POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH - CAN WE DISCOVER MEANING IN TRAUMATIC EVENTS?

What is post-traumatic growth?

News headlines from around the world reveal the daily occurrence of traumatic events. International demonstrations to protest against events in Tibet and the resulting backlash from the Chinese authorities, conflict in Darfur, international and civil war and natural disasters, all can result in trauma for those involved. Closer to home, many people have personally experienced the effects of a crisis in their own lives.

Such trauma can lead us to question and change our deeply held beliefs.Psychology has s a long history of studying the effects of trauma on individuals, searching for effective ways to heal and support. More recently, a developing area of research has examined the potential for personal positive growth that can occur alongside the suffering and loss of trauma. Such growth resulting from trauma has become known as post-traumatic growth.


Research on post-traumatic growth
Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, professors of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have researched several aspects of post traumatic growth. In a review of literature on post traumatic growth, Tedeschi and Calhoun found that reports of growth experiences exceeded reports of psychiatric illness following trauma.The potential for growth in the aftermath of traumatic events, is not a new concept.


Viktor Frankl, psychologist and holocaust survivor, in 'Man's Search for Meaning' (described by the Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books of the twentieth century) wrote,"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."


The ways in which society responds positively to trauma can also be seen in the creation of organisations such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa and the UK wide Mothers Against Guns campaign.

How can we benefit from post-traumatic growth?
Calhoun and Tedeschi's research has shown that, following trauma, firmly held religious and philosophical beliefs are often questioned, prompting soul searching questions such as 'how do I make sense of the world and what is my place in it?' Such existential quests lead to beliefs and values being considered in greater depth, often developing our understanding and appreciation of these matters to greater levels. Existing goals are also questioned and new goals formed to fit in with the new, adjusted world view.

Psychologists have developed tools to measure post traumatic growth, these include the Stress-Related Growth Scale and Tedeschi and Calhoun's Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, such scales measure items such as relationship to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life. Research using such tools has linked post-traumatic growth with the following changes:

• Increased perception of competence and self-reliance


• Greater acceptance of one's vulnerability and negative emotional experiences


• Improved relationships with significant others


• More compassion and empathy for others


• Increased effort to improve relationships


• Greater appreciation of own existence


• Greater appreciation for life


• Positive changes in one's priorities


• Increased religious/spiritual beliefs

Finally, one important aspect of post-traumatic growth that Tedeschi and Calhoun emphasise, is that such growth exists alongside the emotions of suffering and loss rather than replacing them.
Like to find out more?
You can take the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory by visiting the American Psychological Association's website.
You may also want to take a look at the following websites for further information:
Psychology Department UNC CharlotteInternational Network on Personal Meaning
Psychiatric Times article, 01/04/08

BHUTAN'S MEASURMENT OF GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS - A POLICY AHEAD OF IT'S TIME

Bhutan's History of Measuring Happiness

In 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King of the ancient landlocked Himalayan country, Bhutan , made the bold decision to measure the Gross National Happiness (GNH) of his country alongside more traditional measures of growth such as Gross National Product. The decision to measure well-being and happiness was motivated by the belief that such measures were of even greater importance than materialism and economic growth.

This week Bhutan held it's very first elections. With the introduction of a constitutional monarchy there are likely to be many changes in the country. There is one issue, however, that all parties involved in the election agree upon , that Gross National Happiness should remain on the political agenda.

What, thirty six years ago, may have been seen by many as an eccentric policy of an absolute monarchy is now widely accepted as an important global policy issue. There is growing international interest in measuring well-being and happiness and many governments, including Canada and the UK now employ similar alternative indicators of economic progress.

During a BBC interview in 2006, David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative party, stated “It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money, and it’s time we focused not just on GDP, but on GWB – general well-being".

Psychological research in support of measuring GNH
Psychological research provides valuable evidence to support serious consideration of the happiness and well-being of a nation.

Leading researcher in the field of well-being, Ed Diener, has researched the subject for over two decades. Diener has studied the happiness (referred to by psychologists as subjective well-being) of extremely rich Americans and found that they are only slightly happier than average Americans.

Comparing subjective well-being (SWB) across nations Diener found that the Pennsylvania Amish and Inuit of Greenland posess a level of happiness equal to that of Americans listed in the Forbes Top 100 (a ranking of the world's top 100 richest people).

Diener's research has also revealed that whilst income has increased significantly over the last few decades in the United States, subjective well-being has steadily declined.

Clearly, income provides us with only a partial indication of an individual's level of happiness.
Psychologists, as well as influential economists such as Richard Layard (author of Happiness: Lessons from a New Science), are now beginning to understand that the well-being of nations is an essential area of study which is underpinned by a number of complex factors and which cannot only be accounted for by measures such as Gross National Product.

It does seem that the the kingdom of Bhutan has been something of a world leader on the measurement of happiness.

For more information you might like to take a look at:

The Bhutanese Formula for Happiness, BBC programme, 2007.

Ed Diener's Web page, includes downloadable publications and links to other well-being related websites.

Richard Layard's website at the LSE , includes articles for download.

AFP article on Bhutan's attempts to measure happiness

IS INTELLIGENCE FIXED OR CAN IT BE DEVELOPED?

Carol Dweck, psychology professor at Stanford University, experienced a classroom situation as a child that was to profoundly influence the direction of her career.

In the sixth grade, Dweck's teacher decided to seat all members of her class according to their IQ scores. Those with the lowest IQs were not permitted to carry the flag in assembly or even wash the blackboard. Dweck remembers,

"She let it be known that IQ for her was the ultimate measure of your intelligence and your character..."

This experience sparked Dweck's life time fascination with intelligence. Dweck's engaging book, 'Mindset: The New Psychology of Success', examines the theory that we all possess either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset both of which, Dweck argues, have a profound affect on our motivation to learn.

A fixed mindset is a belief that our abilities and talents are fixed at a set point and cannot be changed. A growth mindset describes the belief that our abilities can be developed and that we are capable of improving all areas of our lives by developing our strength in each area.

Neurologist, Dr. Harry Chugani, uses the following analogy about learning and synaptic connections in the brain,

"Roads with the most traffic get widened. The ones that are rarely used fall into disrepair."

Dweck conducted research over two years with New York City junior high school maths students. Dweck noted a downward trend for students with a fixed mindset and an increase in results for those with a growth mindset.

An eight week intervention was then implemented for some students who were taught how they could learn to improve results by understanding that the more they used their brain the greater it's capacity to learn would be. A control group was taught study skills but not Dweck's theory about strengthening the brain. The students who learned about Dweck's theory showed a significant inprovement in grades & study habits after only two months.

Dweck attributed this significant improvement to a difference in motivation, the children who had learned growth mindset theory understood that they could have an impact on their mind. Dweck describes these students as being energised by the thought that their efforts could make a difference to their abilities.

Researchers later asked teachers to pick students who had shown positive change. Although the teachers were unaware that there had been two groups, all the children they picked were from the growth mindset group.

For Dweck, the belief we hold about our own abilities and how this affects motivation is key to understanding how to make a significant difference in all areas of life.

Dweck is currently working with world class car racing coach Ross Bentley, studying 40 racing car drivers to see how applying a growth mindset correlates with improved speed times. This latest area of study for Dweck's theory illustrates that the growth mindset can be applied to a diverse range of situations, which area of your life could be improved by applying a growth mindset?

BUILDING SELF EFFICACY & GOALS

"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."
~ Samuel Johnson ~

Self efficacy, belief in one's capabilities, affects everything we do and every goal we work towards. So how can self efficacy be increased, helping us to achieve our ambitions?

STEP ONE: EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING
Research by Albert Bandura amongst others, has shown that setting and attaining achievable goals is essential for increasing self efficacy.

· What motivates you to reach your goal?
Write down at least three reasons for wanting to reach your goal.
· A goal is written with an achievement in mind. It should be SMART:

· Specific
· Measurable
· Achievable
· Relevant
· Timescales

Write a SMART goal that includes your motivation to succeed. An example might be attending a job interview:

'I will confidently describe my knowledge & skills at the interview on Tuesday and be the best person for the job, allowing me to travel more.'

Remember, your goal will be specific (confidently describing skills & knowledge), relevant (including your reason for wanting the job - a desire to travel), measurable (you will clearly know that you have achieved it) and it should contain a timescale (a goal that says ‘I will get my ideal job at some time in the future’ is too vague to be effective).

If you have a long-term goal, break it down into smaller sub-goals, this will help you to understand the smaller goals that need to be achieved to reach the larger, long-term goal. Monitor your progress and continually assess your capabilities.

Why are goals great for achieving success?

Your unconscious mind is always storing information. The unconscious mind stores everything you see, think, hear, say, feel, taste and smell. Your unconscious mind cannot act on it’s own, it needs instruction from you. A goal is an instruction to your unconscious mind.

Once you have written down your goal, your unconscious mind has an achievement to work towards. Your unconscious mind will now alert your conscious mind to any information that can help you to obtain your goal.

STEP TWO: VISUALIZATION
Visualizing succes is a scientifically proven technique which is often used in the field of sports psychology. The principles can be used to assist success with all goals.

We move towards the things that we concentrate on. Using goals is one way to move towards something you want to achieve. Another useful way to focus on your success is to visualise it happening.

What you vividly visualise influences what will happen in future. This includes visualizing something negative. For example, if you have previously not done your best in an interview, when you visualise that incident you are encouraging your unconscious mind to look for information that reinforces thoughts of you not performing at your best in interviews.

Your unconscious mind needs to be instructed by you, once you have programmed it to believe you don't perform at your best in interviews, it will look for evidence to support that instruction. This makes it especially important not to replay past mistakes in your mind. By doing so you are only creating a vivid picture of a mistake for your unconscious mind to work with!

The good news is that you can instruct your unconscious mind to achieve your goal by visualising success, such as a great interview. Your unconscious mind will use the visualisation of you giving a great interview to alert your conscious mind to search for information that will contribute to your success. For example, every time you do well in an interview, your unconscious mind will alert your conscious mind to register this evidence of your superb interview skills.

Effective visualisation should use the following methods:
· Imagine your successful interview as a movie.
· Visualise the brightest possible colours.
· Choose a soundtrack to accompany your success and play it whilst visualising your successul interview. If it feels good to have a loud soundtrack, increase the volume!
· Take time to experience the feelings of success in your visualisation.
· Practise your visualisation regularly, this will focus all your senses on your success.

STEP THREE: POSITIVE SELF-TALK
You have already discovered the advantages of harnessing your unconscious. Your self-talk is no exception.

What do you think would be the affect of telling yourself ‘I just can’t get the hang of doing well at interviews’? It’s obvious that this is another way to instruct your unconscious mind in a way that doesn’t work to your advantage.

Confident self-talk is essential. Remember, your unconscious believes exactly what you tell it. Tell yourself ‘this is easy for me’ and your unconscious mind will ensure that you act according to this positive belief.

Use the following techniques to develop positive self-talk:
· Don’t make negative statements about your goal either to yourself or others.
· If you catch yourself making a negative statement, immediately correct it with a positive comment, for example, by telling yourself that you perform well at interviews.
· Make positive statements to yourself about your abilities and skills.
· Replace negative thoughts with positive alternatives. Remember the vivid picture created
by your visualisation of success.

STEP FOUR: VISUALISING SUCCESS EXERCISE:

· Make sure you have at least fifteen minutes, in a quiet place, to practise this visualisation technique.
· Remember an occasion when you achieved success. What was the event? What does it look like? How does it feel? What can you hear and see? Is there music? Recall your success as
vividly as possible. Experience the amazing feelings of this great achievement.
· Imagine the same feelings of success and accomplishment as you visualise your current goal.
You are now feeling the power of that confidence, success and accomplishment from your
previous achievement as you effortlessly achieve your new goal.
· Well done!

Visualisation exercise adapted from GWiz Training.

"If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning."
~ Mahatma Gandhi ~

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY - USING STRENGTHS AT WORK

The November issue of the Chartered Institute for Personnel & Development magazine, 'People Management', features an article about one of the key areas of Positive Psychology - using strengths.

The article examines the strengths based work of Alex Linley, from the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP), with the board members of aerospace company BAE in the UK. Linley describes how the approach of CAPP is different to that of other organisations that promote a strengths based approach,

"For us, a strengths-based approach is absolutely about focusing on strengths, but it also recognises that if there are areas that you aren’t strong in that are performance-critical, then they have to be addressed as well.”

After interviewing the 16 board members about their ideas of current & future leadership success at BAE, Linley developed a 'leadership strengths profile'. Board members were invited to score themselves against the profile for areas of strength & performance.The board was then allocated key business tasks according to individual strengths, over the period of a month.

Feedback from the board members showed the exercise to be a success, with participants discussing the profound impact that implementing such a subtle change has had on their business practice. As Linley explains,

"...when you adopt a strengths approach, increased engagement and happiness is one of the results. But was that what we set out to achieve with BAE? No, it was about business performance.”

Linley lists five ways to build a strengths based organisation:

1 Ensure that you have a deep and mature understanding of strengths. Strengths are not just the “things that people are good at” but, as we define them, “pre-existing capacities for a particular way of behaving, thinking or feeling that is authentic and energising to the user and enables optimal functioning, development and performance”.

2 Know where the best place is for you to begin. All organisations are collections of teams. As such, building a strengths-based organisation can begin with building a strengths-based culture within a specific team. If you have the option, make this the leadership team.

3 Understand your options for taking the approach more widely into the organisation. These can include a traditional cascade model; taking a “deep slice” of the organisation, using a particular business unit or geographical location; or “lighting fires” – following people’s enthusiasm from the ground up.

4 Recognise the parameters. Do existing appraisal processes fit with a strengths approach? What about performance management processes? Consider a strengths audit to help you answer these questions and explore your options for what you can do about them. Simple shifts in philosophy and emphasis can be all that is needed.

5 Be patient. Creating a strengths focus in an individual, a team or an organisation does not happen overnight. Take your time, understand what works for you, and progress and embed accordingly. Ensure success by evaluating your approach at each stage and refining or refocusing as appropriate.
Alex Linley and Nicky Page, Centre for Applied Positive Psychology http://www.cappeu.org/

AGEING & EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times discussed research from Stanford University examining the link between age and happiness.

Laura Carstensen from Stanford's Center on Longevity found that older people are likely to experience more contentment and happiness than the young. Noticing a distinct difference in the way older people perceive time, Carstensen discovered that they encounter "shrinking time zones". The less time a person perceives they have left, the more they focus on positive experiences in the present moment.

Carstensen's research also discovered a link between increased happiness and helping others, contributing a sense of purpose and meaning to the lives of older people. The happiest subjects of Carstensen's research were also found to have the greatest levels of gratitude.

Research by Neuroscientist, Michael Kisley and neuropsychologist, Stacey Wood at The University of Colorado found similar results whilst examining the brain activity of adults who were shown a variety of images, positive (beautiful sunsets), neutral (an item of furniture) and negative (a traffic accident) . Whereas younger adults paid significantly more attention to emotionally negative images, in contrast, older subjects were 30% less reactive than their younger counterparts.

Wood explains that older people who took part in the experiment were more able to control their emotions, maintaining a sense of emotional equilibrium and objectivity when confronted by negative information.

Positive psychologists have demonstrated that controlling our emotions, feeling gratitude and taking time to help others all have a significant relationship with happiness. So what are the lessons to be learned from the greater levels of happiness in older people?

Gratitude
Research has shown that we can actively increase positive emotions by keeping a diary of events for which we feel grateful. You may want to find out your current gratitude level before beginning your 'gratitude diary'. You can complete a sceintifically validated gratitude questionnaire and develop insight into your own gratitude levels on Martin Seligman's 'Authentic Happiness' website. Completing the questionnaire after a few weeks of keeping a gratitude diary will also provide evidence of change to your overall level of gratitude.

Acts of kindness
Carstensen's research demonstrated a link between helping others and happiness. Studies of the effects of kindness, such as that by Japanese researcher, Keiko Otake, suggest that people who perform acts of kindness can reap psychological benefits. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation offers a variety of suggestions to help you get started in performing random acts of kindness. Again, before beginning the acts of kindness intervention you may find it useful to complete a questionnaire which measures your current level of happiness, such as the Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire . Repeating the questionnaire a few weeks after using this exercise will indicate any evidence of change to your current level of happiness.

"When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. "

~ Victor Hugo~

ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS & SELF-EFFICACY

"People who regard themselves as highly efficacious act, think, and feel differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. They produce their own future, rather than simply foretell it."

-Albert Bandura-

Self-Efficacy is our belief in our capabilities to organise and perform actions in order to achieve specific goals. The above quote from Albert Bandura, the leading psychologist in self-efficacy theory, describes just how powerful a strongly perceived sense of self-efficacy can be.

Defining a strong sense of self-efficacy

A person with a powerful sense of self-efficacy will typically approach any challenge with a sense of relish, actively seeking goals with which they can fully engage. They concentrate on mastering the skills necessary to achieve their chosen goal and are not easily deterred. Any setback is perceived as temporary and will be viewed as an opportunity to strengthen knowledge and skills in order to master the specific challenge. This results in a confident 'I can do it' approach. Individuals with a strong sense of self-efficacy are more able to manage their emotional states because they perceive stress to be something they can deal with easily. As a result, the immune system is enhanced and physical health is improved.


Defining a perceived lack of self-efficacy
A person with little belief in their efficacy typically has a greater focus on risk and possible failure than positive outcomes and is therefore more likely to avoid challenging situations. Where goal setting is concerned their concentration is drawn towards failings rather than abilities and recovery from setback is less than easy. They tend to give up on goals more easily due to minimal belief in their abilities. The negative consequences of stress, including depression, are more prevalent amongst those with a lower sense of self- efficacy.


How we develop beliefs about efficacy
There are four major influences on how we develop self-efficacy, these are:

• mastery experiences


• vicarious experiences


• social persuasion


• reduce and alter reactions to stress

Mastery experiences

Experiences of success are the most effective way to build a strong sense of efficacy. Setting a goal and achieving it helps us to master specific knowledge and skills, developing the belief that we can capably use such skills for future goal setting.

Vicarious experiences

Through watching people we perceive to be similar to ourselves and observing them achieve their goals we increase our beliefs that we too can meet such challenges successfully. Perceived similarity plays a significant role here. The more we perceive ourselves to be like our model the more strongly we are influenced by our observations of their successess and failures. If we observe success our belief that we too can succeed is strengthened. If failure is observed, we are more likely to believe the task will be equally difficult for us. Such modelling also provides an opportunity to learn the skills and knowledge necessary for success.

Social persuasion

This is where an individual is able to assuage the self doubt of another, who possesses a low sense of self-efficacy, strengthening belief in their ability to succeed. Such encouragement results in increased effort to persevere and realise goals.

Reduce and alter reactions to stress

Reactions to physical and emotional states is also significant in how an individual judges their capabilities. Those with a strong sense of self-efficacy will perceive their reactions to physical fatigue as a challenge, enabling them to feel energized and focused on achieving goals. Those with a lower sense of self-efficacy perceive physical challenge and fatigue as evidence of their inabilities and deficiencies. Reactions to stress are dealt with in a similar vein, those with a lower sense of self-efficacy interpret stress as being indicative of an inability to perform whereas individuals with a strong sense of self-efficacy perceive stress within a more positive framework.

"Persons who have a strong sense of efficacy deploy their attention and effort to the demands of the situation and are spurred by obstacles to greater effort."

-Albert Bandura-