Posttraumatic growth is not only the topic of today’s podcast, it is also the process that birthed the Looking at Lyme podcast. Sarah explores posttraumatic growth with Dr. Richard Tedeschi, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of North Carolina, faculty member of the Posttraumatic Research Group and distinguished chair of the Boulder Crest Institute for Posttraumatic Growth. 

Dr. Tedeschi and his colleague, Dr. Lawrence Calhoun, have been working in this area since the 1980s and have developed the academic theory of posttraumatic growth. As psychologists, the pair were interested in finding out what makes people wise, and interviewed people who had experienced either physical disability or bereavement. They found that these individuals had gained wisdom and experienced positive changes in their lives in the aftermath of their traumas. A decade into this work, they coined the term posttraumatic growth to describe this process.

Read the full show notes and get the resources.