Posttraumatic Growth Coaching
Experiencing Transformation After Trauma
Posttraumatic Growth Coaching
Experiencing Transformation After Trauma
About Joseph Daniel Hendrix
Hendrix's Philosophy of Posttraumatic Growth
Trauma is a harsh reality of the human experience; posttraumatic growth is our birthright. Humanity’s ability to grow in the aftermath of trauma has spurred the transformation and the evolution of our species.
Psychologists have defined posttraumatic growth as “the experience of positive change that the individual experiences as a result of the struggle with a traumatic event.” Posttraumatic growth occurs within three domains: transformations in one’s sense of self, transformations in one’s relationships with others, and transformations in one’s philosophy of life. Posttraumatic growth is marked by positive cognitive, relational, social, and spiritual changes that result from traumatic experiences. Posttraumatic growth is both a process and an outcome, and the process and outcome are unique to each individual.
Though traumatic experiences can cause intense suffering, we can harness the gifts of posttraumatic growth to cultivate personal growth and foster collective transformation. As psychologist Peter Levine proclaimed in Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, “While trauma can be hell on earth, trauma resolved is a gift of the gods – a heroic journey that belongs to each of us."
To begin your posttraumatic growth journey schedule a coaching session today.
Hendrix's Posttraumatic Growth Coaching Sessions
Posttraumatic growth sessions are an alternative resource for those justifiably frustrated with mental health care. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) guides our nation's mental health system. Though the DSM was designed to be used by psychiatrists and medical practitioners, this manual is now used by social workers, marriage and family therapists, and other clinicians who lack medical and psychiatric qualifications.
Most insurance companies require individuals to be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders before they will cover the cost of mental health treatment. These policies pressure clinicians to label individuals with mental disorders within the first hour of meeting a client, which often leads therapists to dismiss the traumatic reality of the human experience and pathologize normal trauma symptoms in ways that lead to demonizing psychiatric diagnosis. Additionally, many mental health clinicians deny the potential for posttraumatic growth, a clinical tactic that leads many clients to either internalize such clinical demonization or simply walk away from treatment.
The posttraumatic growth process must begin from within. Otherwise, we leave ourselves open to being demonized, manipulated, and controlled by others. The history of America's mental health system is full of men and women who have used the tools of psychology and the DSM to harm individuals and groups. As the 20th-century psychologist Joost Meerloo observed, “All knowledge can be used either for good or for evil, and psychology is not immune to this general law. Psychology has delivered up to man new means of torture and intrusion into the mind.”
Unlike many mental health professionals, posttraumatic growth specialist take on the role of an expert companion. Posttraumatic growth facilitators lead with companionship and empathy rather than technical expertise. Though they have experienced their share of trauma and transformation, expert companions are continually learning about the posttraumatic growth process with others.
Hendrix’s Posttraumatic growth coaching sessions are built on the ancient Greek mantra "Know Thyself," as the growth and transformation process begins with awareness of one's traumatic experiences and a deep knowledge of one's unique and individual personality. Posttraumatic growth coaching sessions will empower individuals to know themselves on a deeper level, examine their relationships with others, evaluate their philosophy of life, and move forward with greater clarity, purpose, and passion.
Hendrix's Posttraumatic Growth Journey
As the second oldest of five brothers raised in an abusive religious home, Joseph Daniel Hendrix is deeply acquainted with childhood trauma and religious trauma. Nine days before his 21st birthday, Hendrix was sitting in his History of Nazi Germany class at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania when our nation was traumatized by the terror and chaos of 9/11. In August 2003, while Hendrix was pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology at the University of North Alabama, one of his teenage brothers was unjustly incarcerated in rural Alabama after a physical altercation with their abusive father. A few months after he successfully advocated for his brother's release from Eufaula Youth Center, Hendrix enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served in the infantry before completing officer candidate school (OCS) in 2008 and joining the military police corps.
In 2011, Hendrix deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he served with a Security Force Assistance Team (SFAT) as an intelligence mentor, trained Governor Tooryalai Wesa's personal security detail (PSD), and conducted trauma-informed law enforcement operations after the assassination of Kandahar City's major, Ghulam Haider Hamidi. While serving as an officer in the MP Corps, Hendrix investigated sexual misconduct. In 2013, Hendrix commanded a military police unit in the Middle East.
Since leaving the military in 2014, Hendrix has exposed child abuse within religious organizations from New York City to Pasadena, California, investigated the mistreatment of youth in our nation's detained youth, advocated for the release of incarcerated juveniles in Los Angeles, and examined state-sanctioned killing of children.
Hendrix earned a master's in international peace and conflict resolution while serving in the U.S. Army, invested three years studying trauma and posttraumatic growth while obtaining a Master of Social Work (MSW) from USC, and studied the religious roots of trauma while pursuing a master's in religious studies at MSMU. Additionally, he obtained this intellectual knowledge while serving in war zones, juvenile detention centers, courtrooms, and traumatized communities from Afghanistan to Los Angeles. Now Hendrix shares his wisdom and lessons learned in one-on-one posttraumatic growth coaching sessions.
Posttraumatic growth coaching sessions are curated based on the needs of the individual and can focus on childhood trauma, military trauma, religious trauma, scapegoat trauma, military trauma, collective trauma, intergenerational trauma, and vicarious trauma, which are all described below.
Childhood Trauma
Trauma often begins in the home, as nearly 65% of American adults have experienced some form of childhood trauma, which includes physical, mental, emotional, sexual, spiritual and other forms of abuse. As difficult as it can be to acknowledge that the people who brought us into this world can be the source of trauma, such awareness is often the first step of posttraumatic growth.
Military Trauma
More than two million Americans have served in combat since 9/11. In addition to enduring military stress, combat trauma, moral injury, and toxic leadership, our nation’s veterans have come home to the chaos of social-political division and often serve as our nation’s scapegoats. While every generation of American warriors has had its war, this one is mine. My posttraumatic growth coaching sessions will help my fellow post 9/11 veterans use their military experiences as a catalyst for transformation.
(All service members, veterans, and first responders will receive a 50% discount off my coaching services. Email me at josephdanielhendrix@gmail.com for more details.).
Religious Trauma
Though faith can provide existential meaning and hope in times of suffering, there is a violent, sadistic side of religion that causes extreme trauma. Religious ideology has been used to inspire various forms of child abuse, the terror of 9/11, our nation’s response to the trauma of 9/11, authoritarianism within the church and state, social-political conflict and division, and various forms of suffering. When parents, pastors, priests, and politicians use religion as a weapon, it leads us to question our own existential beliefs. My posttraumatic growth sessions provide a safe place to wrestle with the religious ideas that cause trauma.
Scapegoat Trauma
Scapegoats are individuals or groups –innocent or flaw – who serve as a target demonic accusation and tribal rage. Ancient scapegoat rituals began as religious ceremonies that took place within the context of collective trauma. Though our species has certainly evolved, we continue to engage in these scapegoat rituals. At the heart of these religious rituals is a desire to project our individual and collective sins onto others.
Collective Trauma
While childhood trauma is an example of the type of suffering many individuals experience alone, collective trauma includes the suffering groups experience together. Regardless, of your group affiliation, you have likely experienced some form of collective trauma. Collective trauma can include events such as 9/11, mass shootings, natural disasters, pandemics, and social-political chaos. Just as individuals can grow from personal trauma, collective trauma can lead to collective growth.
Intergenerational Trauma
Psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and epigeneticists have discovered that we carry at least four generations of trauma and resilience in our DNA. The wounds of intergenerational trauma have been called “ghosts” or “phantoms” that influence our thoughts, actions, and behaviors in ways that lead us to mimic our ancestors. Understanding the trauma and symptomatic struggles of past generations can lead to personal growth and generational transformation.
Vicarious Trauma
Trauma experts define vicarious trauma as “personal transformations experienced by trauma workers resulting from a cumulative and empathic engagement with another’s traumatic experience.” First responders and those in the healing profession often experience the psychological and emotional symptoms of the traumatized individuals they encounter. Awareness of vicarious trauma can lead to a deeper understanding of one’s self and one’s relationships with others.
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