Post-Traumatic Growth to Psychological Well-Being: Coping Wisely with Adversity

Description

This book explores 'why some people experience post-traumatic growth leading to greater wisdom and others do not’ and suggests that a critical variable is how one copes with that trauma: individuals who actively reflect on their experiences of trauma should develop higher levels of self-transcendent wisdom. This same dynamic has been shown both in research studies of post-traumatic growth and by therapists working with people who have experienced trauma, but these two bodies of work have rarely been brought into direct conversation with each other. In this volume, wisdom researchers and therapists with direct experience with trauma survivors comment on each other’s ideas about how coping with adversity can lead to wisdom, and how their proposed models of developing wisdom incorporate the act of coping with a stressful or traumatic event. Based on a synthetic integration of the recommendations in each chapter, the book concludes with the introduction of a new conceptual framework that can better help even individuals who experience significant stressors in their life to cope well and develop wisdom that will be both theoretically robust and practically useful. Series Editor Foreword Foreword References Contents Introduction 1 Theoretical Approaches 2 Case Studies of Wisdom and Adversity in Real-Life Contexts 3 Wisdom in Therapy 4 Institutional and Political Changes 5 Dialogue References Part I: Theoretical Approaches Posttraumatic Growth & Wisdom: Processes and Clinical Applications 1 Posttraumatic Growth 2 The Process of Posttraumatic Growth 2.1 A Seismic Event and the Assumptive World 2.2 Emotional and Cognitive Processing 2.3 Disclosure, Social Context, and the Life Narrative 3 Posttraumatic Growth and Wisdom 4 Facilitating Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Practice 4.1 Expert Companions 4.2 Understanding Trauma Responses as Precursors to Growth 4.3 Managing Emotional Distress, Rumination, and Self-Disclosure 4.4 Narrative Development and Posttraumatic Growth 5 Conclusion References Perceived Growth and Wisdom: Unanswered Questions References Unbelieving Wisdom: Does Critiquing Reports of Perceived Growth Following Adversity Constitute an Epistemic Injustice? 1 Prominent Theories of PTG 1.1 Tedeschi and Calhoun’s Five Domain Account 1.2 Joseph and Linley’s Eudaimonic Well-Being Account 1.3 McAdams’ Redemptive Narrative Account 1.4 Hobfoll and Colleagues’ Action-Focused Growth Model 1.5 PTG as Coping and Manifestation of Wisdom 2 The Current State of PTG Research 3 Does Critiquing Perceived Growth Constitute an Epistemic Injustice? 3.1 Critiquing Perceived Growth as a Testimonial Injustice 3.2 Critiquing Perceived Growth as a Hermeneutical Injustice 4 Conclusion References PTG as Personality Change: A Straw-Man Argument References The Interplay of Adversity and Wisdom Development: The H.E.R.O.E. Model 1 Experience 2 Reflection 3 Emotion Regulation 4 Humor 5 Openness 6 Development 7 Teaching for Wisdom 8 Wisdom and Resilience or Posttraumatic Growth 9 Conclusion References The H.E.R.O.E. Model and Self-Injury Recovery: A Commentary 1 Summary and Implications References Coping with Adversity Through Metaconscious Wisdom 1 A General Framework for Coping Wisely with Adversity 2 Wisdom-Related Dispositions 3 Wisdom-Related Motivations and Metamotivations 4 Wisdom-Related Emotion, Meta-Emotion, and Metacognitive Experience 5 Wisdom-Related Coping Activity 6 Levels or Stages of Metaconscious Coping 7 An Example Of Metaconscious Coping 8 Conclusion References Commentary on “Coping with Adversity Through Metaconscious Wisdom” by Michel Ferrari & Melanie Munroe The Co-evolution of Meaning-Making and Wisdom in Processing and Developmental Time 1 Conceptualizing Wisdom 1.1 The Importance of Reflection 1.2 Adversity as a Fulcrum 1.3 A Narrative Approach to Development Through Adversity 1.3.1 Integrative Meaning-Making 1.4 Integrative Narrative Meaning-Making and Adversity In Processing and Developmental Time 1.4.1 Processing Time 1.4.2 Developmental Time 2 Incorporating Integrative Meaning-Making and Wisdom: Concluding Thoughts About Growth from Adversity References Commentary on Mansfield’s “The Co-evolution of Meaning-Making and Wisdom in Processing and Developmental Time” Self-Compassion as a Protective Factor for Adolescents Experiencing Adversity 1 Introduction 1.1 Self-Compassion Defined 1.2 Conceptual Model 1.3 Self-Compassion and Decreased Psychopathology 1.4 Self-Compassion and Acceptance 1.5 Self-Compassion and Positive Coping 1.6 Self-Compassion and Perspective-Taking 1.7 Post-traumatic Growth 1.8 Conclusion References Commentary on “Self-Compassion as a Protective Factor for Adolescents Experiencing Adversity” by Bluth, Lathren, and Park References How MORE Life Experience Fosters Wise Coping 1 The MORE Resources, Revised 1.1 Openness 1.2 Emotional Sensitivity and Emotion Regulation 1.3 Reflectivity 1.4 Managing Uncertainty and Uncontrollability 2 Conclusions References Commentary on Glück’s Chapter: How MORE Life Experience Fosters Wise Coping Part II: Case Studies of Wisdom and Adversity in Real-Life Contexts Wise Coping During the Great Depression Years 1 A Three-Dimensional Model of Wisdom 2 Wisdom and Coping with Adversity 3 Coping with Great Depression Hardship 3.1 Relatively High Wisdom Respondents 3.1.1 Experience of Economic Deprivation 3.1.2 Cognitive Wisdom Dimension: Managing the Uncertainty and Uncontrollability of the Great Depression Making the Best of Things Taking Control of the Situation 3.1.3 Reflective Wisdom Dimension: Reflectivity and Emotional Sensitivity Learning from Adversity Gratitude 3.1.4 Compassionate Wisdom Dimension: Emotional Sensitivity Sense of Community and Mutual Support Compassionate and Empathic Behavior 3.2 Relatively Low Wisdom Respondents 3.2.1 Experience of Economic Deprivation 3.2.2 Cognitive Wisdom Dimension: Managing the Uncertainty and Uncontrollability of the Great Depression Making the Best of Things Taking Control of the Situation 3.2.3 Reflective Wisdom Dimension: Minimal Learning from Adversity 3.2.4 Compassionate Wisdom Dimension: Emotional Sensitivity Limited Community and Mutual Support Altruistic Behavior 4 Conclusion References Comments on “Wise Coping During the Great Depression Years (Monika Ardelt, PhD, and Jared Kingsbury, MA)” References Coping Wisely Through Self-Injury 1 NSSI and Coping Wisely 2 Coping Wisely Through NSSI Recovery 2.1 Coping with Urges 3 Disclosing NSSI 3.1 Coping with Scars 4 Wisdom from Coping Wisely Through Self-Injury References Recovery from NSSI and the H.E.R.O.E. Model of Wisdom References Part III: Wisdom in Therapy Wisdom Therapy in Overcoming Trauma and Burdens of Life 1 Wisdom Psychology 2 Basic Therapeutic Interventions 2.1 Building of a Stable Therapeutic Relationship 2.2 Clarification of Facts and Emotions 2.3 Clarification of Cognitions, Intrusions, and Maladaptive Behavior 2.4 Agreement of Treatment Goals and Motivation to Change 2.5 Additional CBT Strategies 3 Special Interventions in Wisdom Therapy 3.1 The “Technique of Unsolvable Problems” 4 Conclusion References Commentary on “Wisdom Therapy in Overcoming Trauma and Burdens of Life” by Arnold and Linden References Existential Empathy: A Necessary Condition for Posttraumatic Growth and Wisdom in Clients and Therapists 1 The Existential Layer of Traumatic Experiences 2 Empathy in Psychotherapy 3 The Challenges of Existential Empathy 3.1 Engaging with the Ultimate Concerns 4 Expressions of Existential Empathy 5 Functions of Existential Empathy 5.1 Bridging Existential Isolation 5.2 Experiencing Meaning in Life 5.3 Developing Resilience, Awe, and Wisdom 6 Conclusion References The Similarities and Differences Between Existential Empathy in Therapeutic Practice and Wise Coping During the Great Depression Years References Part IV: Institutional and Political Change Wisdom in Medicine: Growing and Changing in the Wake of an Error 1 Some Background 2 Common Elements in the Positive Response to Adversity References Learning from Mistakes: An Understudied Path to Wisdom References Colonial Adversity and Decolonial Wisdom: Radical Resurgence with Indigenous Youth 1 Introduction to Indigenous Youth 2 The Status of Indigenous Youth 3 Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom 4 Cultural Revitalization References Commentary: The Vital Role of Indigenous Revitalization and Connectedness in Decolonial Healing References Conclusion 1 Tedeschi and Calhoun Model 1.1 Clinician Role 2 Elaborating on Tedeschi and Calhoun’s Model 2.1 Wisdom from Adversity 3 Optimizing Typical Adult Coping 4 Wisdom Development and Coping 5 Correcting Individual Maladaptive Development 6 Coping Wisely with Historical Injustice 6.1 The Life of Edmund Metatawabin (2014) Is an Illustrative Example 7 Integrative Framework References Index