VALUABLE, COGNITIVE, EMOTIONAL AND SOMATIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE PROCESS OF POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH

Abstract

This article provides a theoretical and analytical review of four interrelated dimensions of personal transformation in the process of post-traumatic growth (PTG) – value-based, cognitive, emotional, and somatic – in the context of Russia’s full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. The relevance of the study stems from the widespread psychological trauma experienced by millions of Ukrainian citizens as a result of military hostilities, forced displacement, the loss of loved ones, and the destruction of their familiar environment, which creates an urgent need for a systematic examination of the mechanisms for processing traumatic experiences and the conditions for personal growth.

The purpose of this article is to conduct an integrative theoretical and analytical review of contemporary domestic research on this issue. Based on an analysis of the works of leading Ukrainian scholars – V. Klimchuk, Yu. Nazar, O. Prokhorova, N. Venger, L. Muzychko, Yu. Ivanova, V. Rozova, and others – it is shown that each of the four dimensions of transformation is an independent subject of research and, at the same time, an integral part of a holistic system of personal change.

In the value dimension, it was found that value orientations are significant predictors of PTSD, and traditional values emerged as the most significant predictor among practicing psychologists in wartime conditions. The cognitive dimension is examined through the lens of narrative reconstruction and the reinterpretation of pre-traumatic conceptions of oneself and the world; a fundamental distinction between PTSD and simple resilience is demonstrated as a qualitatively new level of cognitive organization of the personality. An analysis of the emotional dimension demonstrates that PTSD and PTSD symptoms can coexist rather than be mutually exclusive; a special role is assigned to prosocial activity, resilience, and active coping strategies as factors in emotional transformation. The somatic dimension, which remains the least studied in domestic science, is examined through the concept of “bodily memory” and body-oriented psychotherapy methods (EMDR, somatic experiencing according to P. Levinson, Brainspotting).

The authors substantiate an integrative model of PTSD, according to which the four dimensions of transformation form a single dynamic system, where growth in one dimension potentially enhances growth in the others. The practical value of the work lies in identifying specific therapeutic approaches corresponding to each of the dimensions: value-oriented psychotherapy, narrative and discursive methods, body-oriented techniques, as well as forms of social support.