Post-Traumatic Growth

‘What does not kill me makes me stronger’

Research has shown that individuals who’d experienced an awful event had more intense strengths and therefore higher wellbeing. And the more events experienced, the more stronger people became.

What events that have made you stronger?

Post-Traumatic Growth Course

Personal transformation is characterised by renewed appreciation of being alive, enhanced personal strength, acting on possibilities, improved relationships and spiritual deepening.

Whilst not celebrating trauma, it is an opportunity for growth.

Understand the response to trauma itself.

Anxiety reduction – techniques for controlling intrusive thoughts and images

Constructive self-disclosure – be encouraged to tell your story of the trauma… do not bottle it up

Create a trauma narrative – See trauma as fork in the road.. loss and gain, grief and gratitude, vulnerability and strength both happen… what personal strengths were called upon, how some relationships improved, spiritual life more appreciated and what new door opened

Life principles and stances that are morer robust to challenge… new ways to be altruistic

Master Resilience Training

Positive psychology has been welcomed by authorities despite the fact that there is not a ‘mountain’ of evidence at this stage.

Training can be in 3 parts

1. building mental toughness

2. Building strengths

3. Building strong relationships

Building mental toughness

Learning the skills of resilience

Albert Ellis’s ABCDE model

C,(the emotional consequences) do not stem directly from A (the adversity) but from B (Your beliefs about the adversity)

eg thoughts about loss drive sadness, thoughts about danger drive anxiety – we focus on thinking traps

eg overgeneralising (judging a person’s worth based on a single action)… solution is to focus on specific behaviour as opposed to an individual’s general worth.