This article is probably going to have a lot of therapists
up in arms wondering why bothering writing such an article. Personality change
can be a core concept during many kinds of therapy, but it does not have to be.
But, is personality change possible after a person transitions into middle
adulthood?
This would entirely depend on what group of professionals you are
talking to and the theories that they believe in. There is a biological
perspective that supports the idea that all personality traits have biological
roots and causes and are genetic . People that follow this theory closely
believe that there can be little personality change after a person is fully
mature and in early adulthood.
The second
perspective is a contextualize one that believes that personality is determined
by multiple factors, including a person’s social environment . This perspective
supports the idea that a person’s personality can and does change throughout
their lives. I would imagine that most behavioral health therapists would
support this theory; however, I cannot say for sure. I definitely think it
would be hard to help someone create change without believing that their
personality could change.
One of the issues with the biological perspective is that
believes that most personality changes will have already occurred by the time a
person reaches adulthood. There is little room for change after that because
you can’t alter the genes that you get. However, this theory fails to take into
account several very important things.
Any family member of a person with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and any therapist that has worked with a
person suffering from PTSD will tell you that their loved one or patient more
than likely has changed since the traumatic event occurred. War veterans with
PTSD will say that their personality has changed since they got back and more
than likely, family members will agree with them.
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