{"id":15606,"date":"2020-11-11T10:47:46","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T10:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeaftercovid-19.eu\/?p=15606"},"modified":"2020-12-03T06:57:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T06:57:09","slug":"life-after-covid-19-making-space-for-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeaftercovid-19.eu\/en\/life-after-covid-19-making-space-for-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Life after COVID-19: Making space for growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this time of grief, the theory of post-traumatic growth suggests people can emerge from trauma even stronger<\/em><\/p>\n

In the traditional Japanese art of kintsugi, artisans fill the cracks in broken pottery with gold or silver, transforming damaged pieces into something more beautiful than they were when new. Post-traumatic growth is like kintsugi for the mind.<\/p>\n

Developed in the 1990s by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD, the theory of post-traumatic growth suggests that people can emerge from trauma or adversity having achieved positive personal growth. It\u2019s a comforting idea in the best of times. But it holds particular appeal as we live through a pandemic that\u2019s upending lives for people around the globe.<\/p>\n

Growing from trauma isn\u2019t unusual, says Tedeschi, now a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and chair of the Boulder Crest Institute for Posttraumatic Growth in Bluemont, Virginia. \u201cStudies support the notion that post-traumatic growth is common and universal across cultures,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about a transformation\u2014a challenge to people\u2019s core beliefs that causes them to become different than they were before.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the COVID-19 pandemic may have the ingredients to foster such growth. \u201cWe\u2019re still in the middle of this situation, and we don\u2019t know yet what might happen\u2014but there will be serious challenges to people\u2019s lives,\u201d Tedeschi says. While those effects may be devastating, it\u2019s possible to emerge from such adversity for the better, he adds. \u201cFor some people, this event may be a shock to their core belief system. When that\u2019s the case, it has the potential to result in s\u00adignificant positive changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resilience vs. post-traumatic growth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research across a variety of disasters has shown that there are different trajectories for recovery, says Erika Felix, PhD, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who treats and studies trauma survivors. Some people need time to recover from a trauma before returning to normal functioning. A portion of people experience negative mental health impacts that become chronic, but the majority of people bounce back from a trauma pretty quickly, she says. \u201cMost people will be resilient and return to their previous level of functioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resilience and post-\u00adtraumatic growth are not the same thing, however. In fact, people who bounce back quickly from a setback aren\u2019t the ones likely to experience positive growth, Tedeschi explains. Rather, people who experience post-traumatic growth are those who endure some cognitive and emotional struggle and then emerge changed on the other side.<\/p>\n

This experience is measured by Tedeschi and Calhoun\u2019s Post\u00adtraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) (Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1996), which evaluates growth in five areas: appreciation of life, relating to others, personal strength, recognizing new possibilities and spiritual change. It\u2019s not necessary or even typical to show change in all five areas, Tedeschi says. But growth in even one or two of those realms \u201ccan have a profound effect on a person\u2019s life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Some psychologists say the evidence for post-traumatic growth isn\u2019t yet as robust as it could be. For example, Patricia Frazier, PhD, at the University of Minnesota, and colleagues followed undergraduates before and after a trauma. They found that participants\u2019 self-reported perceived growth didn\u2019t align with actual growth as measured by the PTGI. And while actual growth was related to positive coping, perceived growth was not, suggesting the construct may not fully reflect the way people are transformed by trauma (Psychological Science, Vol. 20, No. 7, 2009).<\/p>\n

But other evidence suggests that people do grow from trauma. A 2018 book by Tedeschi and colleagues summarizes more than 700 studies related to post-traumatic growth, including Tedeschi\u2019s own research and work from other scientists (\u201cPosttraumatic Growth: Theory, Research, and Applications,\u201d Routledge, 2018). \u201cWhen you look at how people respond to traumatic events, post-traumatic growth seems to be fairly common,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Planting the seeds for positive change<\/strong><\/p>\n

Post-traumatic growth isn\u2019t something psychologists can prescribe or create, Tedeschi says. But they can facilitate it. \u201cWe see it as a natural tendency that we can watch for and encourage, without trying to make people feel pressured or that they\u2019re failures if they don\u2019t achieve this growth,\u201d Tedeschi explains.<\/p>\n

Most evidence-based trauma treatments provide a \u201cmanualized approach\u201d to alleviating stress and symptoms such as anxiety, Tedeschi says. The post-traumatic growth framework he uses is an integrated approach that includes elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy, along with other aspects that emphasize personal growth. \u201cIt has elements of narrative and existential aspects, too, because traumas often present people with existential questions about what\u2019s important in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

One way to help clients see the possibilities for growth is to be an \u201cexpert companion\u201d during their struggle, he says. \u201cThat\u2019s someone who accompanies their trauma, listens carefully to their story and learns from them about what has happened in their lives. By being that kind of expert, people start to open up and look at the possibilities in their lives more thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet post-traumatic growth isn\u2019t something that can be rushed, and it often takes a long time to come to fruition. \u201cAs a clinician, you can plant the seeds that may germinate later,\u201d Tedeschi says.<\/p>\n

As we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, clinicians and their clients may have opportunities to help those seeds begin to sprout. \u201cThis situation presents a challenge to people\u2019s lives, and some people will be able to emerge from this for the better,\u201d Tedeschi says.<\/p>\n

One doesn\u2019t necessarily need to experience trauma and existential struggle to learn from this crisis, however. For many people, the pandemic is shining a light on the things that are most important. \u201cWe might be making more time for things we find meaningful, simplifying our lives and making time for being connected in our relationships,\u201d Felix says. \u201cA stressor like this makes all of us think: What does this slowdown mean for our lives? We might be fundamentally changed in some ways that are beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: American Psychological Association<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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