Reconstructing Meaning After Trauma: Theory, Research, and Practice

Reconstructing Meaning After Trauma: Theory, Research, and Practice informs actual therapeutic work with clients who present with traumas or other life disruptions by providing clinicians with information on the construction of meaning. It includes material on diverse mechanisms of clinical change and positive-promoting processes.

The book covers identifiable treatments and specific lines of research in assisting clients in developing new meaning, such as posttraumatic growth (after sexual assault, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, destructive natural phenomena, such as hurricanes, and refugee experiences), and finding benefit (in the context of loss—loss of health, or loss of a loved one).

Addresses a specific treatment or line of researchIncludes extended case vignettes at the beginning of each chapterDescribes the associated theoretical background for each methodSummarizes the research supporting each mechanismConcludes with a discussion of future directions for treatment, research, and theory

Part 1. Foundations of Meaning and Trauma 1. Making Meaning in the Wake of Trauma: Resilience and Redemption 2. Meaning Violation and Restoration Following Trauma: Conceptual Overview and Clinical Implications 3. With the Fierce and Loving Embrace of Another Soul: Finding Connection and Meaning After the Profound Disconnection of Betrayal Trauma

Part 2. Mechanisms of Meaning Loss and Restoration 4. Gender and Meaning Making: The Experiences of Individuals With Cancer 5. Forgiveness Therapy in the Reconstruction of Meaning Following Interpersonal Trauma 6. Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy for Trauma and Meaning Making Among Ethnically Diverse Individuals in the United States

Part 3. Population Specific Applications 7. Reconstructing Meaning After Sexual Assault 8. Growth and Meaning From Negotiating the Complex Journey of Being an Emergency Medical Dispatcher 9. Meaning Making Concerning Acquired Disability 10. Expressive Arts: A Group Intervention for Unaccompanied Minor Asylum Seekers and Young Adults 11. Making Meaning After Combat Trauma and Moral Injury

Part 4. Conclusion 12. Meaning Making and Trauma Recovery