A systems view of psychological trauma: Developing post-traumatic stress response paradigms

Abstract

This article traces the development of traumatic stress paradigms within the context of emerging psychological and organizational theories. It traces the evolution of the systems view of trauma from an early stimulus-response model using a biological perspective through the development of cybernetic, information-processing to the field systems perspectives of trauma. This article concludes by examining the evolutionary and contextualist paradigms of trauma theory and its value to the psychotherapist working with trauma victims.