Founded By Francesca Ward
Research & Insights
Ideas deserve curiosity. Claims deserve evidence.
Research notes on post-traumatic growth, behavior change, contemplative practice, and human flourishing. Each note separates the study’s findings from interpretation, open questions, and practical application.
How to read the evidence.
ESTABLISHED EVIDENCE
Findings supported by a substantial research base. Even well-studied approaches have limits; the population, outcome, and setting matter.
EMERGING EVIDENCE
Promising findings that need further replication or clearer practical relevance. Early results do not establish a treatment or guarantee an outcome.
EXPLORATORY CONCEPTS
Questions and hypotheses about consciousness, physiology, meaning, and growth. An interesting explanation is not proof of a mechanism.
TRADITIONAL / CONTEMPLATIVE FRAMEWORKS
Practice traditions and models of meaning. Their personal or cultural value is distinct from clinical validation.
A starting reading list.
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH · FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Tedeschi & Calhoun (1996) developed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory to assess reported positive changes after adversity across five domains. The inventory measures reported experience; it does not promise that adversity produces growth.
MEASUREMENT · A NECESSARY CAUTION
Frazier and colleagues (2009) found that self-reported growth and prospectively measured change did not align closely in their study. Perceived growth and measured change should not be treated as interchangeable.
MEDITATION · ESTABLISHED EVIDENCE WITH LIMITS
Goyal and colleagues’ 2014 systematic review found evidence of modest improvements in some outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and pain. This does not establish meditation as a cure or a substitute for appropriate care.
Interpretation: these studies invite careful questions, not universal prescriptions.
Soulmats! Newsletter
An ongoing exploration of what comes after survival.
Francesca’s LinkedIn newsletter connects post-traumatic growth, meaning, lifestyle behavior, contemplative practice, and evidence literacy.
Future notes will explore movement, EEG and biofeedback, mindfulness, human flourishing, and consciousness. Research findings, practical reflections, and hypotheses will be identified clearly.
Read and follow Soulmats! on LinkedIn. For research dialogue or collaboration inquiries, contact francesca@well3living.com.