Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) is a psychological construct formulated by Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun at the University of North Carolina in 1996. It designates the positive psychological change that some people experience as a result of facing severe traumatic situations or major life crises.
Distinction from resilience: Resilience (Cyrulnik) is the ability to maintain previous psychological functioning after adversity —to return to the starting point—. Post-traumatic growth goes further: the person not only recovers but emerges transformed, with capacities, perspectives, or a sense of purpose that they did not have before.
Five documented dimensions of post-traumatic growth:
Renewed appreciation for life: a deeper perspective on what is truly important.
Deeper and more authentic relationships: more meaningful bonds with those who accompanied them through the process.
Increased sense of personal strength: 'I survived this, I can face more than I thought'.
Identification of new possibilities: life paths not previously considered that open up after the crisis.
Spiritual or existential change: deepening of the existential, religious, or spiritual dimension of life.
Important — not everyone experiences it: Post-traumatic growth is NOT universal or expected. Many people who experience severe trauma do not go through PTG, and that is not 'personal failure'. Upholding the presence of PTG without turning it into a mandate is ethically and clinically important.
For Constelando: the concept offers an optimistic yet realistic framework —inherited pain can be a gateway to profound transformation— without falling into the cheap optimism of 'everything happens for a reason'. A well-executed constellation facilitates the conditions for PTG to occur when it does.
Bibliography
- Posttraumatic Growth — Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence — Richard Tedeschi & Lawrence Calhoun. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18, 2004.
- The Ugly Ducklings — Resilience: An Unhappy Childhood Does Not Determine Life — Boris Cyrulnik. Gedisa, 2002.
- Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl. Herder, 1946 (orig. German 1946).
These books are in the reference library that nurtures Constelando el Origen.
Related terms
Boris Cyrulnik
French neurologist and psychiatrist (1937-). A child Holocaust survivor. Pioneer of the concept of resilience: the capacity to rebuild oneself after trauma.
See entryViktor Frankl
Austrian psychiatrist (1905-1997). Holocaust survivor. Creator of logotherapy. His work is an essential reference on psychic survival of extreme trauma and the search for meaning.
View detailsCollective historical memory
Social, legal, and symbolic processing of massive collective traumatic events —dictatorships, wars, genocides—. Its elaboration or absence affects several generations of descendants.
View detailsAssenting to Destiny
Mature systemic movement: accepting the destiny that befell one —family, biography, inherited pain— without passive resignation or futile rebellion, opening the space to move what can indeed be moved.
View detailsA session that names what hurts
If you recognize this dynamic in your own history, a Family Constellation can reveal where it comes from and what movement brings order to it. Daniela accompanies each case with respect.
Sessions in Spanish only