Posttraumatic Growth reworks and overhauls the seminal 2006 Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth. It provides a wide range of answers to questions concerning knowledge of posttraumatic growth (PTG) theory, its synthesis and contrast with other theories and models, and its applications in diverse settings. The book starts with an overview of the history, components, and outcomes of PTG. Next, chapters review quantitative, qualitative, and cross-cultural research on PTG, including in relation to cognitive function, identity formation, cross-national and gender differences, and similarities and differences between adults and children. The final section shows readers how to facilitate optimal outcomes with PTG at the level of the individual, the group, the community, and society.

Posttraumatic growth is an area in which investigations are now being undertaken in many different parts of the world. The view that individuals can be changed--sometimes in radically good ways--by their struggle with trauma is ancient and widespread. However, the systematic focus by scholars and clinicians on the possibilities for growth from the struggle with crisis is relatively recent. There are now a growing number of studies and scholarly papers on the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of posttraumatic growth, and there are also theoretical models that can help guide the research further. It is clear, however, that this phenomenon is not yet well understood. The Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research and Practice provides both clinicians and researchers with a comprehensive and up-to-date view of what has been done so far. In addition, it uses the foundations of what has been done to provide suggestions for the next useful steps to take in understanding posttraumatic growth. The book offers contributions of important and influential scholars representing a wide array of perspectives of posttraumatic growth. This volume serves as an impetus for additional work, both in the academic aspects and in the possibilities for clinical applications of posttraumatic growth. This Handbook will appeal to students, practitioners, and researchers working in a broad array of disciplines and human services.

From the authors who pioneered the concept of posttraumatic growth comes Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Practice, a book that brings the study of growth after trauma into the twenty-first century. Clinicians will find a framework that's easy to use and flexible enough to be tailored to the needs of particular clients and specific therapeutic approaches. And, because it utilizes a model of relating described as "expert companionship," clinicians learn how to become most empathically effective in helping a variety of trauma survivors. Clinicians will come away from this book having learned how to assess posttraumatic growth, how to address it in treatment, and they'll also have a basic grasp of the ways the changes they're promoting will be received in various cultural contexts. Case examples show how utilizing a process developed from an empirically-based model of posttraumatic growth can promote important personal changes in the aftermath of traumatic events.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. (Nietzsche) The phenomenon of positive personal change following devastating events has been recognized since ancient times, but given little attention by contemporary psychologists and psychiatrists, who have tended to focus on the negative consequences of stress. In recent years, evidence from diverse fields has converged to suggest the reality and pervasive importance of the processes the editors sum up as posttraumatic growth. This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of these processes. The authors address a variety of traumas--among them bereavement, physical disability, terminal illness, combat, rape, and natural disasters--following which experiences of growth have been reported. How can sufferers from posttraumatic stress disorder best be helped? What does "resilience" in the face of high risk mean? Which personality characteristics facilitate growth? To what extent is personality change possible in adulthood? How can concepts like happiness and self-actualization be operationalized? What role do changing belief systems, schemas, or "assumptive worlds" play in positive adaptation? Is "stress innoculation" possible? How do spiritual beliefs become central for many people struck by trauma, and how are posttraumatic growth and recovery from substance abuse or the crises of serious physical illnesses linked? Such questions have concerned not only the recently defined and expanding group of "traumatologists," but also therapists of all sorts, personality and social psychologists, developmental and cognitive researchers, specialists in health psychology and behavioral medicine, and those who study religion and mental health. Overcoming the challenges of life's worst experiences can catalyze new opportunities for individual and social development. Learning about persons who discover or create the perception of positive change in their lives may shed light on the problems of those who continue to suffer. Posttraumatic Growth will stimulate dialogue among personality and social psychologists and clinicians, and influence the theoretical foundations and clinical agendas of investigators and practitioners alike.

The literature on post-traumatic growth (PTG) has been instrumental in highlighting the human capacity to overcome adversity, illuminating the different pathways people may follow when confronted with adversity. Although the theme of strength from adversity is central to many disciplines and certain cultural narratives, these claims lack robust empirical evidence. This literature gap can be traced to a reliance on retrospective assessments for methodology and difficulty in determining which outcomes are most appropriate for studying PTG. Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth offers new directions for PTG research. The book illustrates the benefits of research designs that incorporate multiple methods of assessment and highlights the value of integrating various disciplines, such as philosophy and multiple areas of psychology (e.g., clinical, developmental, health, and personality) for more holistic understanding of the human capacity to overcome adversity. The book is divided into four sections: current challenges in examining PTG, methodological advancements, research in specific populations, and opportunities for further research. Introductory chapters identify the limits of traditional PTG assessments and find solutions in prospective longitudinal studies. From here, this methodology is put into practice with unique case examples from studies with Syrian refugees, older adults, and couples coping with a cancer diagnosis. The book concludes with calls for further research on event characteristics of adversity, as well as narrative identity, wisdom, and open-mindedness as key growth outcomes. Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth will serve as the starting point for the next generation of research on PTG

"From the inspiring chapter quotes, to relevant historical and current research, to practical clinical directions, Primer on Posttraumatic Growth takes a giant step toward both grounding us and moving us ahead with strong hope for adjustment and growth in the post-trauma/loss world. This is a comprehensive, practical, and readable work that should be at hand for any mental health clinician, pastoral care professional, or student preparing for these professions." —J. Shep Jeffreys, EdD, FT, author of Helping Grieving People—When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers, Second Edition A guide for helping your clients overcome negative events, based on the latest research on posttraumatic growth Drawing on the growing empirical and theoretical material on posttraumatic growth—an outgrowth of the positive psychology movement—Primer on Posttraumatic Growth provides insight, depth, and treatment recommendations for both the clinicians who work with those who have experienced dramatic negative events in their lives and for other professionals who support victims of trauma and extreme stress. This essential primer examines: The connections between meaning and growth The impact of cognitive processing on posttraumatic growth Positive emotion and posttraumatic growth Posttraumatic growth and an "open" personality The human drive to be in positive and important interpersonal relationships Forgiveness: can it be extended towards all areas of posttraumatic growth? Posttraumatic growth and religious and spiritual variables Wisdom and posttraumatic growth

"Posttraumatic Growth and Culturally Competent Practice: Lessons Learned from Around the Globe brings welcome attention to applying PTG to culturally competent practice worldwide. It delivers on the promise embedded in its title: lots of lessons within the fourteen chapters." From the Foreword by Charles R. Figley, PhD, Kurzweg Chair in Disaster Mental Health, Tulane University, New Orleans The latest advances in the theoretical, empirical, and clinical aspects of Posttraumatic Growth Posttraumatic Growth and Culturally Competent Practice offers contributions from an international group of experts in posttraumatic growth (PTG) within diverse cultures and subcultures. It uniquely illuminates the nature, meaning, and clinical implications of PTG across a wide range of sociocultural contexts. Edited by Tzipi Weiss and Roni Berger recognized experts in the areas of stress, coping, and PTG this book features contributions by an international panel of renowned scholars and clinicians, offering a truly global perspective of PTG in cultures and regions including: The Middle East Israel Germany The Netherlands Japan China Australia Latinos in the U.S. Offering research-based insights and practical interventions, this collection enables practitioners to offer informed and culturally sensitive services to those who have survived trauma in different parts of the world, and to support these survivors as they grow and harvest benefits from their ordeal.

People who experience trauma often struggle with its effects, but many men and women have found meaning in their traumatic event and now experience life differently. Written by two psychologists and experts on trauma psychology—including one of the key researchers on posttraumatic growth (PTG)—this unique, evidence-based, step-by-step workbook offers a new model for processing traumatic experiences in order to gain wisdom, strength, and resilience. There is no denying the psychological and physical costs of trauma, but suffering a traumatic experience does not necessarily mean you’ll develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have to live with its debilitating long-term symptoms. While the process of recovering from trauma is difficult and painful, survivors also experience posttraumatic growth (PTG). And with the right approach to healing, the same challenges that create PTSD can also set the stage for a psychological rebirth. The Posttraumatic Growth Workbook expands the focus on posttraumatic stress and its related difficulties to include the significant potential for positive growth in the aftermath of trauma. With this guide, you’ll learn more about traumatic experiences and their short- and long-term effects, discover where you are in your own process, explore vulnerability as an important aspect of post-traumatic strength, identify and develop other strengths for coping with—and growing beyond—your trauma, and successfully integrate your experience into your personal story. Navigating the aftereffects of trauma is a difficult journey, but many people report having a new appreciation for life and feeling even more resilient after working through their traumatic event. Using this powerful, PTG-based workbook, you’ll find it’s possible to come out of your trauma even stronger and wiser.

Trauma occurs when extremely stressful events shatter your emotional and psychological well-being, overwhelming your ability to cope. Research by the charity PTSD UK has found that 1 in 2 people will experience trauma at some point in their life, and 20% of those will develop post-traumatic stress. This fascinating and accessible book explains the many varied forms trauma can take, shows how to recognize signs of post-traumatic stress, and offers resilience-building strategies to go beyond 'coping' with it in order to grow from it instead – proving that what doesn't kill you can indeed make you stronger. After an insightful introduction about why the subject of post-traumatic growth is so worth exploring, each main chapter addresses key questions such as: What is trauma and what is post-traumatic stress? What is meant by the concept of post-traumatic growth and what makes it possible? How do you cope in the midst of trauma? How can you strengthen your resilience to keep going? And, finally, how can you actively facilitate post-traumatic growth and how can it change things for the better? As such, this book brings readers on an exploratory journey through the world of post-traumatic growth, reframing how readers view trauma and showing them how they can emerge from its shadow with a new appreciation for life, greater well-being and a higher level of functioning.

The Routledge International Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth offers a rich covering of approaches to different traumatic and stressful experiences in relation to posttraumatic growth (PTG). This handbook explores the benefits that individuals, couples, families, organizations, and communities can experience following the struggle with highly stressful and potentially traumatic events. Split into seven parts and written by a diverse international team of multidisciplinary contributors who provide a comprehensive overview of PTG, topics include religious and spiritual aspects of PTG, gender in PTG, PTG in LGBTQ+, perinatal bereavement, and more. The Routledge International Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth represents an essential resource for students, researchers, and professionals, including social workers, psychologists, nurses, mental health counselors, and psychiatrists. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license