Personal Agency as a Key Factor in Transforming Trauma into Posttraumatic Growth

313 Pages·2017·8.01 MB·English

WWiillffrriidd LLaauurriieerr UUnniivveerrssiittyy
SScchhoollaarrss CCoommmmoonnss @@ LLaauurriieerr
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
2016
NNoott SSiinnkkiinngg wwiitthh tthhee TTiittaanniicc:: PPeerrssoonnaall AAggeennccyy aass aa KKeeyy FFaaccttoorr iinn
TTrraannssffoorrmmiinngg TTrraauummaa iinnttoo PPoossttttrraauummaattiicc GGrroowwtthh
Alida C. vanDijk
Wilfrid Laurier University, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd
Part of the Practical Theology Commons
RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn
vanDijk, Alida C., "Not Sinking with the Titanic: Personal Agency as a Key Factor in Transforming Trauma
into Posttraumatic Growth" (2016). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1895.
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1895
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted
for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @
Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Not Sinking With The Titanic
Personal Agency as a Key Factor in
Transforming Trauma into Posttraumatic Growth

Alida C. van Dijk
Not Sinking With The Titanic
Personal Agency as a Key Factor in
Transforming Trauma into Posttraumatic Growth

by

Alida Catharine van Dijk
Master of Arts in Educational Ministry,
Calvin Theological Seminary, 1999

Bachelor of Arts
Dordt College, 1992

DISSERTATION
Submitted to Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Doctor of Philosophy in Human Relationships degree in the field of
Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy
Wilfrid Laurier University
2016
© Alida van Dijk 2016
DEDICATION

In memory of Anna van Dijk
(May 5, 1944 – February 10, 2015)

whose tragic and unexpected death leaves her husband, children, grandchildren,
extended family and friends coping with their loss.
Her death prompted a sharing of many stories of her strong faith.
She would be the first to encourage us with the words,
“We do not grieve as those who have no hope…”
(1 Thessalonians 4:13, paraphrased)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

While it takes a village to raise a child,
it takes a whole community to complete a dissertation.
My gratitude goes out to my family community—
my parents, siblings and their families who supported me
in many ways through this process,
my church community—New Hope Church in East Hamilton and the group of
people who provided meals for me while I was in the thick of writing.
Thanks to the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary community, including Brice Balmer,
my faculty advisor, Tom O’Connor, my mentor in pastoral counselling and
psychotherapy who invited me into experiences of grace, imagery, and playfulness, and
introduced me to the postmodern therapies of Steven de Shazer and Michael White, and
Kristine Lund who is nurturing my professional identity as a teacher and supervisor.
I doubt I would have been drawn to this topic if it wasn’t for Jake
(not his real name) and my experience in my first Pastoral Counselling Education
unit. (See my story in Chapter 1.)
Thanks to Elizabeth Seidl, Creative Consultant and co-secretary of the Crown
Point Community Planning Team who created the cover design,
taking my dissertation theme and making it visual.
I also thank the Society for Pastoral Counselling Research who funded a portion
of my research through the John Wells Research Award, 2013.
Alida van Dijk, Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
Abstract of doctoral dissertation
NOT SINKING WITH THE TITANIC:
Personal Agency as a Key Factor in
Transforming Trauma into Posttraumatic Growth
The discipline of spiritual care and psychotherapy integrates theology with social
sciences. Its starting place and the lens through which the social sciences are engaged is
through theological reflection. From this perspective and using the theoretical framework
of theological reflexivity and an understanding of people as living human documents, this
doctoral dissertation examines the question, “What are some factors that enable an
individual to transform a self-defined traumatic experience into posttraumatic growth?”
The second chapter explores the question of trauma and suffering using the biblical
narrative of the concubine in Judges 19 to examine the issue of her powerlessness and
victimization, the narrative of Job to wrestle with the question of unjust suffering, the
narrative of Joseph to explore his meaning-making and posttraumatic growth, and Jesus
and the theology of the cross which makes possible the ability to change from a life-
limiting theology of trauma to a life-giving theology of trauma. The literature review in
Chapter 3 connects the theological reflection on trauma and suffering with the current
literature from the social sciences on trauma and posttraumatic growth.
A qualitative, phenomenological research methodology was chosen as the
researcher was seeking understanding from the research participants’ narratives about the
phenomenon of transformation from trauma to posttraumatic growth. The research data
set consists of twelve rich stories obtained through a purposive sample of ten semi-
Abstract Page 4
structured individual interviews and two stories from an initial focus group of two people.
The data was analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA).
The ten individual participants reside in the Crown Point neighbourhood of East
Hamilton, Ontario, in an attempt at community-based research. The data analysis
revealed that personal agency is the over-arching factor that contributes to transformation
from trauma to posttraumatic growth. Personal agency was evident through four
subthemes identified in the participants’ stories: 1) use of strong “I” statements; 2)
making choices about things the individuals could control; 3) engaging their experience
with the full range of human dimensions—spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, and
relational; and 4) recognizing their growth through meaning-making.
The results of this research offer a practical contribution to psycho-spiritual
clinicians and therapists who can use an awareness of these factors to formulate care
plans and therapeutic interventions that include attention to the spiritual dimension to
help their clients grow from trauma. The researcher contributes the tools of the SEMP-R
Circle and the Trauma Narrative Timeline to therapists and clinicians as a way to diagram
with their clients the holistic dimension of their human responses to trauma and to their
posttraumatic growth.
Psycho-spiritual therapists journey with their clients to help them incorporate the
trauma into their life stories by changing their life-limiting beliefs and values about the
trauma to life-giving beliefs, recognizing that the traumatic event forever changes their
lives, but it need not cause them to sink with the Titanic. This researcher is interested in
investigating further how the use of metaphoric language—like the image of not sinking
with the Titanic—can be used to facilitate meaning-making after trauma.
Abstract Page 5
Abbreviations
IPA = Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis
PTG = posttraumatic growth
PTGI = Posttraumatic Growth Inventory
Note: I will consistently be spelling “posttraumatic growth” without a hyphen
throughout this thesis. In spelling it this way, I am following the lead of Calhoun and
Tedeschi (2006a), the main researchers in the area of posttraumatic growth and the
editors of the book Handbook for Posttraumatic Growth: Research and Practice.

All Scripture passages are quoted from the New International Version (NIV) unless
otherwise noted.

Abstract Page 6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 14
My trauma narrative .................................................................................................. 15
Researcher’s bias ....................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 2: THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON TRAUMA AND
POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH ............................................................................ 26
Trauma experienced, theology expressed .................................................................. 26
Trauma through the lens of theological reflexivity ................................................... 30
Trauma happens to people—living human documents ............................................. 32
The powerlessness of trauma (Judges 19) ................................................................. 36
The senselessness of trauma (Job) ............................................................................. 38
Where is God in trauma? ...................................................................................... 40
The hope in trauma (Jesus and the theology of the cross) ......................................... 44
Life-limiting and life-giving theologies of trauma ............................................... 51
The transformation of trauma (Joseph) ...................................................................... 55
Caregivers’ response with traumatized people .......................................................... 59
Lament .................................................................................................................. 61
Incarnational presence .......................................................................................... 63
Meaning-making ................................................................................................... 64
CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL SCIENCES’ REFLECTION ON TRAUMA AND
POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH ............................................................................ 73
Trauma ....................................................................................................................... 74
Posttraumatic growth (PTG) ...................................................................................... 80
Table of Contents Page 7
An outcome and a process .................................................................................... 84
Self-reported posttraumatic growth ...................................................................... 86
Resilience .............................................................................................................. 89
Resilience or posttraumatic growth (PTG)? ......................................................... 92
Transformation .......................................................................................................... 99
Trauma as turning point ...................................................................................... 105
Trauma and grief ................................................................................................. 110
Posttraumatic growth from vicarious traumatization .......................................... 116
Qualitative studies of posttraumatic growth ............................................................ 118
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH PROCEDURE AND DESIGN ..................................... 126
Phenomenological methodology ............................................................................. 126
Data collection ......................................................................................................... 130
Two year time gap .............................................................................................. 131
Focus group ......................................................................................................... 132
Individual interviews .......................................................................................... 134
Crown Point neighbourhood in Hamilton, Ontario............................................. 135
Demographics of participants .................................................................................. 137
Participants’ spirituality ...................................................................................... 138
Nature of the traumas .......................................................................................... 139
The data ................................................................................................................... 140
Transcript accuracy and member checking......................................................... 140
Coding ................................................................................................................. 144
Data analysis using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis ............................ 146
Table of Contents Page 8