A person-centered perspective on working with people who have experienced psychological trauma and helping them move forward to posttraumatic growth

Joseph, Stephen

doi:10.1080/14779757.2015.1043392

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Benish, Imel, and Wampold () conducted a meta‐analysis of a range of psychotherapies and demonstrated that “bona fide psychotherapies produce equivalent benefits for patients with PTSD” (p. 746), but the meta‐analysis did not include PCAs. As Joseph (, p. 180) observed: “practitioners of the PCA are marginalised in clinical practice because of the perception that they lack the knowledge or skills to work with traumatised individuals”. PCA practitioners need to be more visible – and increasingly are becoming so.…”

Section: Trauma‐focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Eye Movement Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of post‐traumatic growth (PTG), which first emerged in the mid‐1990s, encompasses many manifestations of post‐traumatic “positive change” (Joseph, , p. 180).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this article, I argue that such power dynamics are evident in emerging individualizing and pathologizing notions of PTSD being linked to faulty brains (Bell, ), faulty femininity (Lilly, Pole, Best, Metzler, & Marmar, ), lower resilience (Regel & Joseph, ), and lower intelligence (Bomyea, Risbrough, & Lang, ), and that the more person‐centred language of PTG is being enabled to develop in similar ways (Joseph, ; Joseph, Murphy, & Regel, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They do have a place there, as evidenced by practice in this field (e.g. Joseph, ; Murphy & Joseph, ; Murphy, Archard, Regel, & Joseph, ); they can have what Proctor () called the “power of individuals within a group of equals, to suggest and be listened to” (p. 37).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A person-centred political critique of current discourses in post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic growth

Lee

2017

Psychotherapy and Politics International

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This article seeks to contribute to current person‐centred research exploring post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post‐traumatic growth (PTG), by offering a person‐centred political critique of some individualizing/pathologizing ways in which these two discourses seem to be developing. Notions of lower resilience (Regel & Joseph, ), faulty brains (Bell, ), lower intelligence (Bomyea, Risbrough, & Lang, ), faulty femininity (Lilly, Pole, Best, Metzler, & Marmar, ) and personal deficits (Joseph, Murphy, & Regel, ) are identified. Some troubling parallels with the borderline personality disorder (BPD) discourse are drawn. Yet, while the meanings/implications of a BPD diagnosis increasingly attract stringent criticism, current PTSD and PTG research is not being sufficiently challenged from a political perspective. The article argues that person‐centred approaches (PCAs) need to be more recognized as treatments for PTSD – this work is already underway (see Murphy, Archard, Regel, & Joseph, , for instance) – and that, concurrently and then increasingly, practitioners of PCAs must intervene in the PTSD discourse, also challenging themselves to conceptualize what is now termed PTSD as actually just one incongruence amongst many, rather than a psychopathology encountered by some (deficient) people.

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Section: Trauma‐focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Eye Movement Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of post‐traumatic growth (PTG), which first emerged in the mid‐1990s, encompasses many manifestations of post‐traumatic “positive change” (Joseph, , p. 180).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A person-centred political critique of current discourses in post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic growth

Lee

2017

Psychotherapy and Politics International

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“…This interpretation of post-traumatic growth echoes Stephen Joseph's person-centred approach, which interprets it as a process and a move towards authenticity, optimal psychological adjustment, maturity, and openness to experience. 48 Although showing remorse and asking for forgiveness from the individuals harmed are necessary for the healing process, 49 it is not clear that these acts alone show the worldview of a convicted perpetrator to be qualitatively different from what it was before the genocide.…”

Section: Theoretical Revisions Needed To Study Post-traumatic Growth mentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for Post-Traumatic Growth in Perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda: A Discussion of Theoretical and Ethical Issues

Blackie¹,

Hitchcott²,

Joseph

2017

Journal of Perpetrator Research

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Abstract:The theory of post-traumatic growth claims that, in the struggle to overcome difficult experiences, individuals may identify positive ways in which the experience has changed them. There is extensive evidence of survivors of extreme adversities reporting the phenomenon across different cultures. Although reconciliation involves facilitating positive changes in the identities of perpetrators, post-traumatic growth has not yet been studied in relation to perpetrators of political violence. In this theoretical review article, we draw upon existing research to evaluate the applicability of the concept of post-traumatic growth in the context of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and discuss the unaddressed theoretical and ethical issues that need to be considered in this context. We conclude that it is feasible for post-traumatic growth to manifest in this population. However, we suggest that the current definition of this concept needs considerable revision including a focus on measuring behavioural change. We further conclude that researchers need to navigate this topic very carefully, given the ethical issues surrounding misrepresentation and inappropriate dissemination.

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Identifying and developing therapeutic principles for trauma‐focused work in person‐centred and emotion‐focused therapies

Murphy

Elliott

Carrick

2019

Couns and Psychother Res

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Background The aim of this research was to identify facilitative therapeutic principles in person‐centred and emotion‐focused therapy for working with traumatised clients in the early stages of therapy. Methods Four cases were selected from the Strathclyde Experiential Therapy for Social Anxiety archive: one good and one poor outcome case from each therapeutic approach. Outcomes were considered good and poor based on quantitative outcome measures. Each case met DSM‐IV‐TR diagnostic criteria for both PTSD and social anxiety. We developed a new method for the identification of therapeutic principles that offers an alternative to current approaches to competency identification. Our method uses a qualitative, bottom‐up inductive process analysis. The first three sessions from each case were transcribed and independently analysed by two researchers (one blinded to the outcomes); the third researcher acted as consultant. The transcripts were analysed by focusing on session episode structure and treatment principles. Findings Four trauma‐focused therapist principles were identified: (a) support early relationship building/alliance formation; (b) facilitate client identification and recognition of past events as trauma experiences; (c) facilitate work on traumatic sources of current experiential and interpersonal difficulties; and (d) offer self‐agency focused empathy. Conclusions We conclude that our approach identifies and provides a new method for establishing person‐centred experiential therapy principles for early trauma‐focused work. Further research is recommended, and limitations are discussed.

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A person-centered perspective on working with people who have experienced psychological trauma and helping them move forward to posttraumatic growth

Cited by 22 publications

References 36 publications

A person-centred political critique of current discourses in post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic growth

A person-centred political critique of current discourses in post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic growth

Looking for Post-Traumatic Growth in Perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda: A Discussion of Theoretical and Ethical Issues

Identifying and developing therapeutic principles for trauma‐focused work in person‐centred and emotion‐focused therapies

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