POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH

Course overview

This presentation will focus on the potential growth inherent in navigating through difficult events or trauma. The concept of post traumatic growth was first described by Tedeschi and Calhoun. The course will include historical relevancies and will discuss the theory, benefits, and challenges of post traumatic growth. Participants will learn about post traumatic growth in regards to how it differs from and overlaps with other trauma recovery approaches. The information presented is designed to assist you in supporting your clients while promoting post trauma growth and wellness. Post traumatic growth is a process for working with clients without minimizing their trauma or struggles while providing tools to help open the door to growth and foster progress forward. Through various studies, researchers have learned that while not all who experience trauma will eventually achieve post traumatic growth, many do. Further, research has identified factors which can promote post traumatic growth that are relevant for trauma survivors from diverse clinical populations. Post traumatic growth is different from resilience, which is a personality attribute related to an individuals ability to go through or bounce back following adverse events. Post traumatic growth refers to a form of stress related growth that is designed to help survivors of trauma eventually gain a sense of fulfillment, purpose, meaning, and growth as a result of the trauma they endured.