ABSTRACT
The nature and complexity of the posttraumatic self compels analysis of how resilience results after emotionally significant and life-changing traumatic experiences. How do some survivors “spring back” following life-threatening trauma and manifest healthy and optimal levels of psychological functioning? Anecdotal clinical evidence has documented case histories of war veterans, torture victims, survivors of ethnic cleansing, genocide, terrorist attacks and others who have endured unimaginable, horrific trauma and gone on to live healthy, productive lives (e.g., Wiesel, 1969; Dimsdale, 1980; Wilson, Harel, & Kahana, 1988; Harel, Kahana, & Wilson, 1993; Krystal, 1968; Eitinger, 1961; Lifton, 1993; Ulman & Brothers, 1988). The remarkable lives of resilient survivors lead us to ask: What are the factors that enable some persons to overcome and transform profoundly traumatic life-events? What differentiates them from their cohorts who develop chronic posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), depressive states and post-traumatic self-disorders (Parsons, 1988)?
