Using grounded theory to develop treatment strategies for multicontextual trauma.

This article presents a model for developing treatment strategies for multicontextual trauma—trauma in complex contexts in which no evidence-based treatment is available. The model conceptualizes trauma as shattering the assumptive world, and it conceptualizes recovery as reconstructing the assumptive world. The reconstruction process occurs in 3 stages: (a) safety, (b) reprocessing, and (c) integration, within which 3 issues recur—(a) strength, (b) connection, and (c) meaning. The article analyzes the recovery process for 2 medical illnesses—acquired physical disability and stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma—and presents guidelines for using the model to make treatment decisions.