

Post- traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a disorder which is characterized by anxiety, dissociative, and other symptoms that last for more than one month and that occur as a result of exposure to extreme trauma. PTSD symptoms can develop in individuals faced with repeated mild or low magnitude stressors, such as employment problems, marital distress (Astin et al., 1995; Scott & Stradling, 1994), parenting separation or relationship problems. This disorder is more common in more traumatic events such as war or a bad car accident. What is a traumatic event exactly? Well, a traumatic event is when a person has experienced, witnessed or was confronted with event(s) that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others. The natural response to these

Trauma is perceived as a physical or psychological threat or assault to a person’s physical integrity, sense of self, safety and/or survival or to the physical safety of a significant other; family member, friend, partner. (Kilpatrick, Saunders, and Smith, 2003). An adolescent may experience trauma from a variety of experiences, including but not limited to: abuse (sexual, physical, and/or emotional); neglect; abandonment; bullying; exposure to domestic violence and/ or community violence; natural disasters; medical procedures; loss/grief due to a death of a family member(s); surgery; accidents or serious illness; and war (Kilpatrick, Saunders, and Smith, 2003).

Sixty percent of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.). This shocking statistic exemplifies the high prevalence of childhood trauma. Furthermore, twenty-six percent of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before the age of four. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.) Trauma is an extremely common and complex phenomenon. But what is trauma? According to Merriam Webster, trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” (Merriam Webster, 2017). Dr. Lenore C. Terr from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of America further describes trauma as unique to each individual. It can be caused by a series of events or one severe incident. Unfortunately, childhood trauma is usually experienced repeatedly. For example, many children endure sexual abuse, bullying, and severe family problems over and over again. Children may experience a variety of traumas that have lasting consequences on their mental health. Those who experience childhood trauma are more likely to develop psychological disorders. This occurs because their brains lack neuroplasticity, which inhibits their ability to adapt to various stressful circumstances.

Childhood is a time for playdates and learning, a time for big dreams and imaginary adventures. Safety and security should not be questions that linger in uncertainty. However, this is not the case for many children across the globe. Thousands of children from all walks of life each day are faced with unspeakable horror and must deal with the resulting trauma from then on. However, in children, managing this trauma takes a different toll on the mind and heart than it does in adults. While the type of trauma may vary in pervasiveness across countries, trauma occurring in childhood has the ability to cause long term damage to the growing neurological functioning in the brain and negatively influence children’s spiritual development, wounding

When assisting an individual in dealing with their post-traumatic stress symptoms it is important that we understand and pray for post-traumatic growth. After all, did God tell is in Romans 8:28 that in all things He works out for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose. Therefore

Post-traumatic growth is an odd idea to consider; how can the loss of a loved one lead to a person growing and changing for the better? Although people might refuse to admit it, believing that it is offense to the deceased to see a good from their death, there sometimes is a silver lining to a loss. The silver lining is the post-traumatic growth. The idea that that loss will cause the living to have “heightened appreciation of life, more meaningful personal relationships, awareness of increased personal strength, changes in life priorities and recognition of new possibilities, and a deepening engagement with spiritual or existential concerns and the enhancement of faith,” is one that holds true after some losses, especially for me and loss of Amber.

The AAQ-II (Bond et al., 2011) is a self-report measure used to screen for psychological inflexibility. It is a seven item report that is designed to assess for the respondent’s level of psychological flexibility through the indirect measurement of similar processes (Wendling, 2012). The seven questions are rated on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from one (“never true”) to seven (“always true”), and they include statements about acceptance and action such as, “Emotions cause problems in my life” and “Worries get in the way of my life” (Bond et al., 2011). To score the test, all seven items are summed; higher scores reflect higher levels of psychological inflexibility. The instrument has been established to be both reliable and valid, showing a mean alpha coefficient of .84 and a three and twelve-month test-retest-reliability of .81 and .79 respectively. It is consistent across subjects studied and is consistent with the underlying theory from which it was developed; it demonstrates solid discriminant validity (Bond et al., 2011).

According to Merriam-Webster trauma is a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time. In my professional and personal experience trauma can last a life time if unsolved. Many people suffer trauma and can deal with trauma be functional individuals in society, but others have trouble coping with their issues which can result in long term effects on a person. So why can one person cope but not another person. I want to discuss issue in my paper and refer to conference presentations and current literature.

“It’s not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you” (Knapp). This quote originates from the Batman movies, where Bruce Wayne (Batman) experienced the trauma of his parents being killed in front of him, resulting in Bruce dedicating his life to fighting crime. Despite this being an over dramatized story, it brings up an important idea. All people are evaluated by others based on their actions, so how does psychological trauma change people’s behavior? Psychological trauma occurs when an individual’s ability to comprehend their emotional experience is overwhelmed as a result from a severe threat to their sanity, life, or health (Giller). This has clear effects on the brain, which means it also has a profound effect on people’s

Trauma is a ubiquitous human experience. We do not need to be soldiers in a bloody battle nor victims of repeated rape to experience trauma. Additionally, trauma is a subjective experience. What may be traumatic to one person may not affect another as deeply. In the field of clinical

Trauma is an emotional shock caused by a deeply distressing or disturbing experience, it involves feelings and emotions. The consequences of a trauma may be long term or short term depending upon the catastrophic effects it left on the victim. Trauma caused by discrimination, sexual abuse,

Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery was an amazing read because it tackles the question of “What does it actually mean to be traumatized?” Every single person, no matter how old, has experienced some level of fear— especially those of us who live in NYC! Whether it’s a yellow cab running a red light as you cross 56th Street, the aggressive homeless man on the 6 train who can’t accept the fact that you don’t have any spare change to give, or that time you decided to have street meat for dinner and were stuck on the toilet for the remainder of your night, we can all identify the ways in which our body responds to moments of distress. You may break out into a sprint, your heart beats against your chest as you sweat profusely, and you might even shed tears. In those moments, your entire existence becomes focused around the perceived life or death situation.

Researchers have studied and found numerous variables that facilitate PTG. For example, there was a correlation between higher levels of education and higher levels of PTG (Linley & Joseph, 2004, p. 16). Chan, Young and Sharif (2016) define, social support as one of the most important predictors of PTG, although their findings in refugee studies were not conclusive to support this association (para. 25). Personality traits associated with higher PTG are “extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness” (Linley & Joseph, 2004, p. 16). Coping styles for dealing with stressors and trauma vary among cultures and individuals. However, studies indicate certain coping styles

* Trauma - The trauma caused by the experience of confinement and apparent danger can lead to the victim developing insecurities and phobias.