ABSTRACT
The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress reflects individuals' struggle to overcome traumas of natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods, famine, and disease epidemics), human disasters (e.g. vehicle accidents, arson, terrorism, or war), abusive relationships, poverty, environmental pollution, and violence in everyday life. L. F. Sparr and J. F. Fergueson suggest that individuals who go through trauma "undergo a deep moral crisis that may be the first step in a lifelong struggle to reconstitute values, beliefs, and a sense of meaning in life. One of the great American therapeutic dreams is that the past is escapable, that suffering can be avoided, that happiness is always possible, and that insight inevitably leads to joy. In order to find some resolution to trauma, P. Marin speaks of honesty and guilt; Moore speaks of the inclusion of the soul in character building. Inherent in working with these individuals is the need to tackle the widely-held belief or myth that they are victims, and that their guilt is unhealthy.
