Post-traumatic growth in the twenty-first century: How current trends may threaten our ability to grow after trauma

A discussion on combining social supports, trauma-processing modalities such as EMDR, team sports, and psychoeducation to promote post-traumatic growth.

Article Abstract

“Victims of trauma who experience post-traumatic stress disorder are often able to reframe the tragedies that they have been through in a way that gives them new-found purpose in life and a sense of empowerment. When they do so, they are enacting the phenomenon of post-traumatic growth. There are several empirically supported predictors of post-traumatic growth, including a person’s level of optimism and extroversion, the amount they socialize with friends and others who have experienced similar traumas, and their level of self-confidence and ability to be open to new ideas. These predictors of PTG may be at a disadvantage of being realized in light of modern-day trends of isolation, depression, low self-esteem, and inactivity. In order for trauma clinicians to be maximally effective with the clients that they treat in today’s social and cultural climate, these trends must be accounted for in treatment plans for individuals with PTSD. This article recommends a combination of activating one’s social network, utilizing modalities that specifically target depression and trauma-processing such as Behavioral Activation and EMDR, participation in team sports, and widespread psychoeducation regarding trauma symptoms in an effort to normalize presentation and fight against stigma.”

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Dickinson, S. (2020). Post-traumatic growth in the twenty-first century: How current trends may threaten our ability to grow after trauma. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(4), 503-511. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1752782