Date of Conferral

12-12-2025

Date of Award

December 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Jason Patton

Abstract

Scholarly literature has found that post-traumatic stress impacts first responders; however, little attention has been paid to how first responders learn resiliency through post-traumatic growth (PTG). The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore a gap in the literature of first responders who learned resiliency through posttraumatic growth following a critical incident in the line of duty. The research study was grounded in Heidegger’s philosophy of hermeneutic phenomenology, guided by resiliency theory , and informed by post-traumatic growth theory. Seven first responders from multiple disciplines were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews designed to provide rich and reflective accounts of the phenomenon. The data were interpreted using Gadamer’s hermeneutic method to extract themes and subthemes that describe the phenomenon. Results indicated that although participants had expected to be exposed to trauma in their careers, the lived experience was more complex than expected. The major themes, including training and experience, the value of peer and organizational support, and the use of coping strategies such as human connection, exercise, introspection, and self-care, were supported by subthemes derived from the data. Participants also described experiencing growth in understanding, optimism, and purpose, which confirmed the learning of resiliency through PTG. Implications for positive social change include the need for counselor training programs to incorporate resiliency and PTG-informed education and practice to better prepare counselor educators and supervisors to meet the needs of first responders, and to support agencies in developing evidence-informed interventions.

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