Posttraumatic Growth in People Living With Aphasia

Abstract

The purpose of this original essay is to describe the process of developing a stakeholder-engaged research (SER) team with people who have aphasia. The SER process is described through the lens of posttraumatic growth and depreciation in aphasia. This article describes the process of modifying the Posttraumatic Growth and Depreciation Inventory (PTGI-42; Baker et al., 2008 ; Cann et al., 2010) with a multistakeholder research team so that individuals with aphasia may have a greater opportunity to be included in posttraumatic growth stroke outcome research. Posttraumatic growth is the positive psychological change that can be experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life situations (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2001) whereas posttraumatic depreciation is the inverse of growth, the negative aspects. To understand posttraumatic growth and depreciation in people living with aphasia, it is important that they be included in the research. To do so, we need to include people with aphasia in the research process and provide measurement tools that are aphasia friendly and accessible so that people with aphasia can participate in research and have their voices heard. This article describes the process, benefits, and challenges of stakeholder-engaged research.