Personal Transformation

Posttraumatic Growth and Logotherapy: Finding Meaning in Trauma

Richard Tedeschi, Ph.D.
Olivia M. Riffle Ph.D.
January 1, 2016
International Forum for Logotherapy: Viktor Frankl Institute

The article delves into the theoretical framework and model of PTG, highlighting its relationship with existential theory and logotherapy. Additionally, it explores how the discovery of meaning can be nurtured to facilitate the growth process. By reviewing these aspects, the article provides valuable insights into the transformative potential of trauma and the role of meaning in promoting posttraumatic growth.

In the wake of a traumatic event, people can experience considerable psychological distress in attempting to make sense of what has happened to them. However, trauma also provides the opportunity for personal growth through the search for and discovery of meaning.

The theme of struggling with and finding meaning in suffering spans historical and cultural contexts both religious and secular, but its formal investigation has proliferated only in recent decades (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006).

In many ways, the search for and discovery of meaning is central to the psychological processes that can result in posttraumatic growth (PTG), positive psychological and life changes an individual undergoes as a result of struggling with highly challenging circumstances (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996).

Here, we review the theoretical framework and model of PTG, its ties to existential theory and logotherapy, and how the discovery of meaning might be fostered in the growth process.

Read the Article “Posttraumatic Growth and Logotherapy: Finding Meaning in Trauma” https://www.viktorfranklinstitute.org/product/the-international-forum-for-logotherapy-spirng-2016/

About the Authors

Richard Tedeschi, Ph.D.
Olivia M. Riffle Ph.D.

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