Main description:

People who experience traumatic events often report a subsequent loss of a sense of meaning in their lives. When working with a client who has suffered trauma, paying attention to meaning not only identifies any damaged beliefs, values, or goals, but also highlights the strengths and social support that will help rebuild the client's sense of meaning.

In Trauma and Meaning, Dr. Jeanne M. Slattery demonstrates her meaning-making approach with a woman who has experienced loss and violence in her life. Watch as Dr. Slattery first creates a place of safety for the client, allowing her to tell her story and begin to develop a new sense of meaning in her life.

In addition to this demonstration session, Dr. Slattery also answers questions about her approach, identifying it as a method that can be used in combination with any therapeutic orientation as a powerful way to help people who have experienced trauma.