Post Traumatic Growth – PTG

Post Traumatic Growth through Resilience

There is an underlying assumption that experiencing any kind of traumatic event must somehow result in either negative outcomes or, for some, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Although mostly associated with combat (for example those fighting in the Vietnam war) PTSD has become synonymous with traumatic events across a wide spectrum of scenarios, including childhood sexual abuse, road traffic accidents, witnessing trauma and so on.

However, research shows that in fact the majority of people (around 80%) experiencing traumatic experiences do not suffer any long term consequences and generally adapt to the experience going forward in life.

Positive Effects of Trauma

Perhaps the most well known example of Post Traumatic Growth is highlighted by what has now become known as the ‘Stockdale Paradox‘.

Commander James Stockdale was the most senior Naval officer to have been captured during the Vietnam conflict and was held prisoner for 7 years, during which time he endured various forms of torture.

Remarkably, however, not only did he NOT suffer any negative consequences, but on the contrary, he described his experience as ‘life-affirming’ and said that he would not change what happened to him if he could.

It was well known among the rank and file of military people who were familiar with Stockdale that he had a high level of resilience to challenges long before his Vietnam experience, and research does suggest that resilience, the ability to maintain a perspective on negative events and ‘move on’, is a key determinant in surviving trauma.

Resilience Can Be Learnt

Not everybody has a high level of resilience and there are numerous early developmental factors which can limit it, including the frequency and severity of past-traumatic experiences.

The good news, however, is that resilience is a skill that can be learnt in a predictable and systematic way, mainly through the ability to manage thoughts and ‘appraisals’ of situations through the modification of underlying beliefs and value systems.

This is exactly what we endeavour to help clients do when following our Tranceformental CBT programme.

FREE Initial Consultations for PTG

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to chat about your trauma-related problems. During this 50 minute consultation we will discuss the various options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapy relationship for effective outcomes so it’s very important to be able to meet PRIOR to agreeing any kind of help.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking therapy or training with us, including both the financial and personal implications.