Posttraumatic growth: Action and reaction

We respond to the commentators who raise several key issues. Points of agreement include the need to incorporate several new concepts within the broader umbrella of posttraumatic growth (PTG), a need to understand more of the context under which PTG might have positive, negative, or limited influence, and a need to understand aspects of persons and populations who might use PTG in different ways. A major point of disagreement remains with the original formulation of PTG which poses PTG as a universally positive contribution to well-being, or even that it is beneficial in its own right. Illusion may have positive aspects, but we remain interested in the idea that it is most beneficial when translated into action. Some of these actions may be cognitive, but they should in such instances have lasting meaning for individuals’ lives. Too often, PTG represents the belief that one has grown in some deep way, without validation of that depth of experience.