Trauma-Informed Lens Podcast

Episode 45: Trauma & Fixed Mindsets

Posted on July 24, 2018

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Carol Dweck’s groundbreaking research on Growth Mindsets provides a powerful framework for helping those we work with shift from a fix or victim mindset to what Dweck calls a growth mindset. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry introduce the concept of growth and fixed mindsets and what they tell us about the victim mentality that often results from repeated trauma. Dweck’s ideas help us understand this thinking and how shifting it is an integral part of the healing experience.

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you identify any fixed mindset thinking in your own life?
2. Do you have any fixed mindset thinking in your group?
3. How do you see the fixed mindset manifest in the thinking of those you serve?
4. Can you identify the connection between fixed thinking and trauma in those you work with?

The article that changed Curt’s life: Effects of Uninstructed Verbal Behavior on Nonverbal Responding