From Cumulative Strain to Available Resources

A Narrative Case Study of the Potential Effects of New Trauma Exposure on Recovery

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7802368
AutoresSigne Hjelen Stige (0000-0002-6628-4793, Division of Psychiatry, Finnmark Hospital Trust, Norway, autor de correspondencia), Margrethe Seeger Halvorsen (0000-0003-2391-7594, University of Oslo)
Año2018
Volumen26
Número4
Páginas270-292
Fecha de publicación2018-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaIllness Crisis & Loss (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1054-1373 • E-ISSN: 1552-6968
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1054137316664177
PMID30262981
OpenAlexW2507876636
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas35

This article presents a narrative case study of a client with a history of multiple traumas and severe symptomatology, coupled with an ongoing recovery process. A hermeneutical–phenomenological approach was used to analyze two interviews with the participant over a period of 1 year, following a trauma treatment program. Her husband’s suicide in between the two interviews allowed for an exploration of the possible effects of new trauma exposure on the process of recovery. Analysis of the data revealed how the participant’s early trauma experiences had resulted in escalating symptomatology. Through her relationship with her husband, she gradually became ready to engage in therapy in a way that allowed her to benefit from it. Her husband’s suicide forced her to reconsider her own part in her recovery, resulting in a strengthened feeling of inner security and self-efficacy parallel to what is seen in posttraumatic growth. The results contribute our understanding of individual processes of change and recovery, including processes of growth following cumulative trauma. Plausible mechanisms for growth in the present case was the ability to recognize and tolerate feelings, making sense of one’s own reactions, as well as a sense of control and trust in available resources

Feeling · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Narrative · Posttraumatic growth · Psychology of self · Psychotherapist · Qualitative research · Sense of control · Sociology · Child Abuse and Trauma · Clinical Psychology · Migration, Health and Trauma · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Social Psychology