Navigating post-trauma realities in family systems: Applying social constructivism and systems theory to youth and family trauma

Abstract

Trauma affecting youth and families takes a variety of forms, from random one-time events such as accidents and natural disasters to chronic and highly personal trauma from child abuse or intimate partner violence. Though trauma has received increasing attention in theory and intervention research over the last several decades, the prevailing theories and treatments have limitations due to a linear perspective focused on the trauma problems of the individual. This is particularly concerning given the high dropout rates for trauma-focused treatments and the complexities of intergenerational trauma that cannot be adequately conceptualised at the level of the individual. To inform and improve family-based treatment of youth and family trauma, this paper proposes a theoretical framework informed by social constructivism and systems theory. Social constructivism upholds that reality is constructed through communication as an adaptive process for survival, with multiple potential realities possible. Systems theory promotes a non-linear view of causality within a system, such that the structure and properties of a system determine outcomes more than the inputs that go into the system. Together, the principles of these meta-theories contradict the orthodox focus on traumatic events causing trauma symptoms, and instead imply that family-based treatment should focus on helping families shift assumptions and dynamics that sustain the problem in the present. The joint application of a social constructivism–systems theory framework for trauma introduces several new principles to inform family-based treatment: (a) post-trauma realities; (b) mutual survival; (c) power–justice balance; and (d) adaptive reorganisation. The implications of these principles for youth and family trauma treatment will be discussed. Future intervention development and research should consider these principles in the ongoing effort to improve family therapy for youth and family trauma.