Using Hope to Overcome Trauma

This time of year is always a time for renewed hope, particularly among those people who celebrate Passover and Easter. It’s also a good time for a new article that argues that the “discipline of positive psychology, particularly the construct of hope” offers the best way to help children overcome adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Hope Theory is relatively new in psychology (I had not heard of it before this article), but the authors make a persuasive argument that it offers the best model we currently have for helping children move past trauma. More important for those of us who work outside the clinical setting, the article offers some important suggestions for helpful techniques that lay people can use.

First, the authors note the popularity of “trauma-informed care,” but describe the concept as a definition, not a plan of action. More important, it has little evidentiary basis. “Much work remains to better define trauma-informed care, as the term remains a concept that has been defined in many ways, making it difficult to evaluate. Little is known about how the various initiatives described as trauma-informed care and related trauma-informed interventions improve outcomes for children and families.”  In other words, youth organizations need to be careful about signing onto anything just because it has a “trauma-informed” label. We don’t always know what the label means, and which components have been tested and proven effective.

The authors next argue that Hope Theory has both a clear definition and “robust research-based evidence in many areas impacted by adverse childhood experiences.”  The existing research indicates that “hope is an important psychological trait in coping with ACEs. . .  For instance, hope has demonstrated stronger predictive power for psychological flourishing among ACEs survivors than resilience.”

This argument rings true with me. In my experience, too much of our “trauma-informed” care stops at empathizing with kids who have suffered trauma. Empathy is important, but if we stop there, we are simply leaving them mired in their problems. As in many thing, empathy is essential, but it is not sufficient. The next essential step is hope for the future. Our youth organizations need to help our kids understand that there is hope for them to move forward. Then we have to help them find the strategies to do just that.

I don’t know if Hope Theory will become the next big thing in psychology and mental health treatment. I do know that our youth-serving organizations have to find ways to help kids find hope for their futures. That is the only trait that has any likelihood of reversing our current trend of despair and depression.