In the second article of this series, I focused on hope and healing for survivors of sexual abuse. Here, I extend the discussion beyond healing to discuss the possibility, now validated through research, that some trauma survivors actually experience post-traumatic growth.
If healing can occur from the truly devastating consequences of adverse childhood experiences -- including sexual abuse by clergy -- can survivors also experience meaningful growth through their confrontation with trauma? Can post-traumatic growth also occur in institutions that fostered abuse, as well as in the advocacy organizations that have worked on behalf of survivors?
Let me be very clear: No one ever is "better off" because they were abused or suffered other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Every child and adolescent is entitled to a "good enough" childhood where suffering is manageable and betrayal is minimal.
Unfortunately, too many children and teens are faced with soul-battering betrayals, abuse, neglect or terrifying family dynamics that send normal developmental pathways, including those related to the brain, off the rails.
[For more of this story, written by Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea, go to http://ncronline.org/news/acco...n-bring-about-growth]
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