L 'usage de la parole pour surmonter les traumatismes personnels majeurs : pour une théorie des « mots qui font du bien ».

Background: The overall goal of this study was to better understand how language can affect the mental states in a manner that can increase the well-being of people who have experienced major physical or psychological trauma. Analysis: We chose to answer this question through a qualitative empirical investigation in which we interviewed 49 individuals (patients, caregivers, professionals). To get at the heart of the "performativity" of language and its ability to alter mental states, we identified phrases and words that "do good" for traumatized individuals. Conclusion and implications: Examining these words and phrases allowed us to identify broad themes that we then linked to basic psychological needs and elementary linguistic morphologies. These helped us to grasp the basic structure on which it is possible to build conversational tools for psychosocial intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]